Nick Boyle

Economic Justice Policy Analyst at Access Living (moderator)

Nicholas “Nick” Boyle is a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities who believes in the power of public policy and community organizing to drive change. As someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and as the brother of a young man with autism, Nick grew up seeing both disability joy and the struggles that come in an inherently inaccessible world. These injustices drive Nick to push for real societal change that helps make our world more inclusive for him the community that raised him.

Since April 2023, Nick has served as the Economic Justice Policy Analyst for Access Living, Chicago’s Center for Independent Living. In his position, Nick lobbies government officials at the federal, state, and local levels to improve economic outcomes for disabled people, and especially disabled people of color, through workforce development initiatives, public benefits access, and improved funding for disability services. Key initiatives Nick successfully led include passage of the Dignity in Pay Act, which eliminates the disability subminimum wage in Illinois, passage of a bill to eliminate unnecessary driver’s license requirements on job postings in Illinois, and restoration of $1.5 million in cuts made to the Illinois Home Modifications program. Nick is particularly proud that each of these initiatives passed with bipartisan support, reflecting the collaborative spirit he aims to bring to public policy work. 

Nick is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, earning his bachelor’s degree there, and holds a Certificate in Public Policy & Administration from Northwestern University. Outside of work, Nick is now a part-time law student at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer for the Democratic National Committee’s Disability Caucus. In his free time, Nick loves to cook, play guitar, and work out. 

Nick lives in the Metro East region of Illinois with his wife, Sophie, and their two cats, Mabel and Henry.

Dr. Jennifer Camota Luebke

President, CEO, and Chief Disability Inclusion Officer of Relay Resources

Dr. Jennifer Camota Luebke is President, CEO, and Chief Disability Inclusion Officer of Relay Resources, a Portland, Oregon-based social enterprise nonprofit with more than 1000 employees and $71 million in annual revenue. She joined in July 2023 as the organization’s first woman of color and first disabled person to hold the role in its 75-year history. She also serves as Secretary of the Board of Trustees for United Cerebral Palsy National.

Before Relay, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Workforce Inclusion Officer at PRIDE Industries in California, and earlier held senior roles in accounting, finance, and organizational development across Fortune 1000 companies and higher education. She co-founded Ability Revolution, Inc., a disability-focused nonprofit, and produced the feature documentary You Can Be BRAVE, which won a Gold Award at the 2018 International Independent Film Awards. 

Since taking the helm at Relay, she has grown the workforce by 20 percent, increased revenue by 30 percent, and launched a cybersecurity training initiative for neurodivergent workers and a competitive integrated employment program. Relay also manages over 800 affordable housing units for more than 1,500 Portland-area residents. 

Dr. Camota Luebke holds an Ed.D. and MBA from the University of San Francisco and a B.S. from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She has been named a 2026 Portland Business Journal Executive of the Year, a 2022 Most Influential Filipina Woman in the World, and a 2022 Top 25 AAPI Change Maker by the Sacramento Bee. She is a Filipino American, lives with an autoimmune disease, and is married to a special education teacher. Her adult son, a graduate of Georgia Tech’s EXCEL program, lives and works independently.

Rylin Rodgers

Global Disability Policy Director at Microsoft

Rylin Rodgers is Director of Global Disability Policy for Accessibility at Microsoft. She strives to impact disability policy in the areas of technology, workforce and fundamental right. Rylin’s work is influenced by her lived experiences with disability. She is dyslexic and has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and the mother of two young adults with physical disabilities and medical complexity. Her family is ALL IN for disability policy!

Kevin Nordmeyer

Principal at BNIM Architects

Kevin Nordmeyer, FAIA is an architect and a Principal at BNIM in Des Moines, Iowa.  He has served as a pioneer in sustainable design in Iowa and the Midwest since 1992, leading the creation of Iowa’s first model sustainable buildings, teaching sustainable design at ISU, and directing the Iowa Energy Center also at ISU. He led the design of the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center for BNIM, a new model of inclusive, human-purposed sustainable design.   Kevin was invested as a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 2024 and serves as a Harkin Institute National Advisory Council member. 

Taryn Williams

Senior Fellow at National Partnership for Women and Families

Taryn Mackenzie Williams is a senior fellow for disability at the National Partnership for Women & Families and a national expert on disability employment policy.

Williams most recently served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, where she led the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). In that role, she partnered with employers and government leaders at all levels to advance evidence-based policies, prioritizing the phaseout of the subminimum wage, the inclusive use of artificial intelligence in hiring, and improved outcomes for young adults with disabilities from low-income communities.

Previously, Williams was managing director of the Poverty to Prosperity Program at American Progress and held several roles at ODEP, including Chief of Staff and Director of Youth Policy. She also served as associate director for public engagement and liaison to the disability community at the White House during the Obama administration, and as a policy adviser for the U.S. Senate HELP Committee under Senator Tom Harkin. A graduate of Brown University and Harvard University, Williams also serves as a board member for the ACLU of DC.

