The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) hosted over 500 disability rights leaders at their annual ADA Celebration, which took place on July 26th, the anniversary date the ADA was signed into law. With over 300 in-person guests and over 200 guests participating virtually, it was a robust and committed group of leaders attending the celebration. Eric Vaughn from NSSTA attended as a supporter and as a member of AAPD's Board of Directors, a position he has held for over twelve years.
The ADA turned 33 years old this week and reminded us that great things can be accomplished when we come together. The ADA was passed due to bipartisan leadership, which emulates AAPD's position of working across the aisle to achieve results for tens of millions of Americans with disabilities. Together, we know that change is possible, but we must keep fighting. The ADA Celebration reminds us all of the work left to do. NSSTA has been proud to serve as a National Partner with AAPD for over 15 years and looks forward to what we can do together in the years to come around disability rights and inclusion.
The celebration brought together national, regional, and local leaders in the disability and allied community who work together to create and implement change. Included in the list of attendees were elected and appointed officials, including: U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Senator John Fetterman, Congressman Steny Hoyer, and Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg.
The celebration followed a meeting of AAPD's Disability Advisory Roundtable to discuss policy issues and ways we can collaborate on behalf of the community. NSSTA and several structured settlement industry leaders, including; Prudential, Pacific Life, MetLIfe, Arcadia, New York Life, American General (Core Bridge), NFP Settlements and Ringler are all founding members of the Disability Advisory Roundtable and is proud to support this new and exciting initiative.
You can learn more about AAPD and their work by visiting their site at www.aapd.com.
