Ms. Santa Perez (NV UCEDD) Honored with Champions of Equal Opportunity Self-Advocate Award by NACDD

July 12, 2013

Santa Perez (seated) with (from left): Sherry Manning, Executive Director of the Nevada DD Council; Timothy Brown; Noah Perez; Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV); Donna Meltzer, CEO of NACDD. Photo courtesy of Capitol Media USA for NACDD.

On July 10th, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) honored Ms. Santa Perez with the Champions of Equal Opportunity (CEO) Self-Advocate Award at their Annual Conference. Ms. Perez is a COCA member of the AUCD network from the NV UCEDD. 

Said the nomination, "She is a true leader in the self-advocacy field. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Cal State Northridge and has lived in Las Vegas for more than 10 years. She owns her own home and lives with her son Noah and companion, Timothy Brown. She has been a true champion of rights for Nevada's citizens with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and leads various trainings and workshops and serves as a client advocate. Ms. Perez has been a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member and supervisor and she currently serves as the Statewide President of People First of Nevada. A popular public speaker throughout the state on disability issues, Perez is also employed by the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED) and The ARC of Nevada."

NACDD also awarded Governor Jack Markell of Delaware the 2013 Champions of Equal Opportunity Award for his initiative entitled A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities, which aims to increase employment among individuals with disabilities.