Armstrong used his Hearne Award to launch the Heumann-Armstrong Award, named after Armstrong and his mentor Judy Heumann, one of the original leaders of the disability rights movement. The award has provided scholarships and mentorship support to students for three years.

Each year, Armstrong and the selection committee choose 6-12 semifinalists and six finalists, ranging in age from middle schoolers to post-graduate students. The semifinalists receive a gift card and finalists receive $1000 and the opportunity to be filmed for video interviews. The videos have become teaching tools for educators all over the country.

“I think it’s important for institutions to be built that allow for disabled students to be acknowledged for the work that they put in to make spaces more accessible,” he said. “Part of the reason why you see less disabled people in these sorts of spaces is because of the fact that the work that these students put in regularly is not generally acknowledged.”

Originally, Armstrong named the award the Heumann Award. Heumann’s life was a testament to the importance of accessibility and accommodations in education. She battled disability discrimination throughout her educational journey and sued the New York City Board of Education when they denied her a teacher’s license. She went on to lead the sit-in advocating for the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and served in multiple presidential administrations.

It was Heumann herself who insisted that Armstrong’s last name be part of the award’s name as well.

“She was very actively involved. I couldn’t have asked for a better or more engaged or more zealous partner in this project than Judy was,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong explained that meeting many previous Hearne Award recipients during his participation in the AAPD Summer Internship Program in 2018 helped inspire him to apply for the award.

“One of the things that I think was so driving about meeting so many Hearne winners while I was at AAPD was being able to say, oh, all of these people are creating these sort of programs that are creating the kind of change that I want to make in the world, and being able to see that firsthand, I think was very influential towards me ultimately applying and handling the work the way that I did,” he said.

For Armstrong, the Hearne Award emphasizes the importance of giving proper funding to people with disabilities.

“I think that’s part of the magic of the Hearne award is the fact that we have so many people across the disability community who are doing really, really, really important stuff with minimal budgets or no budgets, and that cash infusion really does a lot,” he said.

Patrick Cokley, Senior Program Officer, Equity and Social Justice Partnerships at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, formed a lasting connection with Armstrong after serving as his mentor during the AAPD Summer Internship Program.

“What I’ve always been impressed with is Elijah has not only thought about what are the skill sets that he has that he wants to share with others, and what are the changes that he wishes to see in our community. He also has that unique thing where he’s able to connect with folks who are already enduring leaders, and not necessarily get swallowed by their work, but think about how he can continue the work that they’re doing, and in some cases, even provide innovation that goes the next step beyond,” Cokley said.

In all his work, Armstrong strives to create spaces for disabled people to connect with one another.

“All of the work that we did resulted in a community of people who, granted, go in different directions and necessarily have different interests, but there is still very tangibly a network there, which I think is really important, honestly. I feel like sort of the goal of having this project was having direct lines to the youth of the disability movement, the new generation that’s coming, and I think that’s something that was really powerful that we did very well,” Armstrong said. 

Establishing direct connections to and supporting the next generation of the disability movement was also one of Paul G. Hearne’s strongest passions – so much so that the Hearne award was established to do just that. 

Because of the Hearne Award, Armstrong has been able to increase awareness of ableism in education within education-focused professional spaces that do not often focus on disability.  Armstrong and a group of Heumann-Armstrong award winners spoke at a National Education Association conference and with leaders of the U.S. Department of Education.

“One of the things I think was coolest about the project, and specifically about all of the pomp and circumstance and the backing of AAPD with the Hearne award, was the fact that it allowed me to go to all of these other spaces where people were generally not talking about disability and say, hey, look, we need to talk about this,” he said.

The Heumann-Armstrong Award is currently paused while Armstrong finishes law school at Stanford University. He hopes to work in criminal defense after graduation because he sees parallels between the way disabled students and criminal defendants are discriminated against.

“You see the same thing happening in the criminal defense space all the time, people of color with disabilities who are overcharged, who are treated inhumanely, oftentimes for crimes that they had not even committed. And I feel like, especially considering the fact that I am from the South, that doing this work in that space is something that’s very important for me to be doing,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong looks forward to resuming the award in the future to continue supporting disabled students. 

