TRAILBLAZERS: Anne Peters is making jobs and a community for adults with disabilities

Anne Peters is the founder and executive director of Maker Union, a Park City nonprofit creating paid, supportive work and a sense of belonging for adults with disabilities after public school. Photo: Maker Union

PARK CITY, Utah — Anne Peters didn’t start Maker Union as a passion project. She started with a practical question—and a deeply personal one.

“What’s she going to do when she graduates high school?” Peters said, thinking ahead for her daughter, Kira, who has disabilities that make the “normal trajectory of most kids” unlikely.

Peters, the founder and newly named executive director of Maker Union, began searching for what comes after the public school system’s supports — and found a gap she couldn’t ignore: meaningful, supported employment for adults with disabilities, paired with a real sense of belonging.

“The problem I was hoping to solve was where our kids in the community who have special needs go post-public school,” she said. “For these kids to have a sense of accomplishment, a sense of self, a community of like-minded people — wouldn’t it be great if we had a place where this group could come work, earn a wage, be safe, learn about employment, giving them the foundation and some basic tools so that they can be successful in life?”

Maker Union, she explained, is designed to be that bridge: a place where adults with disabilities can build job skills, create products, earn income, and practice the social rhythms of a workplace — from collaboration to responsibility to confidence.

From Product Design to Purpose

Peters has lived in Park City since 2001. Before Maker Union, her career ran through product design and development; she moved to the area for Sundance Catalog and has long been rooted in making things. She earned a BFA in jewelry design and metalsmithing and started sewing her own clothing at 14.

That history matters, she said, because her faith in handwork isn’t sentimental — it’s lived.

“Art is in my DNA,” Peters said. “I come from art, I come from craft, I come from handmaking.”

But her understanding of advocacy was learned the hard way — not in a studio, but in the school system.

Learning to Advocate

Peters served eight years on the Park City Board of Education. She said she initially ran because she didn’t understand how education worked — or how to navigate the resources and rights that shape a student’s experience when that student has disabilities.

“I didn’t know anything about education,” she said. “I understood my daughter had a lot of special needs, and the school system was there to provide assistance through her IEP, through services like vision, speech, and OT. And I really had no clue what was going on. I didn’t understand my rights as a parent. I didn’t understand her rights as a student.”

Over time, she became an advocate — especially for students who aren’t the loudest success stories in the room.

“I was always the one raising my hand asking about middle learners, asking about those in special ed,” Peters said. “When we were looking at a problem, how does that affect someone who can’t walk? How does that affect someone who can’t read? Are we bolstering special ed with the budget that they need? What do they need?”

That lens — who gets left out, and what support actually looks like — now drives Maker Union’s mission.

Building Community

Peters said one of the unexpected needs Maker Union meets is not just for workers, but for parents. When Kira was younger, there wasn’t a natural community of parents she could lean on.

“There was no community,” Peters said. “There was no one for me to say, ‘Hey, did that happen to your kid?’ I didn’t know anybody.”

Now, she’s intentionally building that missing layer—a network where parents can swap practical strategies, referrals, and support, not just for long-term planning but for everyday life.

Inside Maker Union, Peters measures progress in moments that might look small from the outside but land with full force inside the room.

“Every Wednesday when the employees are here, and they’re laughing, and they’re talking, and they don’t reach for their cell phones anymore,” she said, describing a shift toward connection and shared culture.

Then she paused and named the moment she keeps coming back to: Last summer, during a packed day of youth employment programming, Kira tied a knot — something that had been difficult for her.

“The whole place erupted with clapping and screaming and jumping,” Peters said. “And I’m crying, and she is so proud and beaming. That’s why. All those hard days — that’s why.”

When Hands Speak

For Peters, the “maker” part of Maker Union isn’t just a brand identity — it’s a strategy for communication, regulation, and belonging. When language is difficult, hands can speak.

“Especially if somebody can’t read — Kira doesn’t know how to use a keyboard — she uses her hands. She draws, she expresses herself,” Peters said. “They really lean into other tools of communication.”

Even projects that look simple — beaded bracelets, for example — can hold multiple layers of learning: hand-eye coordination, focus, fine motor control, and self-expression.

“Can you come up with a word that’s positive and meaningful that you want to put on that bracelet?” Peters said. “And how can you complete that bracelet and feel good about it?”

The Daily Work

Asked what keeps her going, Peters didn’t pretend it’s easy.

“It takes a tremendous amount of self-discipline,” she said. “I personally thrive with people. I love teams. I love thought partners. So for me to be in here alone is really hard.”

But she returns, again and again, to the same core motive: making sure adults with disabilities have what every person deserves — a safe place, purposeful work, real community.

“Everyone deserves a shot in life,” Peters said. “I’m going to be the champion for this group. And I’m going to get up every day, and that’s my mission: How can I serve? What can I do to help them?”

Advice for Founders

For anyone in Park City carrying an idea they’re afraid to name out loud, Peters offered a blunt, practical blueprint.

“Have a crystal-clear five-year plan, vision that you can articulate,” she said. “What’s your elevator pitch for your business in five years? Be very clear on what it is you want and your vision and your intention, and don’t waffle.”

Then, she added, surround yourself with people who are smarter than you in the areas you don’t know.

“Don’t be afraid to ask,” Peters said. “Don’t let your ego get in the way. Humility and just being persistent with that five-year vision.”

Looking Ahead

Maker Union is still growing. But Peters is clear about what success looks like: not just a stronger organization, but a community that knows adults with disabilities belong — not on the margins, not isolated at home, but here, visibly and meaningfully.

“I want our community to know what we do and have our community constantly thinking about opportunities for these adults,” she said.

And inside the workshop, week after week, the proof will be in the chorus of small wins — a knot tied, a laugh shared, a room that feels like it’s finally making space for everyone.