• Has the nominee (inside or outside of the AUCD Network) spent 20 years or more of their career serving people with disabilities and their families?  

• Is the nominee a UCEDD, LEND, or IDDRC executive, faculty, or staff member?  
• Has the nominee spent 20 years or more of their career positively impacting AUCD’s mission of advancing policy and practice for and with people with disabilities, their families, and communities?  
  

• Is the nominee an individual, group, or organization outside of the AUCD Network?  
• Has the nominee spent professional and personal efforts to positively impact people with disabilities and their families at the local, state, or national level?  

• Is the nominee a professional in the disabilities field and under the age of 40?  
• Has the nominee demonstrated their dedication and commitment to people with disabilities and their families through their work as a bridge between the academic sector and the community?  
  

• Is the nominee a UCEDD, LEND, or IDDRC trainee and/or student?  
• Is the nominee currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and in good academic standing?  
• Has the nominee demonstrated a commitment to supporting people with developmental disabilities and their families?  
  

• Is the nominee a current or past faculty or staff at a UCEDD, LEND, or IDDRC and/or a current or past member of a Consumer Advisory Council (CAC) or the CAC as a group?  
• Has the nominee shown exemplary leadership and advocacy practices of including people with disabilities, served as an example to the community and the Network by nurturing and promoting leadership opportunities for people with disabilities, and/or made significant contributions and efforts to increase leadership opportunities for people with disabilities and their families?  
  

• Is the nominee a Capitol Hill staffer who exemplifies a true partnership in crafting strong public policy.
• Is the nominee a staffer for their professional and personal efforts to craft policy and implement programs with input from AUCD and the greater disability community, thus
• Does this nominee support AUCD in achieving its mission to advance policy and practice for and with people living with disabilities, their families, and communities.

• Has the nominee (an individual or group inside or outside of the AUCD Network) demonstrated outstanding contributions that further programs or policies designed to create more inclusive communities for people with disabilities and their families throughout the world?  
• Has the nominee made personal and professional efforts that positively impacted people with disabilities and their families at local, regional, or national levels in the host country?  
  

For the purpose of this award, research is defined as Experimental or Quasi-experimental Designs; Single Subject Designs; Single Case Designs; Correlational Designs; or Qualitative Designs. 

• Is the nominee participating in research?  
• Is the nominee a current AUCD Network trainee at a UCEDD, LEND, or IDDRC who completed their training within the last two years of the award year?  

• Is the nominee a nurses whose work reflects clinical excellence, meaningful community impact, and a deep respect for the dignity of every person they serve. Nominees may be nurses whose impact is seen in direct patient care or in leadership efforts that improve how systems respond to people with developmental disabilities.
• Does the nominee go beyond traditional expectations to reduce barriers and improve the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
• Does the nominee promote health and quality of life for people with disabilities across the lifespan.