“Part of why I think it’s so important to to bring the award back when we get the chance, is just to continue getting that pipeline, bringing in people who haven’t quite identified as disabled or are still developing their disability identity and have all this passion, all these urges, and just help bring them in to help bolster the movement,” he said.

The post Paul G. Hearne Profile: Elijah Armstrong appeared first on AAPD.

When Ladau received the Hearne Award in 2018, she used the funding to start the Rooted in Writing Fellowship to support disabled writers in telling their stories. As part of the fellowship, two disabled writers wrote a series of blogs for publication on the Rooted in Rights website and developed a long-form article to pitch to mainstream media outlets. 

The writers focused on a variety of topics, like voting rights, intersectionality, and transportation access. Ladau guided them throughout the writing process and provided mentorship and networking opportunities.

Ladau credits the Hearne Award with solidifying her role as a storyteller.

“It was really meaningful for me because I had been passionate about storytelling for so long and I wanted to extend that as far as I could, because it’s not my story that I’m concerned with, it’s how do we get as many people as possible into a place where they have the opportunity to tell their story?” Ladau said. 

“So getting this award, to me, was kind of confirmation that I could continue to lead the way, along with so many other people, to push the power of storytelling as one of the key ways to shift the narrative and bring about positive change for the disability community,” she continued.

When Jordan Melograna, now the CEO & Creative Director of Block by Block Creative, LLC,  ran video and social media storytelling for Rooted in Rights, he knew Ladau was the right choice to lead the program’s new blog.

“She has elevated countless other voices in her work, including people in the disability community who even the disability community often overlooks. Beyond the work Emily did at Rooted in Rights, she has become a leading voice for inclusion,” he said.

“She educates as well as persuades through her writing and public appearances. Emily is a fierce advocate, but a warm soul,” Melograna continued.

Running the Rooted in Writing Fellowship taught Ladau valuable leadership skills. 

“I got a really good lesson in how to be a better support and a better leader and a better manager of people, and I learned how to meet people where they are and to understand that everyone has different workflows, different writing processes, different ways of thinking. And so for me, it was just a really strong professional development experience because I had to learn a lot about myself while I was learning a lot about other people,” she said.

AAPD impacted Ladau’s career trajectory even before she received the Hearne Award. In 2013, she participated in the AAPD Summer Internship Program. Her assigned mentor, Day Al-Mohamed, suggested that Ladau start a blog, which helped launch her down the path of using storytelling to advance inclusive narratives about disability. 

Ladau interned at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) during the Internship Program. She connected with Rooted in Rights at an AUCD conference, which led to a job and ultimately her application for the Hearne Award.

“There’s a very clear trajectory of how I got to where I am because of AAPD, and even in the years since the Hearne Award, have continued to stay connected with them for various professional opportunities. So I feel like the best way that I can explain it is that once you’re part of that ecosystem, if you continue to stay connected, it pays professionally in dividends, and it pays community-wise in dividends,” Ladau said.

Beyond just elevating her to new heights in her writing work, the award also expanded Ladau’s ideas for future endeavors. Ladau’s experience leading the Rooted in Writing fellowship was one reason she felt confident enough to pursue other writing projects, including her book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally, published in 2021. 

“It gave me the confidence to continue pursuing projects that were so beyond what I kind of dreamed for myself. Getting the award was like a turning point in my career, such that I could point to it and I could say, here’s where my work has been recognized, and I want to continue building on that in the future,” she said.

Since receiving the Hearne Award, Ladau has continued to platform other disabled writers, serving as editor of other publications, like the Voices of Disability Economic Justice Project through the Century Foundation, and Able News.

Kim Knackstedt, Founder and Principal Consultant of Unlock Access, worked with Ladau at the Disability Economic Justice Project. She praised Ladau’s personable and approachable manner to storytelling.

“What’s really important about Emily is she is leading in a way that does actually influence policy, but she influences it by narrative and by elevating voices and perspectives, and she does it where it’s not about self-promotion in any way,” Knackstedt said. 

“She does it by really trying to kind of bring stories to life, and that is something that I just don’t see really anyone else doing in quite the way she’s doing,” she continued.

Ladau believes that disability representation in the media is a crucial tool for policy advocacy. She hopes that aspiring disabled writers believe in the power of their own voices.

