Honoring Disability Activist Judy Heumann

Few realize the important leadership role she played here in DC

Jun 01, 2026

Judy Heumann, who passed away here three years ago, was widely known as one of the foremost leaders of the disability movement, nationally as well as internationally. Few are aware, though, of the essential leadership role she played locally, as DC surged forward from the ugly age of institutionalization to community inclusion for people with disabilities. This is a role that she herself tended to downplay, but it remains immensely important for those of us in the advocacy community here in DC.

Heumann is renowned for many achievements, including: breaking barriers in the 1960s and early 1970s to attend school and obtain her teaching license in New York state; leading the 1977 sit-in to force enactment of Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act; expanding access to education for disabled children in the 1990s; and her vigorous, though ultimately unsuccessful, pursuit of Senate ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) during the Obama administration. But from 2007 to 2010, she served as the first director of DC’s Department on Disability Services. In that role, she set the new agency on a stable path, advancing programs to integrate people with disabilities into the broader DC community and working to kickstart broader reform of the DC system. When she was appointed in 2010 to the role of special adviser to the State Department, her local work was taken up by her deputy Laura Nuss, but Heumann had set the community on the glide path it has followed over the past twenty years, inspiring not only the agency she led, but – more importantly – the advocates who have pushed successfully for continued reform and increased federal and “state” funding.

And her accomplishments have not been forgotten, as demonstrated by three recent local initiatives:

- The JUDITH Campaign, a project launched by DC’s Developmental Disabilities Council to amplify the voices of local disabled advocates on issues of critical importance and ways to sustain and accelerate progress;

- The renaming of the bridge on Connecticut Avenue NW over Rock Creek Park, near the building where she lived, to honor her memory and remind passersby of her extensive accomplishments;

- The recent introduction of legislation, named for her, which if passed in the DC council will make it possible for people not qualifying for Medicaid (the basis for adult disability supports nationwide) to “buy in” and obtain such services. (As with all legislation passed by our council and signed by our mayor, Congress will have its customary 30 days in which to review the bill and delay its effectiveness.)

Many readers may be most familiar with Heumann through her “starring” role in the 2020 documentary, “Crip Camp.” You should go beyond that, though, to read her memoir and listen to her TED Talk, both of which are cited below. But as you become more educated about her broader role in the national and international arenas, don’t lose sight of what I’ve written here about Heumann’s local achievements and recognition.

Because, as reflected in the title of her TED talk, “we’re not done yet” with building on her legacy, right here in DC.