Disability Rights & The Promise Of Community For All:
What is Happening with Medicaid & Where Do We Go from Here?
Regency & Tiffany Ballrooms
Join us for an important discussion on Disability Rights and the Promise of Community for All – What is Happening With Medicaid, and the dismantling of Federal Agencies, and how is this impacting people with IDD and their families. What can we expect to see with the implementation of HR1, and where do we go from here? Presenters with boots on the ground in Washington, D.C., and Maryland will answer these questions and have suggestions for what our community can do in response.
Meet the Plenary Presenters
Kim Musheno is the Senior Director of Medicaid Policy at The Arc of the United States, based in Washington, DC. With nearly 30 years of experience in disability policy, Kim has played a key role in shaping many of the nation’s most significant laws affecting people with disabilities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, IDEA, the Autism CARES Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. Before joining The Arc, Kim held senior leadership roles at the Autism Society of America and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Her deep commitment to this work is also personal—she is a proud family member of an individual with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Liz Weitraub has a long history of leadership in self-advocacy and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations. She is a full-time member of the AUCD’s policy team and also the host of “Tuesdays With Liz: Disability Policy For All,” where she makes policy language understood by all.
Liz has served as a Fellow for Senator Casey of Pennsylvania, working in his DC Office, where she helped lead the way on disability policy. Senator Casey said, “Liz has shown the Senate how important it is to have staff members who have developmental and intellectual disabilities. She’s helped reshape the culture of the Senate.” Liz has also shared her personal experience as a woman with disabilities in many venues, including written and oral testimony for Senate Committees on the topic of civil rights of people with disabilities.
Prior to coming to AUCD, Liz worked for the Council on Quality & Leadership (CQL). Liz is an alumnus of the LEND training program at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. Liz was a past chair of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council. Liz has received numerous awards, recognitions, and commendations for her work. Liz enjoys mentoring people with disabilities.
Tony Zanfordino serves as the Vice President of The Arc Maryland’s Board of Directors, and the Co-Chair of The Arc Maryland’s Governmental Affairs Committee. He is a member of the Maryland Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition (MDAC), and a Board member of the National Down Syndrome Congress. He also served as President of the Down Syndrome Association of Southern Maryland. Tony is actively involved with Special Olympics as a coach and unified partner and previously served as the Board Chair for The Arc Prince George’s County. In his professional life, Tony is a seasoned project management professional with over 30 years of progressive experience in system integration, application portfolio management, and implementation and/or transition to emerging technologies. Major strengths include project management, vendor management, Agile/Scrum, Kanban, acquisition strategy, service delivery, performance-based contracting, transition & strategic planning.
Ande Kolp‘s career spans more than three decades of experience supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Before coming to The Arc Maryland in 2017, she was the Executive Director for Compass, Inc., a private nonprofit organization specializing in Community Living and Employment Services for people with co-occurring IDD and mental health conditions living in Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, and Charles Counties. Ande has served in different capacities for four other chapters of The Arc in Maryland, including Prince George’s County, Howard County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore.
As a registered lobbyist and advocate for The Arc Maryland, Ande spends much of her time analyzing and developing policy, providing information and training to others, and working to empower our grassroots network. Ande is a Commissioner on the Maryland Commission for Individuals with Disabilities (since 2020), the Board President of Silhouette Stages, a nonprofit community theater company, and a Board Member of Maryland Inclusive Housing. Ande holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from the University of Iowa and a Master’s degree in Special Education with a Concentration in Severe Disabilities from Johns Hopkins University.