“Your story has worth because it’s your story, and so if we start from that place of recognizing the worthiness and the power of our own story, and not seeking the validation from others, and not feeling that it belongs to anyone but us, I think that’s where we really draw our power from,” she said.

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Naomi Hess in front of the AAPD sign

We all know that public policy is personal. But there is often so much time and attention devoted to the technicalities of public policy that the human nature of the impacts gets neglected.

AAPD has long worked at this intersection of the personal and the political. AAPD’s programs focus on the personal and career development of people with disabilities through initiatives like internships and scholarships, and our policy work advocates for improvements in public policy to make life more accessible and equitable for disabled Americans.

That’s why AAPD is so excited to have recently launched our guest blog program, which spotlights amazing members of the disability community and how our communities’ stories reflect the policy reforms AAPD fights for. 

AAPD’s guest blog program seeks to amplify disabled voices and allow members of the disability community to share their unique perspectives. Each post draws on the writer’s lived experiences, demonstrating why a particular policy area matters to the blogger, and/or celebrating their disability pride. Contributors write one post on a topic of their choice, and they will receive a stipend for their work.

Bloggers will benefit from this program by adding published work to their portfolio and developing skills in sharing their stories. All disabled people are welcome, and our guest blog program focuses on uplifting the voices of people with disabilities who are also members of other marginalized communities. Some bloggers will be disabled activists who already have a following, and some will be emerging leaders whom you may read about for the first time through their blog. 

In case we haven’t met, my name is Naomi Hess and I’m AAPD’s new Editorial Manager. I’m extremely excited to serve as the editor of the blog! I’m a disabled person myself whose life has been improved by various AAPD’s programs and policy advocacy. I’m an alumna of the AAPD internship program in 2020 and 2021, and being an AAPD intern transformed my life and career. Through the internship program, I confirmed that I wanted to work in disability rights professionally, and found friends and mentors who have helped me get to where I am today. I’m so honored to be able to give back to this amazing organization.

In addition to my experience in the internship program, my time as a news editor for The Daily Princetonian and my time working on disability rights programs in the Administration on Community Living gave me the skills and perspectives needed to lead this blog. I have benefited from opportunities to hone my writing skills throughout my life, and I’m happy to be able to give this platform to other members of the disability community. 

Right now, AAPD is not yet seeking public submissions for our blog. In the months ahead, be on the lookout for opportunities to pitch your own blog idea to me. We will put out an announcement and interest form when we are ready to review public submissions. I am already excited to hear from you and meet more members of this amazing community. 

As you prepare your own blog idea, I encourage you to check out some of the first guest blogs we’ve published for insight into the diversity of subjects and lived experiences you can expect to see on AAPD’s blog moving forward. 

I hope you’ll check out: 

• “Disability Advocacy and Intersex Advocacy Have a Lot in Common” by Courtney Felle
• “Becoming An Inspirational Story While Disability Rights Are Threatened” by Alma Silver
• “Protesting While Deafblind” by Haben Girma

The post Blending the Personal and the Political: An Introduction to AAPD’s Blog Program appeared first on AAPD.

Stacey Park Milbern’s family, program partners, and two traditional Korean fan dancers from DI DIM SAE Korean Traditional Art Institute at the event

On Wednesday, August 13, disabled people and allies gathered at the National Museum of American History to celebrate the release of a new quarter depicting Stacey Park Milbern, a leader of the disability justice movement. She is the 19th woman honored as part of the American Women Quarters Program, which celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women throughout American history.

The event’s program partners included the United States Mint, National Museum of American History, American Women’s History Museum, Access Smithsonian, Asian Pacific American Center, Disability Cultural Center at Georgetown University, and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Many of the partners tabled for the first hour of the event. 

Stacey Park Milbern, whose Korean name was Park Ji-hye, led and strengthened the modern Disability Justice movement. She had congenital muscular dystrophy and died on May 19, 2020, on her 33rd birthday. She was an activist, writer, speaker, and movement organizer who focused on the issues faced by queer and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) disabled people. 

Milbern founded the Disability Justice Culture Club, “a collective of disabled and/or neurodivergent QTBIPOC rooted in Disability Justice, cultivating joyful resistance and interdependent community in East Oakland, [California].” She centered intersectionality and community in everything she did.

