FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mariana Nork
(202) 457-0046, x24


Ohio Resident to Be Honored
in Washington, DC on March 7

TyKiah Wright to Receive a 2007 Paul G. Hearne/
AAPD Leadership Award

March 4, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is delighted to announce that TyKiah R. Wright of Columbus, Ohio, will receive one of two 2007 Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Awards. She will be an honored guest at the sixth-annual AAPD Leadership Gala on March 7, 2007 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. Rep. Charles Rangel has been invited to make the award presentation to Wright on AAPD’s behalf.

Wright is a strong advocate who used her personal experience and entrepreneurial skills to establish WrightChoice, Inc. in Ohio. Wright grew up with Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder that affects the lower leg and arm muscles. After receiving a Master's of Business Administration degree, she 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.

The nonprofit organization she created, WrightChoice, Inc., helps build bridges between college students with disabilities and the workforce, complementing their educational experience with on-the-job training. It also addresses diversity related training needs for employers, offering seminars focused on disability awareness, the use of technology in the workplace, and leadership.

Wright's 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."

Her 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.

This awards 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.

AAPD - the largest cross-disability membership organization in the country - organizes the disability community to be a powerful force for change…economically, socially, and politically. It was founded in 1995 by a group of cross-disability leaders to help 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: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.

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