John D. Kemp Receives Prestigious 2006 Henry Betts Award

March 8, 2006

Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, PC is pleased to announce that partner John D. Kemp has been selected by a jury of his peers as the 2006 Henry B. Betts Award recipient, the most prestigious award within the national disability community. Mr. Kemp joins a select group of other awardees, all pioneers in the field of disability.

The Henry B. Betts Award was created by the Prince Charitable Trusts and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in 1989 to annually honor an individual whose work and scope of influence have significantly improved the quality of life for people with disabilities in the past, and will be a force for change in the future. It is named for Henry B. Betts, MD, in recognition of his pioneering leadership in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation and decades of dedicated service to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The awards program is now administered by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).

The award and accompanying $50,000 unrestricted cash gift was presented to Mr. Kemp at the 2006 AAPD Leadership Gala on March 8, 2006 at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC.

Mr. Kemp was selected for this honor as a result of his unselfish efforts to support people with disabilities and the national disability civil rights movement. Born without arms and legs below the elbows and knees and raised with his two sisters by his widowed father, Mr. Kemp has used his talents as a communicator, executive, volunteer, and leader to reach such diverse constituencies as governments, corporations, nonprofit organizations, individuals and families throughout the country and the world by providing professional advice, organizational leadership, emotional support, and even a good laugh to deal with an unpredicted circumstance.

He has created partnerships between and among the non-profit and for-profit communities to advance the issues of disability rights, pride and full participation. Through the years he has served on nearly one hundred national advisory boards for universities and nonprofit organizations. From the child who quizzes him on the street to the national keynote addresses he gives each year, Mr. Kemp has educated thousands of people with his insights and feelings, openly and honestly, and within a consistent disability values framework his entire life.

Mr. Kemp recently published Reflections from a Different Journey: What People with Disabilities Wish All Parents Knew, a McGraw-Hill book co-authored and co-edited with Dr. Stan Klein and with a foreword provided by actress Marlee Matlin.

As a member of the Medicaid Advisory Commission, he serves by appointment of HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt to make recommendations to stabilize and strengthen the Medicaid program for the years ahead. And, as a member of the US Department of State’s Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities, he advises the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development on matters of disability and foreign policy. Mr. Kemp served as a presidential appointee to the National Council on Disability for six years ending in early 2002.

Mr. Kemp serves as a board member of several non-profit organizations, including the Disability Service Providers of America, the National Rehabilitation Hospital of Washington, Goodwill Industries of Greater Washington, DC, The Eric Fund, and the U.S. International Council on Disabilities.

He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (Chairman, three years); Independent Sector (serving nine years and as its Vice Chairman); the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; and the American Occupational Therapy Association. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations, VSA Arts, and HalfthePlanet Foundation. In 1991 he was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.

Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville is a Washington, DC-based law firm that focuses on health care, education, and the law of tax-exempt organizations. PPSV’s disability practice includes legal, legislative and regulatory representation and serves both corporate and non-profit clients throughout the country. For more information, contact John D. Kemp at 202.466.6550 or john.kemp@ppsv.com.

Founded in 1995, AAPD is the largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S. AAPD is dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. Mr. Kemp is a co-founder and past chairman of AAPD. For more information, see www.aapd.com.