November/December 2026

Georgia voters made their choices on Nov. 3, and the state will soon have many new leaders. GCDD congratulates all of those who have been elected to serve. These results are unofficial until they are certified.

Here are the winners for statewide offices:

• Governor: Keisha Lance Bottoms
• Lieutenant Governor: Josh McLaurin
• Attorney General: Tanya Miller
• Secretary of State: Judge Penny Brown Reynolds
• State School Superintendent: Dr. Lydia Powell
• Labor Commissioner: Nikki Porcher
• U.S. Senate: Jon Ossoff (reelected)

Bottoms will be Georgia's first female and first Black governor. She will also be the first Black woman to serve as governor of any U.S. state.

Before the election, GCDD helped voters learn where candidates stood on disability issues. On Sept. 17, we hosted a virtual Candidate Forum with the Georgia Advocacy Office, Sangha Unity Network, Uniting for Change, Crimminz and Associates, and REV UP Georgia. Self-advocates from Uniting for Change asked the questions.

We thank all the candidates who took part: Keisha Lance Bottoms, Josh McLaurin, Tanya Miller, Brian Strickland, Bárbara Rivera Holmes, Nikki Porcher, Lydia Powell and Richard Woods. We appreciate them for taking the time to speak to people with disabilities and their families.

Newly elected leaders took part in our forum. Here is what they said about the issues that shape daily life for Georgians with IDD:

• Waivers and health care: Bottoms said fully funding NOW and COMP waivers for people in urgent need would be a top priority in her first year. McLaurin said he strongly supports more waiver funding. Both support expanding Medicaid.
• Education: Powell said she would strengthen state compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (also known as I.D.E.A.) and educate parents about their rights and available resources.
• Employment: Porcher proposed learning from other states and bringing those ideas to Georgia.
• Safety: Miller said Georgia needs an abuse registry and a clear process for acting on the information in it.

Lawmakers return to the Georgia Capitol in January. GCDD will be there along with disability advocates, sharing the stories and needs of people with IDD and their families. The ideas shared at the forum give us a strong place to start.

We look forward to working alongside Georgia's newly elected leaders as we continue our work for Georgians with IDD and their families.

You can help, too. Watch the Candidate Forum, attend our 2027 Advocacy Days, stay tuned for information from the Georgia Disability Policy Alliance (GDPA), and join our Advocacy Network to stay informed and make your voice heard.

You don’t have to travel to the Capitol to make a difference.

Public policy decisions made at the Georgia Capitol affect the everyday lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families. From Medicaid and NOW/COMP waivers to housing, employment, and community supports, the decisions legislators make matter. And the voices of people with I/DD and their families need to be part of those conversations.

But traveling to the Capitol isn’t possible for everyone. Transportation, work schedules, caregiving responsibilities, and other barriers can make in-person advocacy difficult. That’s why the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is launching Hometown Advocacy—an initiative designed to make advocacy accessible to more Georgians. Through virtual advocacy trainings, participants can learn how to contact elected officials, share their experiences, and influence public policy without leaving home.

GCDD will provide advocacy training and mail participants a printed copy of its 2026 I/DD Primer. Written in plain language, the Primer explains important issues affecting Georgians with I/DD, including Medicaid, home and community-based services, and the long wait for NOW/COMP waivers. It also includes personal stories and policy recommendations that advocates can use to help legislators understand why change is needed.

Advocacy can take many forms. Participants can call or email legislators, share their stories, and speak up about issues that matter to them. Those who want to take their advocacy further can organize their own in-person meetings with elected officials using the information and tools provided by GCDD.

GCDD will also host two in-person Advocacy Days at the Georgia Capitol on February 10 and February 24. These opportunities will allow advocates to meet with lawmakers, share their priorities, and help shape policies that affect Georgians with I/DD.

Whether you are a self-advocate, family member, professional, or ally, your voice matters. You don’t need to be a policy expert or travel to Atlanta to make a difference.

With Hometown Advocacy, GCDD is helping more Georgians participate in advocacy, ensuring that people with I/DD and their families have a voice in the decisions that shape their lives.

The Georgia Disability Policy Alliance (GDPA) is a statewide coalition that brings families and advocates together to improve disability services. GDPA helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families learn how to speak up for their needs and find services. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) supports this work through its Family Advocacy Coalition Grant. Crimminz & Associates helps lead and manage the coalition’s work.

GDPA’s goal is to build a lasting network of advocates across Georgia. The coalition wants families and people with I/DD to have the knowledge, skills, and connections to help improve disability services and policies.

