AAPD Announces
2005 Summer Congressional Interns
College Students with Disabilities
to Work in Congressional Offices
June, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mariana V. Nork
202-457-0046
Washington, DC, June 1, 2005 - The American Association
of People with Disabilities (AAPD) announces that eight students have been
selected to participate in the 2005 Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation–AAPD
Congressional Internship Program. This program is made possible by a
generous grant from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation.
This congressional internship program, a paid summer internship program
that was launched in 2002 with a grant from the Mitsubishi Electric America
Foundation, was designed to provide college and university students with
disabilities the opportunity to obtain first-hand knowledge of the legislative
and political process, and a unique learning experience that enriches their
educational endeavors and enhances their future career opportunities.
2005 Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation–AAPD Congressional
Internships have been awarded to the following students, who have
been selected on the basis of a written application and personal interviews.
Jack M. Brandt of McGaheysville, Virginia, attends James
Madison University, where he is majoring in Political Science and has worked
to modify art for individuals with mobility disabilities. He will graduate
May 2006. Jack has attended various institutions of higher education, affording
him new perspectives on disabilities and where he worked to bring disability
issues to the attention of both students and faculty members. He hopes to
continue this work during the course of this congressional internship, because
he believes there needs to be a mutual understanding between people with
disabilities and this country’s policymakers. Jack also hopes to be
afforded the chance to offer ideas and insight on how congressional leaders
can address the complexities of the issue of employment for people with significant
disabilities. He is active in several disability organizations, including
Society for Disability Studies, TASH, and the Valley Association of Independent
Living, where he is also a member of its Advocacy Board. He has been the
recipient of many awards, including the Founders Award from Order of the
Arrow, and a Benson Fellowship from St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and
has made presentations at disability-related conferences, including “Claiming
Self Identity” at the 2004 TASH National Conference. Jack will be interning
in the office of Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY).
Jonathan Brostoff of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attends the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), where he serves on the Student Senate
and on the Educational Technology, Library, and Finance committees. He co-founded
and is now an officer of a UWM campus organization that promotes a positive
cultural understanding of Israel, and also co-founded and serves as president
of Compa Global Justice, a grassroots social justice study and action group
that concentrates on Latin American labor and migrant worker issues. Jonathan
has been very active in the community, which includes his current work with
Big Brother Big Sister Milwaukee and the work he has done to register youth
voters as a City of Milwaukee Voter Registrar. He has also been a counselor
at a camp for children with special needs, a peer counselor for Pathfinders
for Runaways, and served an apprenticeship with Public Allies Milwaukee.
He received a Youth Leadership Award from Urban Underground and the Wisconsin
ACLU. Jonathan will be interning in the office of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Zachary S. Coble of Winfield, Kansas, is pursuing degrees
in Political Science and Applied Behavioral Science at the University of
Kansas. He will graduate in May 2007. On campus, Zach serves as President
of the campus disability group and is Stephenson Scholarship Hall Alumni
Relations Chair. He also has extensive volunteer activities, including Student
Leader for the Project Dove youth volunteer program, is a member of the Association
of Programs for Rural Independence Living Youth Pre-Conference Planning Committee
and is a member of the Kansas Youth Leadership Forum Leadership Team. Zach
is also a member of the Derby (Kansas) Free Spirits physically disabled track
team. Through this Congressional Internship experience, he hopes to form
a better understanding of the intricacies and functions of government and
that it will be a jumping off point to pursuing his lifelong goal of reshaping
society to not look at disability as a hindrance, but as a trait to be respected.
Zach will be interning in the office of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
Nicole Fels of Beverly Hills, California, attends The University
of California, Berkeley, where she is majoring in Linguistics, and will graduate
in May 2007. She works with the university on providing training for professors
and staff who teach and work with students with disabilities. She has been
the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Lifetime Member of
Phi Theta Kappa and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars
and of Alpha Gamma Sigma, and was twice profiled in Who’s Who Among
American High School Students. Nicole has participated in the drafting
of a law proposal for protecting people with non-visible disabilities from
police brutality and has spoken at and participated in various disability-related
conferences, including a California Association of Peer Programs (CAPP) Conference.
Her significant volunteer work includes Teen Line, a crisis hotline. Nicole’s
goal is to learn how to effect changes through policies related to disability
issues, and her passion is to aid in the integration of people with disabilities
into society where they are not perceived negatively. Nicole will be interning
in the office of Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
Paul A. Fogle of Annville, Pennsylvania, attends Pennsylvania
State University where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree and will
graduate in May 2006. On the university’s Harrisburg campus, he is
currently Chair of the student government association and of College Republicans
Chairman. Previously, he interned with his state representative, Mauree Gingrich,
which afforded him the opportunity to interact with the state legislature
and local municipal leaders. In 2004, he interned with two political campaigns,
including the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign. Paul has volunteered
as a counselor at a summer camp for ventilator-assisted children and participated
in National Youth Leadership Network conferences. Through this congressional
internship, he strives to exercise the skills he acquired in previous governmental
and political experiences. Paul will be interning in the office of Senator
Sam Brownback (R-KS).