Kate Noble Weitz

Founder and Director of Common Senses

Common Senses Founder and Director, Kate Noble Weitz spent a decade working in various fundraising and education positions in the performing arts. After her son was diagnosed with autism, her focus shifted to disability advocacy in Omaha, Nebraska. As a parent advocate, she thrives on connecting self-advocates, researchers, teachers, disability professionals and artists in the hopes of furthering disability acceptance and to create a thriving accessible community. Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Beloit College, a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Indiana University and is a LEND (Leadership in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) graduate from Stonybrook University.

Connie Vandarakis

Interim Director for Inclusive Arts and Ambassador at Zero Project (moderator)

Connie Vandarakis (she/her) is an international disability inclusion consultant, inclusive arts expert, and movement educator who identifies as a person with nonapparent disabilities and bilateral hearing loss. Connie is currently serving as interim Director for Inclusive Arts at Zero Project for the 2026-2027. She is a Zero Project Ambassador (2023) and a founding leader within the Zero Project’s Inclusive Arts division in Austria, serving as an administrator, expert, mentor, and steering committee member.  

Connie is the CEO of Our Motion, a consulting practice advancing inclusive movement across dance, wellness, and community systems. Her work spans Europe, South America, the United States, and beyond, including expert roles on European Union–funded projects such as MOVE and MOVE ON, and collaborations with organizations across Austria, Italy, Portugal, Tenerife, Grenada, and Ireland. She is involved with coproducing disability events. 

A Master Trainer of the DanceAbility Method, Connie has taught, mentored, performed, and presented inclusive dance and disability arts practices internationally since 2012. She has contributed to ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival in Vienna since 2012 as master teacher in inclusive dance, teaching DanceAbility teacher certification programs, moderating inclusive dance event, and teaching in the Public Moves. 

She has spoken and performed at the United Nations Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP) in New York City and at the Zero Project Conference at the United Nations in Vienna, contributing to global policy, arts, inclusive fashion shows, and accessibility dialogues. 

With over 30 years of leadership in higher education, Connie served as Associate Dean and Professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, supervising faculty and students while advancing inclusive pedagogy, dance education, and community outreach. She has held numerous board and leadership roles, including DanceAbility International, Disability Pride Pennsylvania, and the Include Everyone Project. 

Connie currently serves as Special Projects for Disability Pride Pennsylvania, leading statewide inclusive arts and outdoor access to create belonging and community. Her life’s vision is to connect people and build thriving inclusive communities so that, together, we move forward into our best lives. 

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (retired)

In 1974, Tom Harkin was elected to Congress from Iowa’s Fifth Congressional District. His energetic, person-to-person campaign carried the day against an incumbent in a long-standing Republican district. In 1984, after serving 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Harkin challenged an incumbent senator and won. Iowans returned him to the Senate in 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008. Senator Harkin made history by becoming the first Iowa Democrat to win a consecutive second term in the U.S. Senate, and to date is the longest serving elected Democrat in Congress in Iowa history. He retired from the United States Senate in January 2015.

As a young senator, Tom was tapped by Senator Ted Kennedy to craft legislation to protect the civil rights of millions of Americans with physical and mental disabilities. He knew firsthand about the challenges facing people with disabilities from his late brother, Frank, who was deaf from an early age. What emerged from that process would later become his signature legislative achievement — The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA has become known as the “Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities.” The legislation changed the landscape of America by requiring buildings and transportation to be wheelchair accessible, and to provide workplace accommodations for people with disabilities. To preserve the intent of the ADA after several court rulings weakened its standards, Senator Harkin and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the ADA Amendments bill to ensure continuing protections from discrimination for all Americans with disabilities. It was signed into law in September 2008. For his ongoing and dedicated work to people with disabilities around the world, Senator Harkin was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Senator Harkin has also worked to advance collaborative research in paralysis and to improve quality of life for those living with paralysis, including by creating a Clinical Trials Network to measure the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapies. His Christopher and Dana Reeve Act, named after the actor and his wife, became law in March 2009.

Senator Harkin also led the fight to lift former President Bush’s restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which shows great promise for new treatments of conditions like Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries and juvenile diabetes. On March 9, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting those restrictions.

In September 2009, following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Harkin became chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Senator Harkin believed that to serve in this capacity was to carry on the legacy of Senator Kennedy, who dedicated his life to ensuring that our economy works for all Americans, guaranteeing every child the opportunity to pursue a quality education and, of course, the cause of Kennedy’s life: access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Thanks to Senator Harkin’s passionate advocacy and legislative accomplishments in the field of disability rights, the United States has made huge strides in respecting the civil rights of people with disabilities, and expanding access and opportunity for those previously excluded. Those who grew up since the passage of the ADA and other disability-rights laws – both those with and those without disabilities – reject the prejudices and stereotypes of earlier generations, and have high expectations for people with disabilities both in the workplace and in their communities. This transformation of the American landscape and culture is Senator Harkin’s greatest legacy.

