Donna Meltzer is the CEO of the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) based in Washington, D.C.
Prior to NACDD, Donna was the Senior Director of Government Relations for the Epilepsy Foundation and before that the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Donna participates in several key coalitions, including the Coalition for Health Funding and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities and currently serves on the National Advisory Board for Direct Course.
As the CEO of NACDD, Donna is able to provide insight for the National Advisory Board into what is foremost on the minds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and what is needed for people with I/DD to live their best life in the community. Donna notes, “The National Advisory Board is comprised of individuals who have worked, often for decades, in I/DD and behavioral health…and [they] help me learn more and deliver more to my network.”
Most recently, Donna has been using the two reports that the National Advisory Board developed on caregiving. “The work we [the Board] did in 2017 on caregiving was so timely and necessary. We are currently at a time in our nation where the need for both family caregivers and professional caregivers is at crisis levels.” Donna argues. “The Board’s reports are filled with excellent data and background that I use frequently when speaking at conferences, meetings with legislators, and with the media to help them understand what this crisis really means for individuals with I/DD.”
“At NACDD, we distribute all of the deliverables [from the Board] to our networks and we share them with policymakers at the federal and state levels through our member Councils. The greatest influence of UnitedHealthcare’s National Advisory Board is in raising issues and helping make the case for policy solutions or systems change important to people with I/DD,” Donna notes.
Learn more about the National Advisory Board or NACDD.