The event spotlighted Milbern’s meaningful work in the disability community. She was involved with many different organizations and organizing groups, including AAPD. Milbern participated in the AAPD Summer Internship Program in 2007, interning for Senator Tom Harkin’s Disability Counsel, Lee Perselay, on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee. 

She later worked as Director of Programs at the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, California, and as an Impact Producer for the documentary Crip Camp. President Barack Obama appointed Milbern to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. 

“I came to the event tonight because I’m really passionate about disability history and the way that learning our history can bring us closer together as a community in the present and can teach us tools that we’re going to need for the future,” said Emma O’Neill-Dietel, a graduate student in history at University of Massachusetts Amherst and a 2024 recipient of AAPD’s NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship.

The program began and ended with a traditional Korean fan dance performed by DI DIM SAE Korean Traditional Art Institute to honor Milbern’s Korean heritage. Beth Ziebarth, Director of the Smithsonian’s Office of Visitor Accessibility, then welcomed attendees to the event and introduced Dr. Elizabeth Babcock, Director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

“These coins help tell the story of our nation through the remarkable women that helped shape it, and we’re proud to help lift up stories like Stacey’s, stories that haven’t always been included but deserve to be known,” Babcock said. 

Babcock continued, “This quarter that we’re celebrating tonight is a visible and tangible way that you can hold in your hand to honor her life and her work and to bring awareness and attention to the causes that she advocated so strongly for, and to connect us all through community.”

Milbern’s parents and siblings gave remarks on what this honor meant to their family. They shared a few examples of the many ways Milbern devoted herself to disability justice: she advocated for power companies to protect disabled people during power outages, formed an emergency response network during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, visited people with disabilities in institutions, and provided support as they transitioned to community living. 

Stacey Park Milbern’s sister Jessica Milbern discussed her sister’s lasting impact.

“The ripples [Stacey] created are still moving through the people she helped, the ideas she challenged, and the lives she changed, as commemorated by celebrations such as this. I believe if we keep those ripples going through our words, actions, and the way we lift each other up, Stacey will always be here, making the world more hopeful and more full of possibility,” she said.

Greg Dawson, Associate Director of the Office of Strategy and Performance at the United States Mint, spoke more about the American Women Quarters program. He discussed the quarter’s design, as imagined by Elana Hagler and sculpted by Craig Campbell.

“The Stacey Park Milbern quarter design depicts Milbern in action, speaking to an audience, one hand resting near her trach and the other stretched out palm-up in a gesture meant to evoke a genuine exchange of ideas and the building of allyship. The design captures Milbern’s authenticity and reminds us that her voice was not just symbolic. It was strategic, thoughtful, and vital in building a more inclusive world,” he said.

Enlarged version of the quarter depicting Stacey Park Milbern

Program participants then joined Dawson on stage as 2000 quarters were poured into a display featuring a traditional Korean serving table and serving tray that Milbern used as a child. The United Mint has shipped the Milbern quarters to Federal Reserve Banks and coin terminals nationwide, with plans to produce 300 million to 700 million coins in total.

Ziebarth moderated a panel about disability justice featuring Yomi Young, former Executive Director of the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, California, where Stacey worked, and Michelle Banks, Co-founder and Artistic Director of Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA).

Young talked about all that Milbern taught the world.

“Stacey taught us that we deserve a vibrant and just future, a world built on intersectionality, a world where we see the whole of each person’s identity and how oppression intersects, a world led by the most impacted, because those of us who are closest to the problem carry the wisdom to solve it,” she said. 

“As amazing and wild as this coin is, this coin is not Stacy’s legacy. It is a spark. It’s a question in someone’s hand, in someone’s own purse. It’s a question that somebody will get this coin and say, ‘Who is she?’ And the answer will take them straight to her vision for organizing her liberation dreams,” Young continued.

Attendees described the event as meaningful, hopeful, and exciting. For many, Milbern’s quarter is not the final step in commemorating her life, but a new beginning. 

Mia Ives-Rublee, who leads the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress, contributed a recorded video about Milbern’s impact that played during the event. Ives-Rublee told AAPD, “[Wednesday’s event] is just another example of how her ethos continues to echo into the future. She helped pave the way forward for crips like me and other people who live at the intersections of intersections.”

