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PORTLAND, Maine

UNE graduate student LEND trainees advocate for disability rights in D.C.

LEND trainees Lauren Bartholomew and Aly Deardorff visit with Senator Susan Collins on Capitol Hill.
LEND trainees Lauren Bartholomew and Aly Deardorff visit with Senator Susan Collins on Capitol Hill.

Seven trainees in the Maine Leadership Education for people with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program, including five UNE graduate students, traveled to Washington, D.C., from April 7 to 10, 2019, to attend the Disability Policy Seminar (DPS2019).  This seminar was sponsored by the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD), an organization that helps people with disabilities, their families, and associated professionals to have a more powerful influence on policy decisions. 

Maine LEND Training Director and Department of Occupational Therapy Clinical Professor Kathryn Loukas, O.T.D., M.S., OTR/L, FAOTA, accompanied two M.S.O.T. Class of 2019 members, Lauren Bartholomew and Adrianna Schultz, and three D.P.T. Class of 2019 members, Aly Deardorff, Karla Pagan-Rodriquez, and Denise Tso, along with University of Southern Maine Master of Social Work student Megan Kemna and self-advocate Eric McVay.

While in D.C., the trainees spent time on Capitol Hill to perform advocacy work related to the seminar. In addition to touring the Capitol (and sitting in the senate chambers to complete their LEND policy training), the group learned about and advocated for the reauthorization of the Autism CARES act, the EMPOWER act to support community living, Medicaid and health care, education and issues related to federal funding through visits with Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and staff members from the offices of U.S. Representatives Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree.

Two days following the advocacy visits, both Senator Collins and Representative Golden signed on to co-sponsor the Autism CARES act, and Senator King signed on shortly thereafter.

In addition to attending the Disability Policy Seminar, the LEND trainees performed advocacy work on Capitol Hill for a variety
In addition to attending the Disability Policy Seminar, the LEND trainees performed advocacy work on Capitol Hill for a variety of legislative measures, including the Autism CARES act, to which Senator Collins and Representative Golden soon after signed on as co-sponsors.

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.