Veronica Bio: 

Veronica E. Villalobos is the Board Chair of AAPD. She is also the Vice President for the Institute for Strategic Social & Workforce Programs (S2W) at Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network. She makes health plans that make sure people have access to care. She makes sure that employers try to be more community-focused. Before this job, she worked in the federal government. She worked at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for over 10 years. There, she helped over 100,000 people with disabilities get good jobs.

Before that, she worked at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). There, she was an attorney.

Veronica went to college at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana. After that, she got her law degree from American University. She is a member of the Maryland Bar. She serves on several Boards, in addition to AAPD. She serves on the Boards of Bender Leadership Academy, the Center for Disability Inclusion, Disability LEAD Pittsburgh, the Epilepsy Association of Western Central Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh’s Latino Community Center.

Biography of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) is an activist, a legislator, a survivor, and the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Throughout her time in Congress, Congresswoman Pressley has been a champion for justice and healing: disability justice, reproductive justice, justice for immigrants, consumer justice, justice for seniors, justice for workers, justice for survivors of sexual violence, justice for the formerly and currently incarcerated individuals, and healing for those who have experienced trauma.

In 2020, Congresswoman Pressley bravely revealed her experience living with alopecia. She has turned her lived experience into action, becoming a leading voice fighting to raise awareness and support for the Alopecian community across the nation.

AAPD’s Earliest History

Right after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed Paul G. Hearne and John K. Kemp had a meeting in Washington, D.C. They wanted to talk about disabled people. They talked about the problems that disabled people faced. They also talked about disability rights. They wanted to form an organization run by and for people with disabilities.

Over the next few years, their idea brought together a group of disability leaders. They made an organization called the National Disabilities Study Group. They created this organization for business purposes, but it had a social focus too. It brought together disabled people by hosting holiday parties and other events. This led to a solid base of supporters who all loved the mission of what would become AAPD. This original group of supporters shaped AAPD’s approach to disability.

The organization had a vision. They wanted to bring together groups of people with various disabilities. This was to represent the diversity of disability across the country. This was becoming a reality. The organization also focused on people with disabilities as consumers. People with disabilities spend money on medical equipment and other goods. The founders thought a membership organization could focus the economic power of disabled people.

AAPD’s founders selected people who represented the diversity of the community. They made these choices very carefully. They were: Paul Hearne, John Kemp, Dr. Sylvia Walker, Justin Dart, and Dr. I. King Jordan. On May 31, the Articles of Incorporation were approved.

These founders created AAPD to further the productivity and total integration of disabled people in society. This meant several things. They wanted to make sure the ADA works as it should. Full implementation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. They wanted to make sure the laws are followed. They supported policy goals that improve the lives of people with disabilities. This included making sure they have enough money and good jobs. They also wanted to make sure people with disabilities could live independently. This did not start and end with housing. This also included things like technology that could help them. They also educated the public and government on issues that disabled people faced.

Over the next 30 years, AAPD has continued to evolve. AAPD played a large part in passing some laws that have helped disabled people. Many of these laws advance the goals of the ADA. These include the ADA Amendments Act and the 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act. AAPD also helped form regulations to help disabled people have equal rights in other areas. These include places like doctor’s offices, hospitals, websites, and even airplanes.

One key to AAPD’s success is that it puts disabled people first. In its advocacy efforts, lived experience is very important. Seeing disabled people gathered in community is very important. These made some of AAPD’s campaigns more impactful. These campaigns includethe Spirit of the ADA Torch Relay, March for Justice, and, most recently, the Protect Medicaid campaign.

AAPD prioritizes the next generation of disability leaders. Our programs recognize the importance of disablity elders. They also pave the way for the future of the movement.

Since the beginning, AAPD has prioritized disabled people in civic engagement. AAPD has a whole dedicated team for accessible democracy. This started as The Disability Vote Project. The goal was to educate people on candidates’ positions on disability issues. That lives on today in our “REV UP” campaign. REV UP supports disability voting efforts in 48 states. REV UP also helps AAPD make sure disabled people talk directly to lawmakers in Congress.

One of the keys to AAPD’s success is working with others. We work with other disability organizations, partners, and individuals. This makes our voice more impactful. We have done this for the last 30 years. We will continue this in the future.

AAPD has led the creations of several groups of people who work together for a common goal. Some examples include: the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition, National Coalition for Accessible Voting, Tech Forum, and We Will Ride Coalition.

AAPD also works with corporations. In 2002, AAPD worked with Digital Credit Union. This allowed disabled people to access bank accounts. Today, AAPD has the Access Coalition. They focus on making stores more inclusive and accessible.

We will continue working in every way we can with partners who can empower disabled people.

AAPD Internship Program

AAPD launched its Summer Internship Program in 2002. AAPD wanted to help students develop their disability identities. AAPD also wanted to positively shape the future of workplaces and communities. AAPD helps people get better jobs, and connects them to other disabled professionals.

AAPD matches interns with agencies in the federal government or lawmakers. They also get matched with companies or nonprofit organizations.

These are paid positions. AAPD provides interns with a mentor and a place to live for the summer. Interns work in-person and remotely in Washington, D.C, or completely remotely.

The internship program has become very popular in recent years.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 and 2021 internships were fully virtual. In 2022, interns had the choice of remote or hybrid in D.C. In 2023, AAPD added a second internship program in Fall. The Fall Internship Program offers a fully virtual and part-time internship. This allows for more flexibility. AAPD has increased its outreach to specific types of colleges. Examples include: Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and Minority Serving Institutions. AAPD also increased outreach to programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

AAPD hired a firm to look at how well the Summer Internship Program has done over the last 20 years. The report will come out on December 1. It shows that the program has had a large, positive impact on their careers.

AAPD also has the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship. It provides eight scholarships to people in higher education, as well as high school seniors. We give this scholarship out every fall.

This scholarship comes from support from NBCUniversal. It is for students interested in careers in media, communications, or entertainment.

Tony Coelho was one of the primary authors and sponsors of the ADA. We named this award after him to honor that.

Coelho has been a partner to and supporter of AAPD since the beginning. He spoke at AAPD’s launch party on July 26, 1995. AAPD is bipartisan. That means it is neither Democrat nor Republican leaning. We work with everyone to fight for disability rights. Rep. Coelho is a Democrat. He stood with another lead sponsor of the ADA: Senator Bob Dole. Senator Dole is a Republican. They spoke together to show that AAPD is bipartisan.