Denise Rozell, JD

Director of Policy Innovation | Public Policy
Phone: 240-821-9465

Image Description: Denise, a white woman with short reddish hair, wears red rectangular glasses and smiles at the camera. Denise wears a black and red flowered jacket against a black background.

Denise Rozell, JD, is the Director of Policy Innovation at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Denise works primarily on issues affecting youth in post-secondary education, employment and independent living including as the co-Director for the PROMISE Technical Assistance Center (Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income). Denise's policy work also includes a focus on inclusive post-secondary education for students with intellectual disabilities in partnership with Think College and on employment and transition age youth in partnership with University of New Hampshire.

Denise has twenty-five years of experience in disability policy at the federal and state level working on almost all issues and legislation affecting individuals with disabilities beginning with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Before joining AUCD, Denise spent 15 years as the Assistant Vice President for State Government Relations at Easter Seals as the primary resource to Easter Seals 75 affiliates in building capacity to increase awareness of and support for disability issues in state government. Denise also developed expertise on issues of state policy and systems change including autism, Medicaid managed care, ACA implementation and health delivery system reform.

Prior to coming to Easter Seals, Denise was the Executive Director of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, an international professional membership organization. Denise was responsible for member services for the 4700 members in 44 geographic Chapters. Prior to AER, Denise was the Governmental Relations Representative for the American Foundation for the Blind and the Director of Public Policy for the National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils,

Denise holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Occidental College in Los Angeles and a juris doctorate from the School of Law at the University of California in Berkeley.

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