Liz Weintraub

Liz Weintraub has a long history of leadership in self advocacy, and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations. She is a full time member of the policy team at AUCD (Association of University Centers on Disabilities) and also the host of Tuesdays With Liz: Disability Policy For All, a podcast where she attempts to make polices in accessible language so policy is accessible to all.

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In the Spring of 2018, Liz served as a Fellow for Senator Casey of Pennsylvania, working in his DC Office where she helped lead the way on disability policy by helping the Senator hold the administration accountable for disability stakeholder input into key programs; calling attention to the need for accessible supports and services for students and employees with disabilities on college campuses who have been sexually assaulted, which resulted in a S.2530; and helped organize a first of its kind Pennsylvania Disability Employment Summit with over 250 participants. Said Senator Casey, "Liz has shown the Senate how important it is to have staff members who have developmental and intellectual disabilities. She's helped reshape the culture of the Senate."

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Prior to coming to AUCD, Liz worked for the Council on Quality & Leadership (CQL), a national nonprofit that supports excellence in the provision of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Liz recently completed a nine-month interdisciplinary leadership training program at Georgia State University and also recently completed a four-month fellowship with Senator Casey of Pennsylvania on his Aging Committee staff, where she was part of his disability policy staff and worked with the Senate diversity office to promote more professional opportunities for people with intellectual and other types of disabilities on the Hill.

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In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Liz to serve on the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, which advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues affecting the intellectual disability community. Liz is also a past chair of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council. Liz also recently received the Dr. Cathy Pratt Award from the Autism Society of America which recognizes the Professional of the Year.

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In the fall of 2018, Liz told the story of her personal experience as a woman with disabilities as she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the potential implications of a Kavanaugh confirmation to the civil rights of people with disabilities. Read her submitted written testimony and watch her oral testimony on AUCD's website.

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John Mascia

On January 1, 2013, John Mascia became the 17th president of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB), the nation's most comprehensive education and service program for children, adults, and seniors with hearing and vision loss. Established in 1858, AIDB annually serves more than 20,000 individuals through five campus programs in Talladega and eight regional centers located throughout Alabama.

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Dr. Mascia received his Doctorate in Audiology in 2004 from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He holds a Masters Degree in Audiology from Hofstra University, and he received his B.A. degree in Speech Pathology/Audiology from Hofstra University in 1983.

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He began his professional career in 1985 as a consulting audiologist with Great Neck Audiology Associates in Great Neck, NY. He then served as supervising audiologist and senior audiologist with Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center from 1986 to 1989. At that time, he began work with the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults as an audiologist. He served in various positions at the HKNC, including audiologist, supervisor of speech and hearing departments, coordinator of professional services, and national director of field services.

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In January 2005, Dr. Mascia came to AIDB as executive director, Gentry Facility and Regional Centers. In 2009, he was named vice president, adult services at AIDB and served in that position until being appointed president. He is a member and past president of Lions Club international, and he serves on the Boards of numerous civic, charitable, and educational organizations.

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Nicole Jorwic

Nicole Jorwic is the senior director of public policy at The Arc, a national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Prior to joining The Arc policy team, Nicole served as Senior Policy Advisor for the state of Illinois. Prior to that appointment, Nicole served as the CEO/President of the Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, where she continued the Institute’s mission to improve the lives of people with disabilities and assisted the leadership of the state of Illinois in developing public policy driven best practices in serving individuals with disabilities. 

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Nicole is also an accomplished special education attorney and an advocate for students with disabilities, with a focus on transition-aged youth. Nicole received her JD and Child and Family Law Certificate, from Loyola University Chicago. She received her BS from the University of Illinois. Nicole is also a sibling; her brother Chris is 30 and has autism. 

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Tate Hall Fall

The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) is part of the nation's federally-funded protection and advocacy (P&A) system. ADAP provides legal services to Alabamians with disabilities to protect, promote and expand their rights. ADAP is part of the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN). Since joining ADAP, Tate has taken her role very seriously and come to be known as a go-to person regarding voting issues. And with good reason- issues like voting and engagement in census engagement has become more critical now due to disability rights and Medicaid potentially being under attack at any given moment.

 

A proud Auburn alum, Tate earned a bachelor's degree in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, a master's degree in Public Administration, and a Graduate Certificate in Election Administration from the university. Her graduate research focused on voting rights and access to poll sites for people with disabilities. Tate is excited to work with fellow ADAP team members and statewide advocacy groups to educate Alabamians with disabilities about their voting rights and the importance of voting. (Did you know that if people with disabilities had voted at the same rate as people without disabilities in the 2016 presidential election, there would have been about 2.2 million more voters?)