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Video Recording
Did you miss the 2023 MCD Legislative Forum? The recording and transcript are now available.
As an alternative, you can watch excerpts from the 2023 MCD Legislative Forum (YouTube). Read the excerpt video transcript.
As Trevor Turner, MCD Public Policy Director noted during the forum:
The 2023 MCD legislative agenda was created over the past year through meetings with constituents, disability advocates, state agencies, and over 300 responses to our legislative agenda survey, which was distributed online and at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair. Some of the legislative agenda items, like the employment and retention of employees with disabilities package, are a culmination of years of work from dozens of stakeholders from across the state.
We hope the forum was a promising start to the 2023 Legislative Session. We encourage you to review our 2023 Public Policy Agenda. If you have questions about the agenda, please email Trevor or call him at 651-350-8642.
Feedback and Ideas
MCD designed the 2023 Legislative Forum to feature citizen advocates sharing their lived experiences and talking directly with legislators to find solutions together. To give advocates the most time, we did not include a Question and Answer portion for this event. We value the input of all stakeholders and will have community listening sessions in the coming months to hear your feedback and ideas. Stay tuned to our website, Facebook, Twitter, and monthly newsletter for announcements about upcoming listening sessions.
Join the Minnesota Council on Disability
Do you have a passion for disability advocacy? The Governor appoints Council members from all over the state to represent the interests of the people. They provide guidance and oversight for MCD as we advise on various disability issues. If you are someone who has a disability, someone who works with people with disabilities, or a family member of a person with a disability, Council membership may be for you! To learn more, visit Council Openings.
Program
Welcome
- David Dively, MCD Executive Director
- Nikki Villavicencio, MCD Council Chair
Presentation of Legislative Agenda
- Trevor Turner, MCD Public Policy Director
Policy Conversation #1: Rare Disease Insurance Access
- Quinn Nystrom, Council Member
- Anne St. Martin, Citizen Advocate
- Erica Barnes, Rare Disease Advisory Council
- Representative Liz Reyer
A discussion about the need for better insurance coverage for rare diseases and how the legislature can address the issue. Rare Disease Insurance Access (Video)
Policy Conversation #2: Hearing Aid Affordability
- Trevor Turner
- Alicia Lane, MN Commission for the Deaf, DeafBlind, & Hard of Hearing
Remarks
- Governor Tim Walz
- Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan
Policy Conversation #3: Accessible Affordable Housing
- David Fenley, MCD ADA Director
- Julia Page, The Arc Minnesota
- Justin Smith, Citizen Advocate
- Representative Liz Reyer
Citizen advocate Justin Smith and Minnesota State Representative Liz Reyer discuss the need for affordable accessible housing and how the legislature can address the issue. Accessible Affordable Housing (Video)
Policy Conversation #4: Inclusive Higher Education
- Tammy Berberi, Council Member
- Mary Hauff, Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium
- Gage Robinson, Citizen Advocate
- Senator John Hoffman
Mary Hauff, representative of the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium, student citizen advocate Gage Robinson, and Senator John Hoffman discuss the need for more inclusive higher education. Inclusive Higher Education (Video)
Policy Conversation #5: Homecare Workforce Shortage
- Senator Carla Nelson
- Damon Lievestad, Citizen Advocate
- Hope Johnson, Council Member
- David Dively, MCD Executive Director
Citizen advocate Damon Leivestad talks about the urgent need to end the homecare workforce shortage. MCD Council Member Hope Johnson and Senator Carla Nelson discuss how the legislature can address this issue. Homecare Workforce Shortage (Video)
Policy Conversation #6: MAEPD, Medical Assistance for Employed People with Disabilities
- Myrna Peterson, Council Member
- Brittanie Wilson, Citizen Advocate
- Rob Wudlick, Citizen Advocate
- Jillian Nelson, Citizen Advocate
- Senator John Hoffman
Citizen advocates Brittanie Wilson, Rob Wudlick, and Julianne Nelson discuss the need to reform Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities with Senators Jim Abler and John Hoffman. Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (Video)
Policy Conversation #7: Employment and Retention of Employees with Disabilities
- Andy Christensen, Council Member
- Aaron Weikum, Citizen Advocate
- Representative Mike Freiberg
Citizen advocate Aaron Weikum and Representative Mike Freiberg discuss improving how the State of Minnesota hires and retains people with disabilities. Employment and Retention of Employees with Disabilities (Video)
Closing
- Trevor Turner
Advocates
Anne St. Martin, Citizen Advocate
My name is Anne St Martin. I live in Inver Grove Heights with my husband Denis and my two sons Joe (8) and Leo (6). I am originally from Chicago but have lived in Minnesota for 12 years, and I now consider myself a Vikings fan. My husband and I started a nonprofit called Pompe Warrior Foundation in 2018 after our son Leo’s rare disease diagnosis. We want to bring awareness to rare disease and also the issues that affect this community on a daily basis. I am not only a mother, but I am an advocate for all those who will come after us. I will not stop until my son and those like him have unrestricted access to health care.
