MARTHA E. (MARTY) FORD, JD

"I came to this field because my younger brother, Jud, was born in 1956 with profound intellectual disability and autism. Long before the law establishing the right to a free, appropriate, public education, he was expelled for disability-related behavior from a public, segregated, special education school.

I believe that each person has a role — a unique and important role — in their own time and in their own place, and given the circumstances with which they are faced. The joining of our efforts into a larger whole, working together, is what can make us an unstoppable force with impacts well beyond our immediate surroundings.

In our role as advocates, working together, we must be eternally vigilant — we must never rest on policy achievements of the past, but must protect them from opponents who would destroy them, and we must continually look forward for what still needs to be done."

Marty Ford, JD, is a Senior Advisor in Public Policy at The Arc of the United States, a national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Ms. Ford is a recognized leader in federal public policy affecting people with disabilities, and with 37 years of experience representing The Arc on Capitol Hill, and before federal agencies in long-term services and supports, Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and other disability issues.

issues. She worked extensively on numerous Medicaid issues of importance to individuals with IDD and their families, including the development of the law around special needs trusts that are allowed for certain Medicaid and SSI beneficiaries, and the ABLE program that allows people in certain circumstances to save funds without impact

ing their Medicaid or SSI eligibility. She also successfully co-led major efforts to save the SSI program for children with disabilities when it was under major attack in Congress and in the press and to save the Medicaid program for people with disabilities from block grants or other devastating changes and cuts.

She worked on numerous other policy issues including: discriminatory removal of life-sustaining food and hydration based on disability; prohibition of the death penalty for people with ID; discrimination against people with IDD in the provision of healthcare; guardianship and less restrictive alternatives such as supported decisionmaking; protection from discrimination against people with IDD under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the inclusion of long-term supports and services in the Affordable Care Act

Ms. Ford received her J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center; M.S. in Communications Design from Pratt Institute; and B.A. from the University of Virginia. Her brother, Jud, has been a guiding force throughout her life.

AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE: In our role as advocates, working together, we must be eternally vigilant — we must never rest on policy achievements of the past, but must protect them from opponents who would destroy them'"

SUSAN M. HAVERCAMP, PHD, FAAIDD, NADD-CC

"I believe that health is closely related to quality of life. People with disabilities have a right to make informed health choices and to receive high quality, respectful healthcare. In my disability and health work, I have had the privilege of teaching people with disabilities and their families about health, in addition to teaching healthcare professionals about caring for patients with disabilities. I strongly believe that education is the solution to

many health inequities people with disabilities face."

Susan M. Havercamp, PhD, FAAIDD, NADD-CC, directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Ohio Disability and Health Program, a state, capacity-building program to improve the health of Ohioans with disabilities. In this role, she works closely with the Ohio Department of Health, the University of Cincinnati University Center for

Excellence on Developmental Disabilities, and the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center. This program contributed to our understanding of health disparities for people with disabilities, developing inclusive health promotion programs for people with disabilities, and providing disability training for physicians, nurses, and other health professional students and practitioners.

Dr. Havercamp is the Principal Investigator of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center to improve the health and function of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions. She serves the disability field as a consulting editor for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Disability and Health Journal, and Inclusion, and was a founding member of the Student and Early Career Professional Committee. She is past president of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education.

THE KEY IS KNOWLEDGE: "Education is the solution to many health inequities people with disabilities face."