Maine LEND Trainees advocate for those with disabilities on Capitol Hill

Taylor Cahill, Kim Humphrey and Sanaa Abaljabbar meet with Senator Susan Collins
Taylor Cahill, Kim Humphrey and Sanaa Abaljabbar meet with Senator Susan Collins

Seven Maine LEND (Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Trainees traveled to Washington D.C. where they met with Maine’s congressional delegation and attended the Disability Policy Seminar (DPS2018).

The conference, sponsored by the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD), helps people with disabilities, their families and associated professionals have a more powerful influence on policy decisions. Trainees learned about issues of civil rights, community living and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Medicaid and health care, education and issues related to federal funding.

Advocacy on Capitol Hill included trainee-led visits with Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and staff meetings with representatives from the Poliquin and Pingree offices. The trainees were also able to tour the Capitol and sit in the Senate chambers to complete their LEND policy training. 

Sanaa Abduljabbar, family trainee and community health outreach worker; Alex Buscack, speech and language pathologist; Taylor Cahill, (M.S.O.T. ‘18), Kim Humphrey, M.P.H; Seth Hunsicker, (M.S.W., ‘18); Lindsey Rose, (D.P.T., ‘18) and Lindsay Spencer (M.S.O.T., ‘18) attended the conference and Capitol Hill visits along with Maine LEND Training Director and Clinical Professor of Occupational Therapy, Kathryn Loukas O.T.D., M.S., OTR/L, FAOTA.

To learn more about the Maine LEND program, visit www.une.edu/LEND

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions

Senator Angus King with LEND Trainees Lindsey Rose, Taylor Cahill and Lindsay Spencer
Senator Angus King with LEND Trainees Lindsey Rose, Taylor Cahill and Lindsay Spencer
LEND Trainees at the Capitol
LEND Trainees at the Capitol

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.