Justin Smith, Citizen Advocate
As a young man with cerebral palsy, Justin Smith advocates for more choices for the disability community. He is a creative writer, blogger, and public speaker sharing his experiences living with a disability. Over the past several years, he has been on a quest to live independently. This led him to work with the Arc Minnesota on lobbying for more accessible and affordable housing. You can follow Justin on his blog at JustinSmithWrites.com.
Julia Page, ARC Minnesota Public Policy Director
Julia Page is the Public Policy Director for The Arc Minnesota. She was previously the Advocacy Manager at Girl Scouts River Valleys. She lives in South Minneapolis with her wife, Anne, and her cat, Tina (named after Tina Turner). When she isn’t working, she is spending time with her wife, trying new restaurants, and watching the San Francisco 49ers (the Vikings are fine!).
Mary Hauff, Co-Leader of the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium
Mary is collaborating with and advising a coalition of ally organizations to improve and expand Minnesota post-secondary education options for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is the parent of four young adults who are pursuing postsecondary education credentials and are individuals with disability attributes. She has been an active advocate within her school community, local, county, state, and national advocacy and public policy. Mary has served on the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Institute on Community Integration Community Advisory Council. She has also volunteered and worked for nonprofits serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is currently serving on The Arc Minnesota public policy committee.
Gage Robinson, Citizen Advocate
My name is Gage Robinson. I live in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. I recently finished high school at Cannon Falls High School. I love public speaking and have co-presented at several national conferences. I also run a nonprofit called Gage Gives Back where we educate others about traumatic brain injury, shaken baby syndrome, and we give back to those places that have helped me get to where I am today.
Damon Leivestad, Citizen Advocate
My name is Damon Leivestad, and I am a 49-year-old Mechanical Engineer from Plymouth who was born with a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I began using a wheelchair when I was 10 years old and have used home care services since 1993 and require total assistance with every aspect of my daily living. Some of my hobbies and interests are watching movies and TV shows (any genre), watching sports (any Minnesota team, but especially football – Vikings – Gophers), spending time outside in the summer, playing Electric Wheelchair Hockey, church, computers, and music.
Brittanie Wilson, Citizen Advocate
Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson lives in St. Paul Minnesota and is currently the equity and justice director at The Arc Minnesota, an organization that provides personalized information, navigation, and referrals on disability issues and systems throughout the lifespan of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a Disabled, Queer, Woman of Color, Brittanie continues to break barriers to live as independently as possible while striving to help others in the community do the same. In her free time, Brittanie enjoys, reading, zooming in the woods, and trying new food!
Rob Wudlick, Citizen Advocate
Rob Wudlick, a quadriplegic since 2011, has been a driving force for Spinal Cord Injury/Disorder (SCI/D) research in his native Minnesota and a committed advocate at the national level. He helped devise and push through novel legislation to fund Spinal Cord Injury/Disorder (SCI/D) research in Minnesota and has worked with advocates from other states to assist them with similar efforts. In 2014 he was a founding member of Get Up Stand Up to Cure Paralysis Foundation. Currently, he is working to advance medical research for spinal cord injury and is a Clinical Trial Research Project Manager in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the University of Minnesota and is an entrepreneurial medical device engineer.
Aaron Weikum, Citizen Advocate
Aaron Weikum is an autistic American adult and autism rights advocate. A Minneapolis native, he works for Vocational Rehabilitation Services helping Minnesotans with disabilities attain and retain competitive, integrated employment. Aaron studied philosophy, law, and human rights at Morehouse College and the University of Minnesota Law School.