In 2015, Senator Harkin and Ruth Harkin established The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, to inform citizens, inspire creative cooperation, and catalyze change on issues of social justice, fairness, and opportunity. The Institute works to improve the lives of all Americans by giving policymakers access to high quality information and engaging citizens as active participants in the formation of public policy.

Tom Harkin was born in Cumming, Iowa (pop. 150) on November 19, 1939, the son of an Iowa coal miner father and a Slovenian immigrant mother. To this day, he still lives in the house in Cumming where he was born. In 1968, Tom married Ruth Raduenz, the daughter of a farmer and a school teacher from Minnesota. Tom and Ruth have two daughters, Amy and Jenny, and four grandchildren.

Julie Hocker

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy

Julie Hocker serves as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy. Sworn in on October 23, 2025, after confirmation by the U.S. Senate, she leads the Office of Disability Employment Policy with a clear mandate to expand opportunity, strengthen accountability, and deliver results for American job seekers, workers, and retirees with disabilities and mental health conditions.

Hocker brings a record of national leadership in workforce development, disability policy, and public private collaboration. As Assistant Secretary she leads the federal effort to expand opportunity, improve workplace safety, and strengthen long term economic security for disabled workers.

From 2018 to 2021, Hocker served as the U.S. Commissioner on Disabilities at the Department of Health and Human Services where she oversaw federal programs on developmental disabilities, independent living, brain injury, and limb loss differences. She launched several national initiatives, including the first federal prize competition for innovation in job training. In 2021, she testified before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the civil rights impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Before joining the Department of Labor, Hocker worked as a consulting executive, leading nationwide efforts to modernize vocational rehabilitation, Medicaid, and developmental disability programs. She supported clients advancing breakthrough therapies for rare diseases and worked directly with Congress on legislation expanding access to lifesaving care and strengthening savings and retirement accounts for Americans with disabilities.

Assistant Secretary Hocker previously served on the board of directors of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation and as a trustee of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She earned a Master of Business Administration from the Kenan Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

John Kemp

President and CEO of Lakeshore Foundation

John D. Kemp, Esq., is an accomplished executive and internationally recognized disability rights leader with decades of experience spanning the corporate, nonprofit, public policy, and advocacy sectors. Throughout his career, he has championed inclusion, accessibility, and opportunities for people with disabilities while leading some of the nation’s most influential disability organizations.

Mr. Kemp currently serves as President and CEO of Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama. The organization is dedicated to health, wellness, research, advocacy, and inclusion, serving more than 5,000 members with disabilities and chronic health conditions who make approximately 14,000 visits each month. In his leadership role at Lakeshore, Mr. Kemp also leads the affiliate Lakeshore National Adapted Sports Organization, which serves as governing body for three Paralympic sports— Boccia United States, USA Para Powerlifting, and USA Wheelchair Rugby. Since assuming leadership in 2021, he has guided significant organizational growth while expanding Lakeshore’s national and international impact.

He has also overseen the launch of the Sports Science & Performance Center, the nationally recognized Nothing Without Us podcast, and Lakeshore Consulting Services. Together, these initiatives have strengthened Lakeshore’s leadership in disability inclusion, accessibility, research, and sport while advancing opportunities for people with disabilities to live healthier, more active, and fulfilling lives.

Prior to joining Lakeshore Foundation, Mr. Kemp served as National Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy Associations; President and CEO of VSA Arts and VSA Arts International; General Counsel and Vice President of Development for the National Easter Seal Society; and, in 1995, co-founded the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Most recently, he served as President and CEO of The Viscardi Center and Henry Viscardi School on Long Island, New York.

In December 2025, Mr. Kemp received the Birmingham Business Journal CEO Award in recognition of his leadership and impact within both the Birmingham business community and the nonprofit sector.

Mr. Kemp is the recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award, widely regarded as the nation’s highest honor for disability leadership and service, and the Robert J. Dole Leadership Prize from the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. Past recipients of the Dole Leadership Prize include Nelson Mandela and Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is also honored as the namesake of the John D. Kemp CEO Award, presented annually by Disability:IN to a distinguished CEO who has created a culture of inclusion in corporate America.

In 2011, Mr. Kemp was appointed to the Delta Air Lines Advisory Board on Disability. He later served as chair for two years and continues to serve as an active member of the Advisory Board. Mr. Kemp has advised Fortune 500 companies and government leaders on disability inclusion, if that reflects his current portfolio. It reinforces both his governance and strategic leadership experience.

