Leslie Ford
Leslie Ford is a policy researcher with more than a decade of experience including leadership roles as a domestic policy advisor to the President at the White House and a legislative advisor to Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) on Capitol Hill. Ford is focused on transforming U.S safety-net policies to empower vulnerable citizens. She is now the president of Ford Policy …
Sara Hart Weir
Sara is a national nonprofit executive, disability policy expert and a proud Kansan. She is the former President & C.E.O. of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), where during her tenure at NDSS, she led the passage of the landmark, bipartisan Stephen Beck Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act in 2014 (P.L.113-295). The legislation garnered the support of …
Able To Succeed: Reform Agenda
One in four U.S. adults—over 61 million people—live with a disability, making it the largest minority group in the world. It’s a group anyone can join at any time. Caregivers, who support those with disabilities, make up another 20% of the population. Together, this community includes over 100 million Americans—a number expected to grow with an aging population. Despite their size, people with disabilities face significant challenges, including lower incomes and systemic barriers. It’s time to reexamine policies to ensure they reflect America’s promise of dignity, equality, and opportunity for all.
Rachel Barkley: Medicaid Reform Falls Short for People with Disabilities
“Speaker Johnson’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ can do more to fix Medicaid for the truly vulnerable — Americans with disabilities,” writes Able Americans Director Rachel Barkley in a commentary published at National Review. Rachel shares about the “bureaucratic maze” she and her husband experienced when she because a quadriplegic shortly after giving birth to her first child, and how Obamacare’s …
D.C. Event: People with Disabilities and the Imago Dei
This Friday on Capitol Hill, Able Americans Director Rachel Barkley will be the featured speaker at a Faith and Law event entitled “Able to Succeed: People with Disabilities and the Imago Dei.” The event description reads: People with disabilities are created in image of God, imbued with the same intrinsic value and bestowed the unalienable rights declared in our nation’s founding …
Rachel Barkley: Restore Medicaid’s Intent: Prioritize The Most Vulnerable Over Able-bodied Childless Adults
Medicaid was designed to care for America’s most vulnerable, including those with disabilities, but the advent of ObamaCare changed everything. In a commentary published at The Hill, Able Americans Director Rachel Barkley writes: The Medicaid program changed in 2010 with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded Medicaid to work-capable, able-bodied childless adults. This shifted resources away from …
Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz
Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, served as the first Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as the Administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from 2017-2021. She obtained her Ph.D. from Yale University with a specialty in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and is a graduate of the University …
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D.
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D., is senior researcher at Able Americans, the National Center’s project to support Americans living with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. Mark received his undergraduate degree from the Johannesburg College of Education (South Africa), an M.Ed. in special education from the University of South Alabama and a Ph.D. in special education research from the University of Virginia. Mark …
David A. Ridenour
David A. Ridenour is president of The National Center for Public Policy Research. For twenty-five years before that, he served as vice president (1986-2011), through which he directed numerous public policy programs, particularly on environmental and regulatory issues and foreign affairs; managed policy staff; and served as The National Center’s development director and chief financial officer, responsible for institutional growth. …