Jennifer Mathis

Meeting of May 8, 2013 - Wellness Programs Under Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws

Jennifer Mathis works to secure equal opportunities for adults and children with mental disabilities in all aspects of life, including employment, housing, community living, education, voting rights, and parental rights. Her primary areas of focus include the rights of individuals with mental disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Medicaid program. She has recently returned to the Bazelon Center from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she worked on regulations implementing the ADA Amendments Act.

Jennifer's work includes litigation on community integration claims, voting rights, education, and the parental rights of individuals with mental disabilities. She also supervises the Bazelon Center's policy advocacy, with the goal of ensuring that individuals with mental disabilities can participate as full members of their communities and live similar lives to those of individuals without disabilities. Jennifer holds an A.B. from Harvard University, a M.A. in Social Studies Education from New York University, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

The Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities, on whose behalf Jennifer is testifying, is a coalition of national disability-related organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures full equality, self-determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.