United Spinal Association’s Disability Leadership and Policy Summit, held April 15 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, assessed the success of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in a program entitled “The First 20 Years, The Next Generation, and Beyond.”

The event was the first of two summits United Spinal is hosting in 2010 to mark the ADA’s 20th Anniversary and the first ever held in Philadelphia. Pioneering disability rights lawyers Robert Silverstein, Stephen F. Gold and United Spinal General Counsel James Weisman, who played roles in major case law leading to creation of the ADA as well as in writing portions of the law itself, were joined on the podium by employment specialists Joyce Bender of Bender Consulting Services, Inc., and Day Al-Mohamed of the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as President and CEO of United Spinal Association Paul J. Tobin.

“It is fitting that we gather in historic Philadelphia, just two blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to celebrate the tremendous progress we have made in expanding the rights of Americans with disabilities over the past 20 years,” Tobin said in welcoming more than one hundred activists from Philadelphia and beyond. “But there is still much work ahead of us.”

Tobin’s words were echoed again and again by his distinguished colleagues on the podium. Taking stock of the continuingly dismal employment outlook for people with disabilities since the ADA, Joyce Bender said, “After twenty years of the ADA, we’re getting the message loud and clear: No one really cares about us. No one is going to do it for us. No one is going to come knocking at the door to hand us a job. And this is good news, because now we’re getting the picture: We have to do it ourselves. We have to be the change.”

“Is the glass half empty or half full?” asked Stephen Gold before enumerating reasons to be optimistic (changes in the built environment), pessimistic (sluggish changes in employment) and uncertain (slow but steady movement toward community-based care).

The event ended with a presentation of 2010 Visionary Awards to four Pennsylvania-based leaders and groups who have made a significant positive impact for people with disabilities: Senator Arlen Spector, former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Attorney General at the time of the signing of the ADA Richard Thornburgh, his wife Ginny Judson Thornburgh, a pioneer in pushing for accessibility in houses of worship, and the Philadelphia-based center for independent living, Liberty Resources, Inc.

“It’s a marvelous feeling to be recognized by an organization that does so much grass-roots, street-level good for people with disabilities,” Gov. Thornburgh said. “Oftentimes, those of us who are involved in policy-making or arguing cases in court have to be reminded of who our real clients are, and that was the opportunity I had today.. To hear this tremendous panel and to hear from the folks who had questions, it was a really uplifting experience.”

“It was a great, great afternoon,” Mrs,.Thornburgh said. “A lot of story-telling, a lot of remembering, but a lot of moving forward on the task ahead. And we do that together, united as men and women, young and old, and people of all disabilities. And if we do that, we will triumph.”

“I thought this was a really different, exciting kind of summit in some ways, because what we’re talking about is past, present and future, ” agreed panelist Al-Mohamed, who in addition to her government job is founder of the disability policy blog Day in Washington (dayinwashington.com/). “I’m a fan of history, so I love having that aspect of it, but then there’s the idea of, ok, where are we going to go with it now? We’ve seen the protest aspect of disability and the ADA, we’ve seen the political aspect, which we’re in now. We’ve got the political players in place. And now I think we’re going to see the rise of the professional with a disability. We’ve got these young people out there who’ve grown up with the ADA who want a good job, who want to be successful in whatever their job is.”

Bender described the day as “spectacular,” and added, “First of all United Spinal brought in really great speakers and people they honored, but what I liked is seeing all the people with disabilities here speaking up. How many disability events have I gone to where they’re not the ones included? If we’re not reaching out and talking with our own family, we’re not going to learn.”