Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) is pleased to announce that Maryland Senator Mary Washington will be honored as a recipient of DRM’s Public Policy Leadership Award. Senator Washington will receive the award at DRM’s 2023 Breaking Barriers Awards Gala on Wednesday, September 20, at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore, Maryland.

This award recognizes leaders who have shown outstanding commitment, dedication and creativity in shaping and advancing legislation that helps create a more inclusive and just world for people with disabilities.

For over twelve years in the Maryland legislature, Senator Washington’s service and leadership in addressing health equity concerns has benefitted numerous Marylanders with disabilities.

In the 2023 legislative session, Senator Washington’s sponsorship of ground-breaking legislation, the Trans Health Equity Act, ensures transgender Marylanders with Medicaid, many of whom have a disability, will receive medically necessary, life-saving care. This a milestone in promoting equity and access to healthcare for all.

Sam Williamson, attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, who advocated in coalition for the passage of the Trans Health Equity Act, said:

“Senator Washington is a strong leader who centers the voices of Maryland’s marginalized communities. We appreciate her steadfast commitment to creating equity in healthcare for all Marylanders.”

Currently, she is a member of Women Legislators of Maryland, holds a leadership position in the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, is an Associate Member of the Latino Legislative Caucus, serves as Chair of the Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review Committee, and serves on the Education, Energy, and Environment Committee after serving on the Judicial Proceedings Committee in the Senate.

To learn more about DRM’s Breaking Barriers Awards Gala, visit DisabilityRightsMD.org/Breaking-Barriers-Gala.

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About Senator Mary Washington:

Senator Mary Washington, born in Philadelphia to two healthcare professionals, has built her life on the principles of hard work and community. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Antioch University, she embarked on a teaching career at a Catholic elementary school. Her dedication to serving at-risk students and her drive to understand the needs of urban communities brought her to Baltimore to study sociology at The Johns Hopkins University where she earned her PhD in 1997.

Senator Washington returned to Pennsylvania for a teaching position at Lehigh University and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Ultimately, Baltimore called her back and has been her chosen home for nearly two decades where she served her city and community in various positions from the Director of the Housing Stat Office at the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, to the Associate Director at the Parks & People Foundation.

In 2010, she made history as Maryland’s first openly LGBTQ+ African-American elected official and the second in the country, when she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

Senator Washington was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 2018 and has spent over 20 years working for Maryland’s 43rd District as a legislator, advocate, and a student of public policy. In nearly a decade as Delegate and Senator, she has distinguished herself as a leader by fighting for affordable access to water, protecting families at risk of losing their homes to unfair tax sales and foreclosures, making sure Baltimore City schools get the fair and equitable funding they deserve, and helping unaccompanied homeless youths get the services and support they need to succeed. From 2015 – 16, she served as the Deputy Majority Whip. She continued her fight to pass the Water Taxpayer Protection Act, putting an end to the practice of selling homes due to unaffordable and incorrect water bills, in 2019.

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) is pleased to announce that Theodore A. Howard, Pro Bono Partner at Wiley Rein LLP, will be honored with the Outstanding Legal Advocacy Award at DRM’s Breaking Barriers Awards Gala on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore, Maryland.

This prestigious award recognizes attorneys and law firms who have shown exceptional dedication to advancing disability rights and promoting equal access to justice through pro bono work.

For two years, Ted Howard donated his time and expertise to representing DRM in a lawsuit against Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). The court ruled in favor of DRM this March, affirming DRM’s right to access contact information for parents and guardians of students with disabilities who may have faced educational neglect and disproportionate exclusionary discipline based on disability and race.

DRM’s Legal Director, Megan Berger, said: “DRM was tremendously fortunate to work with Ted Howard on this case. His wise counsel, unparalleled expertise, collegiality and dedication to the cause were exceptional and indispensable to securing this important victory.”  

Thanks to Ted’s commitment to this case, DRM is able investigate whether students of color with disabilities were subject to educational neglect and illegally received harmful and unequal disciplinary actions. Additionally, the decision establishes a powerful precedent, supporting the nationwide network of Protection & Advocacy organizations to access public school student and parent/guardian contact information in certain circumstances to investigate abuse and neglect and identify cases of discriminatory policies and practices.

To learn more about DRM’s Breaking Barriers Awards Gala, visit DisabilityRightsMD.org/Breaking-Barriers-Gala.

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About Theodore A. Howard:

Ted Howard is the fulltime Pro Bono Partner at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington., D.C., where he oversees administration of the 250-lawyer firm’s Pro Bono Program, while also maintaining an active caseload representing individuals and groups of clients in civil rights, family law, housing, immigration, and public benefits matters. Ted is currently the Chair of the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, and Co-Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance. He served on the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense from 2015 to 2021, including three years as Chair, and the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar from 2016 to 2022. He has been honored for his pro bono contributions by the Legal Aid Society of D.C., with its Servant of Justice Award in 2006, and by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, with its Wiley A. Branton Award in 2015. Ted is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Law School.

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) is excited to announce that Rebecca Cokley will receive the prestigious Judith Heumann Champion of Justice Award at DRM’s Breaking Barriers Awards Gala on September 20, 2023 at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The award, established in 2020, recognizes Judith Heumann’s remarkable lifelong achievements and her legacy as one of the world’s most influential disability rights activists. DRM presents this award to exceptional individuals who have dedicated their lives to advocating for disability rights and other intersecting civil rights movements.

Rebecca Cokley, a second-generation little person and three-time presidential appointee, has championed inclusive policies and challenged systemic barriers within the federal government, non-profit, and private sectors throughout her distinguished career. This esteemed award recognizes her contributions to the disability rights movement and her relentless pursuit of equity and inclusion.

Similar to Judith, Rebecca is an innovator who pushes boundaries and follows her vision. Her accomplishments include coordinating the first-ever White House Black History Month event for disability communities and initiating the first LGBTQIA+/Disability Pride Month event. She co-founded the Disability Justice Initiative (DJI), which is the first disability policy shop in a progressive think tank at the Center for American Progress.

In 2021, Rebecca joined the Ford Foundation as a program officer for their first-ever U.S. Disability Rights program. The program focuses on strengthening the disability field, cultivating diverse leadership, advancing economic security for people with disabilities, integrating disability rights into social justice movements, promoting disability pride and mobilizing resources for disability rights work.

Rebecca embodies and continues to champion the values and spirit that Judith Heumann infused into the disability rights movement.

To learn more about DRM’s Breaking Barriers Awards Gala, visit DisabilityRightsMD.org/Breaking-Barriers-Gala.

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About Rebecca Cokley:

Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, Rebecca was the cofounder and director of the Disability Justice initiative at the Center for American Progress, where she built out a progressive policy platform that protected the rights and services disabled people depend on for survival and also developed innovative solutions like a proposed disabled worker tax credit and increased access to capital for disability-owned small businesses. She also stewarded a campaign that resulted in an unprecedented 12 presidential candidates developing disability policy platforms.

Prior to her work at American Progress, she served as the executive director for the National Council on Disability, where she worked on sexual violence on college campuses, policing reform, and the civil rights of disabled parents. A three-time presidential appointee, Rebecca served in key policy roles at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as oversaw diversity and inclusion efforts for the Obama administration.

Rebecca is a frequent speaker and contributor on issues of public policy and disability inclusion in the media and at major national conferences. She has a bachelor’s degree in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.