Staff

Stephanie Smith Lee
Policy & Advocacy Co-Director
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Stephanie Smith Lee is the Co-Director of Policy and Advocacy at National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC), where she previously served as Interim Executive Director, Senior Policy Advisor, and Vice President. With more than thirty-five years of experience in disability rights and public policy, Ms. Lee has held senior staff positions in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and on the Senate HELP Committee, as well as serving as Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education. In that role, she directed the development, implementation, and evaluation of the federal special education law, IDEA, overseeing billions in grants to states and national activities programs.

Since her daughter Laura was born with Down syndrome in 1982, Ms. Lee has been a leading national advocate for inclusive education, employment, and community living. She led the successful effort to amend the Higher Education Act (HEA) to include students with intellectual disability, securing federal financial aid and support for model programs and the national coordinating center. She continues that work as Co-Chair of the Inclusive Higher Education Committee and as Past Chair of the National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup, and currently serves as Board President of the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council.

Her career highlights include key roles in the reauthorizations of IDEA 1997 and IDEA 2004, leadership on bipartisan initiatives such as the ABLE Act and Ticket to Work, and serving as a Senate appointee to the national Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel. Ms. Lee has trained thousands of grassroots advocates, built successful state and national coalitions, and delivered more than 300 presentations on disability rights, education, employment, and civil rights.

She has received numerous honors, including the “I.D.E.A. Hero Award” from The Arc of the United States, the “Distinguished Service to Education Award” from George Mason University, and the “National Leadership Award” from the State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Students with Intellectual Disability.