Breen and Millett help NH-ME LEND trainees prepare for Disability Policy Seminar

In late January, the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NH-ME LEND) Program hosted a two-state panel discussion as part of its virtual Spring Kick Off Event, “Organizing to Influence Your State’s Policy.”

Maine State Senator Catherine Breen and State Representative Sawin Millett were joined on the panel by two parent advocates and two individuals with disabilities who have helped to enact change in their state’s disability policies.

“Policy work is really problem-solving; always trying to figure out where we can find agreement on what government’s job is,” said Breen. “When I boil down all of the different debates I’ve had over the years about policies or bills or budgets, they all come down to one thing: do people agree what the job of government is? That’s where you find the widest disparities and opportunity for agreement.”

The panel generated robust discussions with trainees about the influence of people with disabilities and family members on policy, building coalitions, educating legislators, and responding to failures and setbacks.

The session was designed to help prepare NH-ME LEND trainees to participate in the annual Disability Policy Seminar (DPS) in Washington, D.C. on March 28–30. DPS is a three-day federal legislative conference that provides trainees with the opportunity to network, learn about disability policy and meet with their congressional delegations.

NH-ME LEND is a federally funded graduate-level interdisciplinary leadership training program that prepares students, family members and professionals to assume leadership roles in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities. Program partners include the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability, the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS), and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

More information is on the CCIDS website.