Jason Gallagher of Olathe, Kansas, attends Rockhurst University
where he is majoring in Political Science. He is a member of the Rockhurst
Student Senate. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors,
including recognition from the Kansas Disability Caucus for “outstanding
commitment and leadership to the issues and needs of people with disabilities” and
was the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Missouri State Goodwill Ambassador,
in which capacity he learned the importance of cause advocacy. Jason was
a Peer Specialist at the Resource Center for Independent Living, where he
worked to help individuals with disabilities with employment skills and empower
them through independent living skills; he was also a
board member of the Statewide Independent Living council. Jason spent one
semester lobbying for issues at the Kansas Statehouse, learning firsthand
about policy and parliamentary procedure, and volunteered with the Dennis
Moore for Congress Re-election Campaign. He created the Living by Choice;
Not Chance booklet for the Big Tent Coalition, which described the effects
of budget cuts on Kansans with disabilities. Jason will be interning in the
office of Congressman Dennis Moore (D-KS).
Cristina Maria Moraes Hartmann of Fayetteville, New York,
attends Cornell University, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree
in History and expects to graduate in May 2007. At Cornell, she is President
of Cornell Union of Disability Awareness, which she founded, is an Orientation
Leader, helping new students to transition to college life, and is a member
of Kappa Delta Sorority. During high school, Hartmann was President of the
American Sign Language (ASL) Club. Her numerous awards include the Ayers
Prize for Community Service and Character Development and a Cornell University
Book Award. Hartmann’s dream is to be a civil rights lawyer, in which
capacity she can help disabled and non-disabled people have their voices
heard by the judicial branch and help effect change to public policy in favor
of the disability community. She believes this congressional internship will
accentuate her interest in civil rights and disability rights, and afford
her invaluable experience in public policy. Hartmann will be interning in
the office of Congressman Major Owens (D-NY).
Andrew S. Phillips of Piedmont, California attends Gallaudet
University, where he is majoring in Government. He will graduate spring 2006.
On campus, Andrew is a Class Senator, the Kappa Gamma Fraternity Recording
Secretary and a Judicial Board Member. He also served as Director of Academic
Affairs for the student body government, a Teacher’s Aide for Honors
First Year Seminar, student representative for the Academic Integrity Committee,
student representative for Council on Undergraduate Education and a Social
Club Volunteer for the Deaf Way II International Conference. Andrew was also
Winning Team Captain for the National Association of the Deaf College Bowl
and has competed in College Bowl competitions. By way of an internship with
the Center for Independent Living-Russian Program in Berkeley, California,
he was a member of a delegation to Russia, where he worked with members of
the Deaf and disability communities and service providers. He was recipient
of a Clayton G. and Edna Blake Scholarship, a Tina M. Sankoff Foundation
Scholarship and a Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation Scholarship, and is a
Presidential Academic Merit Scholarship at Gallaudet. Andrew will be interning
in the office of Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).
Additionally and thanks to a grant from The Henry H. Kessler Foundation,
AAPD has awarded another 2005 Congressional Internship. Jennifer
Ann Fitz-Roy of Clifton, New Jersey, attends Boston College and
is in an accelerated five-year program in the Graduate School of Social Work.
She will receive a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development in May 2006 and
a Master of Social Work in May 2007. On campus, Jennifer is an undergraduate
research assistant for the Early Intervention Collaborative Study. She has
demonstrated strong leadership skills as a member of the National Council
on Disability Youth Advisory Committee, Governing Board Secretary of the
National Youth Leadership Network and member of the Jenks Leadership Program.
She also co-founded and now chairs the Boston College Disability Council.
Her community service work has included volunteer work with the Spina Bifida
Association of America Mentoring Advisory Committee, Mobility International
USA Youth Outreach Team, Massachusetts Spina Bifida Association and the National
Disabled Student Union. Jennifer has participated in disability conferences,
including the Spina Bifida Association of America annual conferences and
the 2004 World Congress of Rehabilitation International, and was a delegate
at the International Children’s Congress on Inclusion of Children with
Disabilities and Mobility International USA England Exchange Program. She
has been the recipient of several scholarships. Jennifer, who seeks to gain
firsthand experience with policy through this congressional internship, will
be interning in the office of Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ).
All congressional interns will begin their internship placements this week,
following a thorough orientation.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country’s
largest cross-disability membership organization, promotes the economic and
political empowerment of all children and adults with disabilities in the
U.S. AAPD was founded in 1995 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 (ADA).
For information regarding internship opportunities available
through AAPD, contact AAPD toll-free at 800-840-8844 (V/TTY) or by
e-mail,
or visit the AAPD website.
American Association of People with Disabilities
1629 K Street NW, Suite 503
Washington, DC 20006