GDPA’s Project Director, Stacey Ramirez, leads the coalition’s work across Georgia. Her work includes family outreach, advocacy training, and Advisory Council activities. She works with Daniel Crimmins, who helps set the coalition’s policy goals and manages project finances.

“The mission and work of GDPA is rooted in the simple belief that families and people with disabilities should not just be affected by public policy—they should help shape it,” said Ramirez.

Families of people with I/DD often have to learn how to use complicated service systems to get the support their loved ones need. GDPA wants to help families speak up for their own needs and work with others to improve these systems.

The coalition offers advocacy training, leadership opportunities, and information about disability policies. GDPA also holds community meetings to hear from families. These conversations help advocates identify problems with disability services and work together to solve them.

“The Family Advocacy Coalition Grant supports our vision of working alongside families as they move beyond individually navigating complicated service systems to working collectively to improve those systems,” said Ramirez. “Ultimately, we want to create a lasting advocacy infrastructure where the voices of families and people with I/DD are not just heard but meaningfully included in decisions about Georgia’s disability services, policies, and funding priorities.”

GDPA strives to use families’ experiences to help improve disability policies and create meaningful change for Georgia’s disability community. The grant is still in its early stages, but Ramirez and Crimmins are already seeing a change in how families approach problems with disability services.

“While the project is still in its early stages, our impact is best measured by the advocacy infrastructure, community participation, and leadership opportunities we are working on,” said Ramirez. “We are already seeing families move from asking, ‘How do I solve this problem for my family?’ to asking, ‘How can we work together so other families do not face the same barriers?’ That shift is powerful.”

One of GDPA’s important early wins is forming a 13-member Advisory Council. The Council includes people with I/DD and family advocates from cities, suburbs, and rural communities across Georgia. Each member brings their lived experiences to help improve systems that affect people with I/DD and their families.

The council reflects GDPA’s family-driven approach. Families and self-advocates choose which policy issues matter most to them. These decisions are not made for them by professionals or organizations.

“During our October Advisory Council meeting, members participated in a process to prioritize issues for upcoming statewide listening sessions,” said Crimmins. Council members identified several important issues. These included Medicaid and home-and-community-based services, DBHDD services, healthcare access, special education, and preventing abuse and neglect.

These priorities reflect the real-world challenges families face. They will guide GDPA’s listening sessions, policy education, and advocacy. Crimmins will work with members to turn these priorities into a plan for advocacy and improving disability services.

Previous advocacy experience is not required to join, and GDPA offers several ways to get involved. GDPA Circle is an online community where members can access educational resources, policy updates, discussions, training materials, and opportunities to connect and collaborate with other advocates. VOICE is a newsletter that GDPA is developing. It will offer easy-to-understand information about disability policies, practical advocacy tips, and stories about Georgia advocates.

With support from GCDD’s Family Advocacy Coalition Grant, GDPA and its growing network of advocates are working toward a future in which families and people with I/DD are not simply navigating Georgia’s disability systems but are active partners in improving them.

To stay informed about GDPA news and opportunities, contact .

Charlotte Foster Williamson, owner of the Atlanta Dance Central, is the recipient of the 2026 Spirit of Kim Unsung Hero Award. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) gives this award to individuals who have made a difference for Georgia’s intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community. Their work often happens behind the scenes.

The award honors the legacy of GCDD’s late office manager Kim Person, who served the Council for 19 years. It celebrates people who share Kim’s spirit of selfless service and dedication to creating more opportunities for people with I/DD and their families to live, learn, work, and play in their communities.

Foster Williamson is dedicated to building an inclusive dance community at Atlanta Dance Central in Roswell, Georgia. She uses specialized programs, research, and training in her dance education work. Together, these create an experience that meets the different needs of her students.

She spent years learning and researching effective teaching methods. She helps dance teachers make changes to include students who have often been left out of traditional dance environments. She gives trainings and research-based guidance to better understand and accommodate students with different disabilities or support needs. Foster Williamson also developed guides that help teachers plan and lead classes where every student feels safe, supported, and successful.

Charlotte believes that “Dance is for everyone.” She brings it to life through two programs designed for students with I/DD: the Foster-Schmidt Program for adults and the Physio-Jazz Program for children.

Students in these programs perform in Atlanta Dance Central’ Christmas show, Once Upon a Holiday, and its spring recital. Each experience is also planned with people with disabilities in mind. From lighting, costumes, and other production elements, each recital considers students’ sensory needs.

