The best ideas come from the American people. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a part to play.

All across the country, ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We invite these Champions of Change to the White House to share their ideas to win the future.

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Disability Advocates Across Generations

The White House will honor nine disability advocates across generations; the event will be held in conjunction with celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).


Dilshad D. Ali has been working in the field of autism and disability advocacy for nearly ten years. Through her work as an advocate with the Virginia Autism Project, she helped facilitate the...

Mike Ellis is the National Director for Sprint Relay, the nation’s largest Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) provider for the past 25 years. Under his leadership, Sprint Relay continues to...

As the Assistant Director of Campus Recreation for Adapted Sports and Recreation at the University of Texas at Arlington, Doug Garner works to provide sport programs and opportunities for active...

Sandy Ho serves on the Easter Seals Massachusetts State Board of Directors and is the Chair of the Youth Leadership and Transition Committee. She graduated from Lesley University with a degree in...

Catherine Hutchinson had a brain stem stroke at the age of 43, and the stroke left her quadriplegic and nonverbal. Cathy was institutionalized and went on to share her experience of...

Talila A. Lewis is an activist-attorney whose advocacy and research primarily focus on creating equal access to the legal system for individuals who are deaf and people with disabilities. As the...

Brian Meersma is a sophomore at Cornell University studying Industrial and Labor Relations. After realizing the ways in which assistive technology help him as a student with dyslexia, he started...

Maxwell Barrows is a young man with Autism, who works for Green Mountain Self-Advocates, a disability rights organization in Vermont. As the Outreach Director, he mentors youth and adults with...

Dior Vargas is a Latina Feminist Mental Health Activist. She is a CrisisTextLine crisis counselor and a facilitator for the Young Adult Support Group at National Alliance on Mental Illness-NYC...

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