2025 Leadership Symposium

March 9 – 12, 2025

ATAP and the AT3 Center are hosting the 2025 Leadership Symposium at the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town in March 2025.

  • Contact the AT3 Center or visit the Events page for registration information.
  • Please provide any accommodations requests, including captioning or sign language interpreters, in advance to jamie.anderson@ataporg.org.

National AT Awareness Day

The National Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Day commemorates the importance and vital role AT plays in the lives of people with disabilities and older adults.  This day reinforces the necessary support and funding the federal government provides to ensure people receive the assistive technology necessary to engage in education, employment, and community living. For more information about National AT Awareness Day please visit our web page.

ATAP Hill Day

In conjunction with the Leadership Symposium, ATAP members can spend a day on Capitol Hill. The day begins with a Hill briefing where ATAP members hear directly from Hill staff working on important policy issues of interest to members. Following this event, ATAP members meet with their state delegations to share their message of the importance of State Assistive Technology programs and to inform and educate staff and members about what their program is doing in their districts and states.

ATAP Annual Recognition Award

Beginning in 2015, ATAP initiated what has become an annual award to one Capitol Hill staffer that has worked to help people with disabilities and/or the Assistive Technology Act directly. This award is given each year during ATAP’s annual day on Capitol Hill.

United States Capitol

ATAP Annual Award 2023

Sarah Mueller, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT)

During ATAPs February 2023 Membership Meeting, ATAP was honored to award Sarah Mueller the ATAP Congressional Staff Award for 2023.  Sarah was instrumental in the reauthorization of the Assistive Technology Act and ATAP worked closely with her through this process.  Sarah serves as a Disability Policy Director on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, where she advises on disability policy matters across the Committee’s jurisdiction including on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and much more related to issues impacting people with disabilities. As a sibling to a sister with an intellectual disability, Sarah has a passionate dedication to serving and advancing economic and social justice policies for people with disabilities.

Sarah Mueller ATAP Annual Award 2023

ATAP Annual Award 2018

Audrey Busch shaking hands with Kelsey Mishkin

Kelsey Mishkin accepting the 2018 Annual Award.

Kelsey Mishkin, Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Katie Brown, Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA)

During ATAP’s 2018 Annual Conference, ATAP was honored to give two annual awards to Kelsey Mishkin, Legislative Director for Representative Raul Grijalva, and Katie Brown, former Legislative Assistant for Representative Glenn Thompson. Both Mishkin and Brown spearheaded the Dear Colleague letter for the Assistive Technology Act. With their help, both of their respective bosses supported standing up a Dear Colleague letter and they worked to collect signatures from other Representatives during the appropriations season. ATAP is grateful for their efforts to organize the Dear Colleague letter for this helps protect the federal investment for the Assistive Technology Act.

Kelsey Mishkin giving her acceptance speech

Kelsey Mishkin giving her acceptance speech.

ATAP Annual Award 2017

Audrey Busch presenting the awards to Jared Soloman, Legislative Aide for Senator Bob Casey (D-PA); Brett Layson, Legislative Aide for Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA); and Josh Deleaney, Legislative Aide for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).Jared Soloman, Legislative Aide to Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
Brett Layson, Legislative Aide to Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Josh Deleaney, Legislative Aide to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

At ATAP’s 2017 Annual Hill Day, ATAP was honored to give the third annual award to three staffers who worked closely with ATAP to insert language into the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regarding ensuring full accessibility for digital assessments. These three staffers were: Jared Soloman, Legislative Aide for Senator Bob Casey (D-PA); Brett Layson, Legislative Aide for Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA); and Josh Deleaney, Legislative Aide for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). These three staffers understood the importance of ensuring full accessibility to digital assessments as it is a large part of ensuring that all students are a part of a general education. Their commitment to making sure language was included in the final iteration of the ESSA was a feat to be acknowledged and ATAP is grateful for their efforts to push this through the finish line of the ESSA reauthorization.

ATAP Annual Award 2016

Audrey Busch and Chol Pak with the awardChol Pak, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO)
During ATAP’s 2016 Annual Conference, ATAP was honored to give the second annual award to Chol Pak, Professional Staffer on the Majority Senate Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee. Chol Pak, who worked for the Chairman of the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), worked closely with ATAP regarding funding for the Assistive Technology Act. Pak served as a champion for the State Assistive Technology Act programs in fiscal year 2016. Pak demonstrated a sincere interest in learning about the program and following the transition of the program to a new federal agency, both of which were very valuable and appreciated by ATAP.

ATAP Annual Award 2015

Robin Juliano accepting the ATAP Annual AwardRobin Juliano, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
ATAP was honored to give the first award to Robin Juliano. Robin previously worked for now retired Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa. Senator Harkin served as the Chairman of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee where Robin worked as a Professional Staffer and handled many issues, one of them being the Assistive Technology Act. Juliano worked closely with ATAP over the course of several years to ensure that in the Senate’s LHHS Appropriations funding bills, the Assistive Technology Act received full funding of $38 million. The Assistive Technology Act truly benefited from all of Robin’s hard work and dedication to ensuring the AT Act received the federal funding necessary to continue the great work being done across the country.

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