For Immediate Release: April 13, 2020
Contact: Christine Liao, internships@www.aapd.com
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Association of People with Disabilities has made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 AAPD Summer Internship Program to summer of 2021. After monitoring the impact of the current pandemic and discussing the possibilities with AAPD’s Board and partners, we have concluded there are too many unknowns associated with COVID-19 to safely proceed with the Summer Internship Program in its traditional form.
AAPD’s Summer Internship Program is a vital career development opportunity for many students and recent graduates with disabilities. AAPD takes pride in our program cultivating disability rights leaders, which is critical to AAPD’s mission and the disability rights movement as a whole. Despite this postponement, we remain committed to providing young leaders with an opportunity to gain meaningful employment and leadership opportunities, including the 2020 cohort.
For summer of 2020, AAPD will implement the following changes:
- Offer the selected 2020 interns an opportunity to participate in the 2021 program.
- Host an online Disability Advocacy curriculum during the summer of 2020. Students who elect to take the Disability Advocacy curriculum will receive a stipend for their participation.
- Pair 2020 students with a mentor virtually.
We look forward to welcoming our 2020 interns to Washington, DC in June – August, 2021. We also anticipate spaces will be available for additional applicants to participate in the AAPD Summer Internship in 2021. The 2021 application cycle will open in early Fall of 2020.
Any questions regarding the AAPD Summer Internship Program can be directed to AAPD Programs Manager, Christine Liao, at internships@www.aapd.com.
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AAPD is a convener, connecter, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As one of the leading national cross-disability civil rights organizations, AAPD advocates for the full recognition of rights for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD’s programs and initiatives have been effective in mobilizing the disability community through communications advocacy; cultivating and training new and emerging leaders with disabilities through leadership development programs; increasing the political participation of Americans with disabilities and elevating the power of the disability vote through the REV UP (Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!) Campaign; and advancing disability inclusion in the workplace through the Disability Equality Index (DEI) — the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. To learn more about AAPD, visit www.aapd.com.