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2008 Gold Star Award

November 12, 2008

Sharon Lewis awarded 2008 Gold Star Award

Sharon Lewis, Disability Policy Advisor to George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, received the 2008 Gold Star Award at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Annual Meeting and Conference.
From left to right:
Michael Gamel-McCormick, PhD, Director, Center for Disabilities Studies, University of Delaware
Sharon Lewis, Disability Policy Advisor to George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee
William Kiernan, PhD, Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts

Sharon Lewis, Disability Policy Advisor to George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, received the 2008 Gold Star Award at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Annual Meeting and Conference.

The AUCD Gold Star Award, established in 2002, is presented to a Capitol Hill staffer who exemplifies a true partnership in crafting strong public policy. This award recognizes the staffer for his/her professional and personal efforts to craft policy and implement programs with input from AUCD and the greater disability community, thus supporting AUCD in achieving its mission to advance policy and practice for and with people living with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities.

Wrote her nominator, "In her short time on the Hill, Sharon has worked tirelessly and made significant contributions to lives of individuals with disabilities and other families. In this key role she has worked on many pieces of disability-specific legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.  She has also been a strong voice for inclusion of disability concerns in broader legislation before the Committee such as No Child Left Behind, Head Start, and Workforce Investment Act.  Sharon exemplifies everything that the Gold Star Award stands for."

 

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Established in 1971, AUCD is a membership organization comprised of three national networks of interdisciplinary, university-based Centers dedicated to research, education, leadership training, policy development, and direct service for people with disabilities.