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Andrew J Imparato
Andrew J. Imparato is President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). The AAPD is a national non-profit, non-partisan membership organization of people with disabilities, their families and supporters. Founded in 1995, this organization promotes the economic and political empowerment of people with disabilities in the United States.
Through the AAPD's Leadership Awards Program future and current leaders within the disability community receive recognition and support. AAPD is national host of Disability Mentoring Day (DMD). This annual event began under the Clinton Administration in 1999, and is supported by the US Department of Labor. DMD pairs students with disabilities and volunteer mentors working in the private and public sectors. The day is usually scheduled in the month of October, Disability Employment Awareness Month. In 2001, the AAPD began National Disability Vote Project to encourage voting- age citizens with disabilities to participate in the election process.
Imparato has held other posts prior to joining the AAPD in 1999. He served as general counsel and director of policy for the National Council on Disability (NCD). This independent federal agency advised the President and Congress on public policy issues influencing the lives of people with disabilities. He has also worked as attorney advisor to Commissioner Paul Steven Miller of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); as counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy, Chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; and at the Disability Law Center in Boston Massachusetts.
As a person with bipolar disorder, Imparato knows first-hand what it is like to have a disability. As a result, he is frequently asked to write speak or testify about disability issues. He has been featured on CNN, CBS News, CBS News Radio, Fox Sports, BBC Radio, National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting System and various other broadcast and print media. Imparato recently wrote an essay concerning the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings affecting people with disabilities under the leadership of Chief Justice Rehnquist. The essay will be included in a book published in November addressing that Court's influence on several constituencies.
Imparato graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School and graduated summa cum laude from Yale University.
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