“I am excited that we get to celebrate the joy, community care, and wisdom of Stacey Park Milbern as a community, and hope that the quarter is an invitation to everyone to learn more about her life and disability justice work,” said Dr. Amy Kenny, Director of the Disability Cultural Center at Georgetown University.

Suzanne Richard, Co-founder and Artistic Director of Open Circle Theatre, spoke about the significance of seeing Milbern on a US quarter as a fellow disabled woman. “In a capitalist society, we are no longer charity, we’re part of the currency,” she said.

Maria Town, AAPD President and CEO, discussed what this coin meant to her as Milbern’s friend.

“Witnessing the U.S. Mint release a quarter with Stacey’s likeness on it was yet another reminder of how much I miss her and how much I wish she were still physically here,” Town said. “Stacey envisioned so many different possibilities, but I am not sure that she would have ever envisioned that she would be put on currency, especially as someone who was anti-capitalist. The moment also felt hard as disabled people are having resources stripped away from them now.”

Even while acknowledging the challenges people with disabilities are facing in this current moment, Town is hopeful about what the coin will do for the disability community.

“I left the event excited, thinking of all of the people who will learn about Stacey and disability justice for the first time as a result of these quarters, and just like she did in life, Stacey will facilitate folks’ connection to community and their embrace of dreams they did not previously think were possible.” 

The post Disability Community Gathers to Celebrate Release of U.S. Quarter Featuring Activist Stacey Park Milbern appeared first on AAPD.

Disability pride can mean being proud of your perseverance while encountering ableism and barriers to access. It can mean supporting and uplifting your disabled friends. It can mean learning about the history of the disability rights movement and educating others. Or, maybe you don’t feel that proud right now. Especially during an onslaught of political actions that harm the disability community, it can be difficult to take pride in having a disability. It’s okay if this Disability Pride Month feels more like Disability Rage Month.

Disability pride means something different to everyone, but there are some key shared events in the history of Disability Pride Month. Here are some highlights:

July 26, 1990: President George Bush signed the ADA into law. The ADA is a groundbreaking piece of disability rights legislation, but the crucial accessibility requirements in the law must be further improved.

President George H. W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

October 6, 1990: The first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston.

A newspaper clipping from the first disability pride day. Via Gay Community News, vol. 18, no. 14, October 14-20, 1990. Accessed through the Northeastern University Library.

July 18, 2004: The first Disability Pride Parade was held in Chicago. Sarah Triano, a 2002 Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award recipient, helped plan the first parade with the funding from the award. Read more about Sarah here.

October 25, 2008: The ADA Amendments Act was signed into law, broadening the definition of disability and expanding anti-discrimination protections.

July 2015: New York City became the first city to officially observe Disability Pride Month.

2019: Ann Magill posted a disability pride flag that is now symbolic of Disability Pride Month. Each color represents a different category of disability: psychosocial (blue), cognitive and intellectual (yellow), invisible and undiagnosed (white), physical (red), and sensory (green). The black background symbolizes mourning for the disabled victims of ableism and abuse.

Ann Magill’s original disability pride flag.

A black-and-white photo of the 2002 Paul G. Hearne Award recipients: (from left to right) Albert Cheong, Sarah Louise Triano, Peter Cody Hunt, Carrie Griffin and Claudia Gordon.

2021: Ann Magill updated the disability pride flag to make it more visually accessible. Learn more about Ann and her flag in her interview on The Accessible Stall podcast, co-hosted by AAPD’s Content Producer Kyle Khachadurian and disability advocate and author Emily Ladau: https://www.theaccessiblestall.com/episode-106-accessible-stall-ann-magill-disability-pride-flag/.

Ann Magill’s updated disability pride flag.

2025: Disability Pride celebrations have spread around the country and even around the world, including in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

July is a month to recognize how far the disability rights movement has come while simultaneously acknowledging how much more needs to be done to create an accessible and inclusive world for all.  AAPD is proud to be in community with all disabled people, this month and every month.

The post History of Disability Pride Month appeared first on AAPD.

A black-and-white photo of the 2002 Paul G. Hearne Award recipients: (from left to right) Albert Cheong, Sarah Louise Triano, Peter Cody Hunt, Carrie Griffin and Claudia Gordon.