A passionate advocate for accessibility and inclusion, Mr. Kemp is the author of Disability Friendly: How to Move from Clueless to Inclusive, an authoritative guide for the cause of disability employment, inclusion in the workplace, and human potential.

Mr. Kemp graduated from Georgetown University and Washburn University School of Law. He has received two Honorary Doctorate degrees, the first an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Washburn University School of Law, and the second, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Connecticut, while serving as the Graduate School Commencement Speaker.

Chiara Nicastro

Program Strategist and Community Lead at Making Space

Chiara Nicastro (she/her) is a disability inclusion strategist, workforce development leader, and educator dedicated to accelerating equity and opening impactful pathways for people with disabilities. As the Ascend Program Lead at Making Space, she spearheads a flagship national fellowship for Disabled professionals that combines community-centered learning with long-term professional growth to expand career and economic mobility.

Grounded in her lived experience as a neurodivergent and Disabled leader, Chiara brings a calm, creative, and collaborative approach to driving systemic change. She leverages her expertise in training design, policy analysis, and cross-sector partnerships to operationalize comprehensive intersectional equity across diverse workplaces. Her background includes supporting high-impact initiatives with the United Nations Development Programme and the U.S. Department of State, translating policy and grant frameworks into human-centered community programs that uplift Disabled talent.

A Fulbright and McNair Scholar, Chiara holds a Master of Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Portland State University. Originally from Northern California and currently based in Washington, D.C., she remains committed to dismantling structural barriers and advancing sustainable career progression for the disability community. Outside of her work, Chiara loves food, travel, and spending time outdoors.

David Rice

Policy and Employment Manager at CEO Commission for Disability Employment (moderator)

David Rice is the Disability Policy and Employment Manager at the CEO Commission, where he advances disability employment policy and workforce systems design at a national level. With more than 15 years of experience within the federal government, he has led efforts in policy implementation, reasonable accommodation administration, centralized accommodation funding, and inclusive recruitment strategy across large, complex agencies. As a Deaf professional, David brings both lived and professional experience to his work, bridging the gap between legislative intent and operational practice. His work focuses on strengthening sustainable employer infrastructure to produce measurable employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Sara Hart Weir

Executive Director at Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities

Sara Hart Weir is a national disability leader, federal and state policy expert and proud Kansan. Weir has been working in the disability community for over two decades. Weir’s passion was inspired by Kasey, her late best friend of twenty years from Kansas who had Down syndrome. Early in her career, Sara quickly realized that the disability community did not have high-powered lobbyists, wealthy corporations or influential political action committees working for them, she went on to change that, and continues to dedicate her career and service to allow everyone to have a fair shot at the “American Dream” by promoting solutions that give all Americans with disabilities access to a better life.

Since 2022, Weir has served as the Executive Director of the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities (KCDD) where she leads the statewide organization dedicated to improving the lives of Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) throughout every corner of the sunflower state. Weir has transformed KCDD into the most well-respected disability organization in Kansas’ State Capitol fighting to eliminate the state’s historic 10-year IDD Home & Community based services (HCBS) waitlist. Weir also serves as a Senior Fellow with Able Americans where she leads the Campaign to Fix the Disability System, a national coalition of policy experts and leaders committed to modernizing our nation’s disability benefits structure so that it works for—not against—people with disabilities, families and caregivers.

Early in her career, Weir joined the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) as the Vice President of its National Advocacy & Policy Center and oversaw the Down syndrome community’s advocacy and policy agenda in Washington, DC and in state capitals across the country. In 2014, Weir was named the President & CEO of NDSS until 2019 when she stepped down to run for US’ Congress. During her tenure at NDSS, Weir led the bipartisan national advocacy coalition and strategy on the passage of the landmark Stephen Beck Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014. Weir secured over 85% of the entire US Congress’ cosponsorship on the ABLE Act which included 381 of 435 US Reps. and 78 of 100 US Sens. The ABLE Act is hailed as the most significant disability rights bill since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which established private sector, tax-free savings accounts that allow Americans to save and invest their own money for the future. Subsequently, Weir led the advocacy effort to pass 47 state ABLE laws in approximately four years; and helped launch each state ABLE program with state treasurer across the country. Weir worked with Congressional Leadership in 2017 to enact the two key disability provisions in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (specifically the ABLE to Work Act and ABLE Financial Planning Act) and the ENABLE Act in 2025. To date, over 46 states and DC have launched ABLE programs and assets under management in private sector ABLE accounts have grown over $2 billion in only years.

Weir co-founded The U.S. Future of Work For People with Disabilities Commission” – Tapping People with Disabilities who are Ready, Willing and ABLE to Work with fellow CEOs from Voya Financial and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and continues to be called upon by employers to help build successful employment and workforce development programs across the country. Weir was the Republican Congressional Primary Runner Up in Kansas Third District’s (KS-3) 2020 five-way primary.