2004 AAPD LEADERSHIP GALA WILL BE MARCH 16
February 2004

From AAPD:

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) will hold its third-annual Leadership Gala on Tuesday, March 16 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. Honorees will include the recipients of the Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Awards, the Henry B. Betts Award recipient, and Linda Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO.

Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Awards will be presented to three emerging leaders of the disability rights movement: Cheri Blauwet, founder of the International Institute for Disability Advocacy (IIDA) and a four-time Paralympic medal winner and international wheelchair racer; Alison Ashley Hillman, a psychiatric survivor who went on to receive a prestigious New Voices Fellowship to work with Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) and through which she is now Director of MDRI's Americas Advocacy Initiative; and Kevin Long, who co-founded the Global Deaf Connection (GDC) after serving as a volunteer teacher at a school for Deaf children in Kenya and who works for better education and leadership creation for Deaf communities in developing countries.

This year's Henry B. Betts Award recipient is The Honorable Susan M. Daniels, an extraordinary longtime disability rights advocate, and former Deputy Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs of the Social Security Administration where she laid the foundation for the landmark Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act (TWWIIA).

At the Gala, AAPD will present its first annual Linda Chavez-Thompson Award to Ms. Chavez-Thompson, in recognition of her longstanding leadership towards the inclusion of people with disabilities and their families within the labor movement.

Other guest speakers and participants will include The Honorable Don Evans, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Masters of Ceremonies will be The Honorable Tony Coelho and John Kemp.

The 2004 AAPD Leadership Gala will begin with a reception, 5:45-6:45 p.m., followed by the dinner and awards program, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Tickets are $85 each and may be purchased either by calling 703-556-4245 (voice) or 703-556-0448 (TTY), or by downloading the ticket purchase form.

Visit the AAPD website for all Gala information; call AAPD at 202-457-0046 (V/TTY) or 800-840-8844 with any additional questions.

We look forward to celebrating with you on March 16th!

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