When Sarah Triano received a Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award from AAPD in 2002, she used her award funds to start what is commonly referred to as the country’s first Disability Pride Parade, which took place in Chicago on July 18, 2004. The parade has continued to this day, growing to be a mainstay in Disability Pride Month programming.

The Hearne Award was instrumental both in the development of Chicago’s Disability Pride Parade and also in Triano’s personal and professional development.

“The Hearne AAPD Leadership Award gave me the support that I needed during a time when I was young. I really didn’t know a lot of people in the movement as much and it really helped to solidify that the direction I was going down and the path that I was pursuing was valid, was relevant, was important,” Triano said. “It recognizes that as a young leader with a disability, I had something to contribute.”

Two older people at a protest. They’re holding a banner on either side. The banner has a black background with large, white, stylized font that says “diversity rocks!” in all capital letters.

Triano was working for Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago when she decided to apply for the Hearne Award. As part of her job, she would visit schools to recruit students with disabilities for a leadership development program for youth with disabilities. By talking to these young adults, she realized that there was a need for community building among disabled people.

“We realized the sense of just internalized shame about having a disability was so strong that even though these students were in a special education classroom, they wouldn’t even admit that they had a disability. And so we were like, we’ve got to do something to just flip the script and to show them that they are part of an amazing community that has a rich, wonderful history and that their disabilities are not liabilities, but disabilities are not something to be hidden,” she said.

Two people holding up a large American flag with the international symbol of access made out of the stars in the flag. The wind is blowing from behind the flag, making it jut out from the front.

When Triano attended the National Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities, she met leading disability activists like Justin Dart, Andy Imparato, and Judy Heumann, who specifically encouraged Triano to apply for the Hearne Award and mentored her throughout the application process and beyond. The award directly funded the parade. 

The first year of the parade, Triano said she and the other organizers had difficulty convincing the city to allow them to march along the route from Shedd Aquarium to Soldier Field. Now, Chicago has an honorary street sign labeled Disability Pride Parade Way at the intersection of South Plymouth Court and West Van Buren Street. 

Approximately 1500 people attended the first parade in 2004. Triano envisioned the parade as a celebration, more than a protest.

Two wheelchair users at a protest with their backs turned to the camera sitting on the grass. One of them has a sign visible on the back of their chair. The sign says “disabled and proud” in large, blue, all capital letters with flowers on either side. There are other people with various disabilities visible in the background.

“This was more about, not what are we against, but what are we for. This was sending a message about about what do we want for our community. We wanted a day to just celebrate and to not have to fight,” she said.

She also wanted to make sure all disabled people who wanted to participate in the parade were included.

“I remember that first year, we had a real intense debate about who should be involved in the parade. And there were some folks who were like, we shouldn’t be inviting people in institutional settings to come and I was like, but this is the only place they’re going to hear about disability pride and be exposed to it and hear that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity that they can be proud of. They don’t have to be ashamed of it. And so we were like, okay, everybody’s invited.”

As someone with non-apparent disabilities including an immune system disorder and a mental health condition, it took her time to come to terms with her disability. Triano had to drop out of her PhD in disability studies because she was denied health insurance on the basis of a pre-existing condition. Doctors and therapists have discouraged her from seeking employment opportunities because of her mental health.

“For the rest of my career, I have dedicated my life to making sure that no other person with a disability has to experience the same discrimination in health care that I have,” she said.

Two Black people smiling at the camera. One is a wheelchair user, the other is a woman leaning against him. The wheelchair user is wearing a shirt that says “fighting for a living wage”.

While working at Centene Corporation, she used her connections with the National Council on Independent Living to form the Provider Accessibility Initiative. Teams of staff from centers for independent living conduct site accessibility surveys of doctors offices in their network and develop a plan to address disability access barriers they identify. Centene has provided over $2 million in grants to doctors offices to improve their accessibility. Triano now works as the Associate Director of Longterm Services and Supports and Disability Policy at the Center for Health Care Strategies.

When asked what advice she has for the next generation of disability activists, Triano encouraged the disability community to learn how to be self-reliant during this time full of cuts to government programs that support disabled people.

