Meet Kaylon Day, GCDD’s New Public Policy Director

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.”