On March 4, 2023, the disability rights movement lost one of its pioneers when Judy Heumann suddenly passed away at 75. Her international fight for rights for people with disabilities spanned her entire life and began at the age of five when she was denied the right to attend school as the administration considered her a fire hazard. Heumann’s advocacy spirit was ignited by her parents who fought for her access to quality education. That spirit became her advocacy voice as she gained awareness of the greater disabled experience alongside other young adults with disabilities while spending summers at Camp Jened.

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to build a more interdependent, self-sufficient, and integrated and included disability community across Georgia.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 2001GASCDD-03, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.