“I think this is a critical moment in time for us, and the fights that we’re doing are so important,” she said. “We absolutely have to have a portion of our community out there on the front lines like ADAPT, like AAPD, fighting the cuts, fighting these things, but we also absolutely need to come together as a community and say, how can we support ourselves without being reliant on these other systems?”

Even in the midst of cuts and harmful policies, Triano hopes that activists will still lead with love.

“The final thing I’ve learned over the course of my career is good things can be fueled by anger. Necessary things happen when you get angry, but there also needs to be space for love. You need to have a space for that love, advocacy from a place of love and seeing the humanity in your perceived opponents, seeing the possibility for change within everybody.”

The post How the Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award Helped Sarah Triano Make Disability History appeared first on AAPD.

Christine Liao, Vice President of Programs
I first truly felt and knew disability pride when I was in community with other disabled folks. It was then that I learned that pride is not solitary, because I am not meant to be alone. None of us are. I feel pride not just because I love myself, but because I am part of a collective act of love to everyone in my community.

Alexia Kemerling, Director of Accessible Democracy
In my life, finding disability pride has created space for me to find humor, friends, and deaf gains. I love that even across so many different disability experiences, our community connects in so many ways. I feel so lucky and grateful to get to live among so many fabulous people with disabilities — in both times of shared struggle and times of deep joy. Access is love.

Kyle Khachadurian, Content Producer
It took me too long to even grasp the concept of disability pride, and so I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do every year. Being able to find community, love, and support in people “just like you”, even if they have different disabilities, is a gift. Helping each other navigate through ableist systems and an inaccessible world makes the harsh reality of those things feel like community.

Gabi Reyes-Acosta, Program Manager
For me, disability pride is more than the listicles and toolkits I see get posted every July, signaling that the world is paying attention to disability but only for this month. It’s more than just a celebration even- it’s a recognition and a reflection. Disability Pride Month is a recognition of those who came before me, who crawled up steps and sat for hours and didn’t stay quiet. It’s also a time for me to reflect and to find joy even now, when the communities I am part of and hold dear are under attack. Joy is what I try to hold onto this month and beyond, and I am thankful for those who paved the way for me and others, and those who are doing that work now. They can’t take away my joy, my unwillingness to hide or stay silent, and that feels like radical resistance and it feels like pride.”

Maria Town, President and CEO
For me, having disability pride does not mean loving your disability all the time. And it isn’t just about feeling good about yourself. My disability pride recognizes the fullness of my disability, the good, the bad, the beautiful, the messy parts of it and makes it possible for me to know deep in my core that no matter what I experience, I belong as I am. My disability pride helps me realize everyday that my disabled life is worth living, and it gives me the motivation to dream of and build toward a future that is worth living in. 

Rachita Singh, Policy Manager
In 2021, at my first virtual AAPD gala after party, one of our Hearne awardees was talking about his experience with epilepsy and ableism in school and in response one of our board members Joyce Bender said this: “When you live with epilepsy it means you got so many neurons firing up – you got firepower.” It was the first time since I got diagnosed with epilepsy that someone put such a positive spin on epilepsy and meant so much that I even got it tattooed. To me “disability pride” is equivalent to “firepower” – a word that reminds me that having epilepsy is not a drawback but instead a part of my identity and has led me to where I am. It also means being part of a community that helps you truly realize that. 

Naomi Hess, Editorial Manager
When I think of disability pride, I am most proud of being part of a community as compassionate, driven, diverse, and supportive as the disability community. The sense of solidarity and interdependence I feel when I am with other disabled people has brought so much happiness and purpose into my life. I am proud of all the disability activists who have come before me and proud to be committed to furthering disability rights now.

Michael Lewis, Vice President of Policy
For me, Disability Pride Month is a chance to reflect on my achievements as a man with a disability and the hard-won victories of our community made possible by the passage of the ADA. It is difficult to imagine that within my four decades on this planet, there was a time when our world was full of barriers to independence, work, and opportunity for people like me. We’ve come far, but we still have a long way to go to realize a fully accessible, equitable world for people with disabilities. As I celebrate 35 years of the landmark law that makes so much of my life possible, I also recommit myself to the work that lies ahead for our community, in order that the promises of the ADA are realized for all.

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