 American Association of People with Disabilities
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| NEWS RELEASE | Contact: Mariana V. Nork 202-457-0046, ext. 24 |
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2007 Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Award Recipients Announced
Award Presentations to be made March 7, 2007 in Washington, DC
WASHINGTON, DC, December 14, 2006 — The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) announces that the following two individuals have been selected by a national advisory committee to receive the 2007 Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Awards for emerging leaders with disabilities:
- John Register, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Tykiah Wright, Columbus, Ohio
"AAPD is delighted to be recognizing two extraordinary emerging leaders whose work is having a real impact in opening doors to opportunity and leadership for their colleagues with disabilities," said Andrew J. Imparato, AAPD President and CEO. "We are confident that the recognition they receive at our Leadership Gala will help them to expand their activities and achieve even greater results."
The 2007 Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Award recipients, whose biographies are attached, were selected on a highly competitive application basis by a national advisory committee to receive cash awards of $10,000 each to further their work in the disability community.
This award program was established in 1999 to recognize and carry on the work of Paul G. Hearne, AAPD’s founder and a renowned leader in the national disability community, and to realize Paul’s goal of cultivating emerging leaders to carry on the disability movement. To date, 42 awards of $10,000 each have been made.
AAPD is grateful to the sponsors of the Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Awards Program: Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation.
These award recipients will be honored guests at AAPD’s sixth-annual AAPD Leadership Gala on March 7, 2007 at the Capital Hilton, Washington, DC. During this commemorative event, each recipient will be presented with a cash award, as well as a handsome crystal flame that signifies the passing of the torch of leadership. Members of Congress will make the award presentations.
Founded by Paul G. Hearne in 1995 to give people with disabilities more consumer power and a stronger public voice, AAPD is the country’s largest cross-disability membership organization. AAPD’s mission is to politically and economically empower the more than 50 million people living with disabilities in the U.S. Toward that end, AAPD is dedicated to educating businesses and the general public about disability issues, and providing membership benefits, such as financial services and product discounts. AAPD helps to unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.
Biographies of the 2007 Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Award Recipients
John Register is veteran of the Gulf War, a silver-medalist in the Paralympic Games, and a former Olympic Trials athlete.
While he was training for the 1996 Olympics, Register landed incorrectly after clearing a hurdle and severed a major artery in his left leg. He chose to amputate his leg and wear a prosthesis. Since then, Register has been a strong disability rights advocate who believes that participation in sports can enrich the lives of people with disabilities and change public attitudes towards the disability community.
As the Associate Director of Development and Outreach for the U.S Paralympics, Register was instrumental in the launch of the U.S. Paralympic Academy in 2003. The grassroots program exposes youth and young adults to a variety of Paralympic sports. The interaction with other physically disabled peers challenges the students to learn as much from each other as from the sports.
John also conceived of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Paralympic Military Program, which shows military personnel the powerful role that sports could play in rehabilitation. "With more than 1,000 new amputees and 19,000 seriously injured men and women returning from the Afghan and Iraq war, this initiative is important," Charlie Huebner, the Chief of Paralympics, said, "John's leadership of the Military Program, combined with other U.S. Paralympic outreach efforts, will have a huge impact on these individuals and their families."
Finally, as a member of the State Department's Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities, Register is working to foster positive relations with other governments and help them adopt progressive disabilities initiatives worldwide. It is his goal to grow the Paralympic sports programs by connecting state agencies, schools, businesses and community organizations, to touch the lives of youths in more than 40 states. He also hopes to make the use of recreational therapy a standard part of the military rehabilitation procedure.
Tykiah Wright is a strong advocate who used her personal experience and entrepreneurial skills to establish WrightChoice, Inc. in Ohio. She grew up with Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder that affects the lower leg and arm muscles.
After receiving her Master's of Business Administration degree, Wright found herself unemployed. This experience motivated her to help other high school and college graduates with disabilities strengthen their career development skills and successfully find jobs and internships.
As Erin Riehle, Director of Project SEARCH, explains: "I remember hearing Tykiah speak in Washington, DC. Tykiah was a striking example of how education, hard work and perseverance can lead to achievement. I heard people afterward asking for her advice and recognized that she leads everyday by sharing her very real, very human story."
WrightChoice, Inc. is highly structured and has two divisions. An Intern Program helps build bridges between college students with disabilities and the workforce, complementing their educational experience with on-the-job training. The Good Business Training program addresses diversity related training needs for employers, offering seminars focused on disability awareness, the use of technology in the workplace, and leadership. The non-profit organization publishes a quarterly newsletter and provides six annual career development workshops.
Wright also oversees the Ohio High School/High Tech Program to help youth with disabilities explore jobs in the technology field.
Her belief in economic empowerment for people with disabilities has lead to many honors, including being named one of Ebony Magazine's "2006 Young Leader of the Future."
Wright's top priorities for the next three years include connecting more companies with qualified college graduates and exploring the concept of e-internships for individuals who face transportation barriers.
About the 2007 Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Award Program
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
1629 K Street NW, Suite 503; Washington, DC 20006
VOICE: 202-457-0046 (V/TTY) * FAX: 202-457-0473 * www.aapd.com
(This fax number does not accept unsolicited advertisements.)
