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Former FACT Co-Chair Receives AUCD Gold Star Award

November 18 2008

Sharon Lewis, Disability Policy Advisor to George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, received the 2008 Gold Star Award today 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." http://www.aucd.org/template/news.cfm?news_id=3147&id=17

Sharon has been a member of FACT since its inception, serving on the FACT Board as Co-Chair from January 2003 through December 2006.

In December 2006, Sharon was accepted to the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation’s Parent Public Policy Fellowship. Annually the Foundation brings a parent or close family member of a person with a disability to Washington D.C. for a full year, where they actively participate in public policy development through work on the staff of a congressional committee, or a federal agency. Fellows are offered exciting opportunities to be involved in policy and legislative development in key areas such as special education, health and mental health care for persons with mental retardation, child care, housing, justice, child welfare and other areas related to improving the quality of life for individuals with mental retardation/intellectual disabilities.

Upon completion of her fellowship, Sharon has remained on the East coast, continuing her involvement on Capitol Hill. As Senior Disability Policy Advisor for Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Committee on Education and Labor, Sharon has been named to the Obama Transition Team as a member of the Education Agency Review Team.

Sharon will serve as the lead person conducting the review for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and on other disability-related matters in the Department of Education. OSERS includes the Office of Special Education Programs, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.