Annual Awards recognize international leaders with disabilities
The Viscardi Center is launching a call for nominations for the 2021 Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards — an international award series recognizing extraordinary leaders with disabilities. Recipients will be announced and honored during the 2021 fall season.
The Henry Viscardi Achievements Awards commemorate the vision of The Viscardi Center’s founder, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a disability rights pioneer who himself wore prosthetic legs. Dr. Viscardi served as a disability advisor to eight U.S. presidents and implemented groundbreaking employment and education programs that continue to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities.
Launched in 2013, the Awards shine the light on innovators, role models, and mentors in the global disability community who carry on Dr. Viscardi’s legacy through the example of their professional accomplishments and advocacy efforts. Past recipients have come from diverse and distinguished backgrounds in academia, healthcare, sports, entertainment, government, law, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. There have been over 80 recipients from more than 20 countries to date.
“The world has never been more attuned to the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our schools, workplaces, and daily lives. But as DEI gains momentum, disability is still often left out of the conversation,” said John D. Kemp, President and CEO of The Viscardi Center. “The Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards bring awareness to the brilliance within the disability community, people who are creating social change and opportunities for all, as well as the issues that continue to impact lives across the U.S. and around the globe.”
The 2021 Henry Viscardi Awards Selection Committee is once again co-chaired by former U.S. Senator Robert Dole and Sherwood “Woody” Goldberg, Esq., attorney, retired U.S. Army Colonel, and Emeritus Civilian Aide to the U.S. Secretary of the Army. View the full Selection Committee list.
The deadline for submissions is September 17, 2021. Click here to learn more and submit a nomination today.
About The Viscardi Center
Founded by Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., who served as disability advisor to eight U.S. Presidents and became one of the world’s leading advocates, The Viscardi Center educates, employs, and empowers people with disabilities. It serves children, adolescents, and adults with a wide variety of disabilities, providing Pre-K through High School education (up to age 21), school-to-work youth transition services, vocational training, career counseling and employment placement, and assistive technology. On a national level, it advances inclusive business cultures through the National Business & Disability Council and connects aspiring entrepreneurs to self-employment success at the National Center for Disability Entrepreneurship. Its Project Accessible Oral Health initiative leads access to quality oral health care for the global disability community.