Classes are scheduled for students with I/DD alongside teen and elementary-level classes. This encourages dancers of all levels and abilities to interact and build friendships in the lobby between classes. This creates an environment where students with I/DD are seen as part of the larger dance community.

“I have personally benefited from Charlotte’s mentorship, and I have witnessed firsthand the impact she has on her students,” said Jaylah Darlington, professional dancer and teacher at Atlanta Dance Central. “She has taught me that being an inclusive teacher means more than opening the door to everyone; it means making sure everyone who walks through that door feels that they truly belong.”

Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is excited to welcome Kaylon Day as its new Public Policy Director. Day has spent years working with lawmakers and hearing from Georgians about issues affecting their everyday lives. She hopes to bring those experiences and relationships to the intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community.

The public policy director is “a resource for people with I/DD and the lawmakers who serve them,” said Day. She will spend much of the legislative session at the State Capitol, sharing people’s lived experiences and helping lawmakers understand how their decisions affect Georgians with I/DD.

Before joining GCDD, Day served as associate director at the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, a nonprofit that represents Georgia’s 159 county governments. She worked in areas of safe, quality housing access and elections. She also spent three years working in the Georgia State Senate, where she became very familiar with healthcare policy and the state budget. Day holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia.

While serving in the Senate, Day often received phone calls from people in her community. Many conversations have stayed with her, including calls from caregivers worried about what would happen to their loved ones with I/DD when they were gone. “Those calls still haunt me. I couldn’t tell them there’s a lifeline,” she said.

These experiences taught her how to build relationships and have difficult conversations about things affecting people’s everyday lives. Growing up in Valdosta, Georgia, she also saw what barriers people with I/DD face in rural areas. “Anyone should be able to have access to quality healthcare and services that help them access their community,” she said.

Day brings this experience to GCDD, a nonpartisan council that works with lawmakers across political parties to improve supports and services in all regions of the state.

GCDD is preparing for the 2027 Georgia Legislative Session that starts in January. Day hopes to help more people with I/DD and their families feel confident speaking with lawmakers. She knows that personal stories can help them understand how laws affect the people they represent.

Day encourages people to start close to home by sending a simple email or meeting over coffee. Advocacy doesn’t have to happen at the State Capitol. GCDD’s upcoming Hometown Advocacy Day trainings will teach people how to connect with and share stories with their legislators. Learn more and register for an upcoming training.

With new lawmakers taking office following the November 3rd elections, Day sees opportunities to build relationships and bring more attention to disability issues.

Day wants people with I/DD and their families to know they can reach out to her, share their experiences, and help her understand what needs to change. As Day puts it, “Help me learn.”

When the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) traveled to Savannah in October, we did more than hold a meeting. We opened our doors to local leaders and disability advocates.

As part of our October Council meeting, GCDD hosted a community luncheon at the Hotel Indigo Savannah in the city’s historic district. We welcomed disability advocates and elected officials to talk about issues that affect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families.

Leaders in attendance included Rep. Jesse Petrea, who represents House District 166, and Rep.-elect MiQuan Green, who will begin representing House District 165 in January. They sat down with Savannah-area residents and Council members for face-to-face conversations.

The biggest topic of conversation was local accessible transportation options.

For many people with I/DD, transportation is more than a way to get around. It can decide whether a person can take a job, keep an appointment, or join a community event. It can also shape how much a person must rely on family members and friends for rides.

Local options matter because transportation looks different from one community to the next. The services available in one neighborhood or county may not reach the next one. That is why conversations with the people who use these services every day are so important. Discussions covered where the system works and where it falls short.

We were pleased that Rep.-elect Green joined this conversation before his term begins in January. Conversations like these matter because elected officials vote on state laws and budgets that affect Georgians with disabilities. Hearing from community members can help lawmakers understand what is working and what needs to change.

GCDD's work reaches across the state, and the Council meets four times a year to learn what is happening in Georgia and around the nation. Meeting in Savannah gave Council members the chance to hear from coastal Georgia residents in their own community.

The luncheon also showed that advocacy does not have to start at the Capitol. It can start with a shared meal and an honest conversation close to home. We invite you to create your own meetings with legislators this fall with our Hometown Advocacy Days. Learn more on our website at GCDD Hometown Advocacy Days.

Everyone has something they look forward to during the holidays, from favorite foods to family traditions. We asked GCDD Council Members and staff to share their holiday favorites and weigh in on one very important question: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? 

Hear what Council members Lisa Newbern, Martha Haythorn, Jessica Cowell, Steven Wright, and Tais Keyser, and staff member Fanta Mitchell had to say! 

Watch the video and Happy Holidays from all of us at GCDD!