• Has the nominee 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 member, or staff member?
• Has the nominee spent 20 years or more advancing AUCD's mission through their career?

• Is the nominee an individual, group, or organization outside of the AUCD Network?
• Has the nominee made a meaningful contribution to people with disabilities and their families at the local, state, or national level?

• Is the nominee a professional in the disability field who is under age 40?
• Has the nominee demonstrated a strong commitment to people with disabilities and their families through work that connects the academic sector and the community?

• Is the nominee a UCEDD, LEND, or IDDRC trainee or student? A UCEDD, LEND, or IDDRC faculty member must make the nomination.
• Is the nominee currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and in good academic standing?
  

• Is the nominee a nurse whose work advances care for children or adults with developmental disabilities?
• Does the nominee demonstrate clinical excellence, meaningful community impact, or leadership that improves how systems respond to people with developmental disabilities?

• Is the nominee a current or former AUCD Network member, UCEDD/LEND/IDDRC faculty or staff member, current or former Consumer Advisory Council member, or a Consumer Advisory Council as a group?
• Has the nominee demonstrated leadership or advocacy that increases meaningful leadership opportunities for people with disabilities and their families?

• Is the nominee a Capitol Hill staff member?
• Has the nominee demonstrated meaningful partnership with AUCD or the disability community in shaping or implementing public policy?

• Has the nominee made outstanding contributions to programs or policies benefiting people with disabilities and their families outside the United States?
• Has the nominee's work had an impact at the local, regional, or national level in the host country or countries?

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?