Collaboration and Creativity: Addressing Challenges and Advancing Opportunities Now and in the Future
March 26 through March 27, 2026
Our Sponsors
Gold: Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld, LLP, Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP, AARP Foundation
Silver: McGuinness Law Group, PC
Bronze: TRE Legal Practice, Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee, Burton Blatt Institute
White Cane: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Patients Rights Action Fund, American Diabetes Association, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Fox & Robertson, Disability Rights Advocates, The Arc
Presentations, Transcripts, and Materials
Below are the agenda, presentations, and materials for the plenary and workshop sessions. Transcript and audio are coming soon.
Welcome, Introductions, and Opening Remarks
Mark Riccobono, President, National Federation of the Blind
Big Litigation Big Results
Michael Allen, Partner, Relman Colfax PLLC
Zoila Hinson, Partner, Relman Colfax PLLC
Ashley Brickhouse, Fellow, Relman Colfax PLLC
Organizing Across the Movement
Eve Hill, Partner, Brown Goldstein and Levy
Sanho Steele-Louchart, Legal Program Coordinator, National Federation of the Blind
Creative Strategies for Communication Access Systems Change
Presenters: Howard Rosenblum, CEO, Deaf Equality
Zainab Alkebsi, Chief Policy Officer, Deaf Equality
Anna Bitencourt, Chief Litigation Officer, Deaf Equality
Democracy by Design: Protecting Public Participation and Disability Rights in a Post-Chevron Era
Kristin Stitcher, former Deputy Chief, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U. S. Department of Justice (speaking in her personal capacity)
Rebecca B. Bond, Leadership in Government Fellow, Open Society Foundations, former Chief, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U. S. Department of Justice (speaking in her personal capacity)
Maria Town, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, Former Senior Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Washington, DC
Integrating Special Education, Medicaid, and Civil Rights Litigation for Maximum Impact in Schools and the Carceral Setting
Marty Cirkiel, Attorney, Cirkiel Law Group
Robin Petty, Education and Disability Advocate, Cirkiel Law Group
Zenia Sanchez Fuentes, Partner, Terris Pravlik & Millian
Jaclyn Deitch, Associate Attorney, Terris Pravlik & Millian
To File or Not to File? Strategic Decision-Making in Disability Rights Litigation
David Ferleger, Attorney, Ferleger Law Office
Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Andrew Rozynski, Partner and Co-Director, Deaf Law Center
Areta K. Guthrey, Attorney, The Disability Information Network
Accessibility of Health Care: Getting on, Staying On, and Getting Services
Jennifer Lav, Director of Disability Law, National Health Law Program
M. Geron Gadd, Senior Attorney, National Health Law Program
Steven Schmidt, Senior Attorney, National Health Law Program
Maame Gyamfi, Senior Lead Attorney, AARP Foundation
FCC’s Accessibility Work in the 21st Century
Suzy Rosen Singleton, Chief, FCC Disability Rights Office
Accessible Voting: New Gains and Challenges for the 2026 Midterms
Lauren J. Kelleher, Attorney, Brown Goldstein and Levy
Marisa Leib-Neri, Disability Rights Fellow, Brown Goldstein and Levy
Evan Monod, Staff Attorney, The ARC of the United States
Strategic Responses to Supreme Court Rulings
Jeannette Cox, Law Professor, University of Dayton
Intersection of Medicaid, Special Education, and Self-Advocacy
Henry E. Smith, Law Professor, Harvard Law School
Nicole Jorwic, Chief of Advocacy, Caring Across Generations
Selene Almazan, Legal Director, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Tia Nelis, Director of Policy and Advocacy, TASH
So Your State Passed an SDM Law: Now What? Foundations for Putting Supported Decision-Making into Practice
Sam Crane, Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy, CommunicationFIRST
Tauna Szymanski, Executive Director & Legal Director, CommunicationFIRST
Ayesha Elaine Lewis, Attorney, DREDF
Brittney Belwine, Disability Rights Fellow, ACLU
Otto Lana, Self-Advocate
Using the ADA to Keep Families Together: Preventing the Termination of Parental Rights Based on a Parent’s Disability
Malhar Shah, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Program, ACLU
Jessie Rossman, Legal Director, ACLU of MA
Joey Longley, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Program, ACLU
Kavya Parthiban, Staff Attorney, DREDF
Using the ADA to Keep Families Together Handout (Word)
Collaboration as an Effective Advocacy Strategy
Danica Gonzalves, Attorney, Paralyzed Veterans of America
Anthonya James, Attorney, Paralyzed Veterans of America
Litigating ADA Cases Involving Police Misconduct and Mental Health Crises: Recent Developments in the Case Law
Jamie Strawbridge, Attorney, Brown Goldstein and Levy
Neel Lalchandani, Partner, Brown Goldstein and Levy
Elizabeth R. Cruikshank, Law Professor, Georgetown Law
Malhar Shah, Staff Attorney, ACLU
How to Prepare a Broad Architectural Barrier Class Action in One Year, Try It in Four Hours, and Win Systemic Injunctive Relief: The Twists and Turns of the LA Parks Trial
Guy Wallace, Attorney, Schneider Wallace
Andrew Lee, Attorney, Dardarian Ho Kan & Le
Scott Gordon, Senior Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Advocates
Paula Pearlman, Attorney, Law Office of Paula Pearlman
Defending DEIA and Fostering Inclusion in the Legal Profession
Marissa Ditkowsky, Attorney, National Disabled Legal Professionals Association
AJ Link, President, National Disabled Legal Professionals Association
Lucy Trieshmann, Immediate Past Treasurer, National Disabled Legal Professionals Association
Monique Lemus, Assistant Director, Loyola Marymount University Coelho Center for Disability Law
Stuart Pixley, Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft
Kevin Fritz, Employment Counsel, Gusto
AI Research Findings: Discussing the Path Ahead for Legal and Policy Advocacy
Ariana Aboulafia, Disability Rights Project Lead at Center for Democracy & Technology
Eve Hill, Partner, Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLC
Rebecca Williford, President & CEO, Disability Rights Advocates
Stephanie Enyart, Chief Public Policy & Research Officer, American Foundation for the Blind
Olmstead Litigation: Requesting Relief and Surviving Challenges to Class, Standing, and Redressability
Rebecca Rodgers, Attorney, AARP Foundation
Lyndsay Niles, Managing Attorney, Disability Rights DC
Advocacy Challenges and Strategies for Prisoners with Disabilities
Mary Vargas, Attorney, Stein and Vargas
Amy Robertson, Attorney, Fox and Robertson
Monica Basche, Partner, Brown Goldstein and Levy
Advancing Disability Rights through Impact Litigation: A Year-in-Review and a Look at the Road Ahead
Rebecca Williford, President and CEO, Disability Rights Advocates
Rachel Weisberg, Supervising Attorney, Disability Rights Advocates
Michael Nunez, Senior Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Advocates
Using Disability Rights to Challenge Anti-DEI Laws
Zoe Brennan-Krohn, Director, Disability Rights Program, ACLU
Jennesa Calvo-Friedman, Senior Staff Attorney, Women’s Rights Project, ACLU
Alexis Alvarez, Staff Attorney, Racial Justice Program, ACLU
Organizing to Defend Federal Disability Rights Regulations
Amy Robertson, Attorney, Fox and Robertson
Karla Gilbride, Deputy Director of the Litigation Group, Public Citizen
Claudia Center, Legal Director, DREDF