Editorial Manager

Naomi Hess (she/her) is AAPD’s Editorial Manager. In this role, she manages the AAPD blog and strengthens AAPD’s communications by writing and copyediting a wide variety of material, telling disability community and AAPD stories, and supporting advocates as they tell their own stories to effect change. She is passionate about disability justice, with a particular interest in voting accessibility, educational equity, and intersections with gender justice.

Naomi recently worked as a Management and Program Analyst for the Administration for Community Living within the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, she was a Health Research Associate at Mathematica. During her time in the AAPD internship program in 2021, she worked in Congressman Steny Hoyer’s office. 

Naomi graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, where she majored in Public and International Affairs with certificates in Journalism and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is currently a Young Alumni Trustee on the university’s board of trustees. Naomi is currently pursuing a masters degree in Media Advocacy at Northeastern University. In her free time, she likes to read, listen to music, and explore the city.

Strategic and Events Consultant

Christine Chew is the Vice President of Events & Programs at Mida Associates, a DC-based fundraising consulting firm. In this capacity, she serves as a Development Consultant for AAPD.

Christine Chew is a Strategic and Events Consultant at Mida Associates. With over a decade of experience, Christine brings a calm, solutions-oriented leadership style and a versatile background in event production and project management. Christine is a decisive leader known for her ability to manage high-stakes events and programs with clarity, precision, and impact.

She has successfully led large-scale programs involving elected officials, corporate leaders, and community advocates, and is known for her attention to detail, collaborative mindset, and ability to drive complex logistics forward with precision. Christine also holds a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) credential, which complements her strength in coordinating cross-functional teams and streamlining event operations.

Development Consultant

Jason Mida is the President of Mida Associates, a DC-based fundraising consulting firm. In this capacity, he serves a Development Consultant for AAPD.

Jason Mida is the President of Mida Associates LLC, a boutique consulting firm based in Washington, DC that focuses on strategic consulting and event production for various non-profit and advocacy organizations. Prior to consulting, Jason worked at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund where he served as their Vice President of Development, working to elect LGBTQ+ people to local, state, and national office. As a person with a mental health disability, Jason is passionate about his work with AAPD and has been proud to be a consultant with the organization since 2011.

Technology Policy Consultant

Henry Claypool is a Technology Policy Consultant for AAPD. He is the former Director of the Health and Human Services Office on Disability and a founding Principal Deputy Administrator of the Administration for Community Living. He also served as a presidentially-appointed member of the Federal Commission on Long-Term Care, advising Congress on how long-term care can be better provided and financed for the nation’s older adults and people with disabilities, now and in the future, and was Executive Vice President of the American Association of People with Disabilities, which promotes equal opportunity, economic power, independent living and political participation for people with disabilities. He is Affiliated Faculty at the Institute for Health & Aging at UCSF and principal of Claypool Consulting.