The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is pleased to announce its 2026 Fall Internship Program Cohort! AAPD fall interns have spent the past several weeks at their internship placement sites, where they’ve been developing new skills and forming connections while gaining insight from leaders in the disability community during the weekly Friday community events.
The AAPD Fall Internship Program, now in its fourth year, builds on the success of AAPD’s Internship Program model designed to develop stronger disability identities within students and graduates with disabilities, so they can better shape the future of our workplaces and communities. Due to the fully virtual and part-time format of this opportunity, our fall Internship Program provides flexible opportunities for interns to access meaningful employment, gain leadership skills, and connect to the broader disability community. This year’s program began in late August and will conclude in early December.
During the program, AAPD provides interns with competitive wages, technology support, dedicated mentorship, and access to many networking and educational opportunities. Interns also participate in weekly community events, where they connect with disabled leaders, build community, and learn how to advocate for key issues within the disability community. The fall interns met in-person at the end of July during the week of the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, prior to the start of the internship, to build connections, get to know each other, and meet AAPD staff and summer interns.
During their visit to Washington, DC in July, the fall AAPD interns attended many events and activities, such as:
- The ADA 36 National Council on Independent Living March and Rally
- Brunch social to network with AAPD Staff and in-house interns
- Professional headshots from RXNCO Studios
- Meet & Greet with AAPD’s Board of Directors
- AAPD’s annual Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary Celebration
- Disability Object Talk with curator Katherine Ott at the National Museum of American History
- VIA Characters Strengths Assessment & Group Activity
- Farewell Dinner with fellow fall interns and the AAPD internship staff
The 2026 Fall Internship Class is:
- Cheri Montgomery (she/her) – Little Lobbyists
- Gabrielle Runyon (she/her) – Disability EmpowHer Network
- Laila Sayegh (she/her) – National Council on Disability
- Maria Fernanda Llave (she/her) – Disability Policy Foundry
- Miri Hawkins Nannestad (he/him) – National Disability Rights Network
- Molli Vandehey (she/her) – Crip the Law
- Tre Madden (they/them) – The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies
- Tori Simpson (she/her) – Caring Across Generations
- Vanessa Llamas (she/ella) – Minds of All Kinds
- Veda Iyer (they/them) – Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Read the fall 2026 interns’ full bios and learn more about them here.
The 2026 AAPD Fall Internship Program would not be possible without the generous support of Arconic Foundation.