05/08/2026
Should indoor air be healthy? Should those on Medicaid be the ones fighting for its future? These are the challenges that the 2026 AAPD Hearne Award winners face in their extraordinary work.
We've profiled the AAPD Hearne Award Winner since 2022. This year, we had so much fun profiling Katie “KD” Drackert and Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson, the 2026 winners of American Association of People with Disabilities' Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award!
The award recognizes emerging leaders with disabilities whose advocacy, leadership, and community work are creating meaningful change across the disability community.
Katie founded Clear the Air ATX in 2023, an organization dedicated to providing access to free high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers and community education to reduce the spread of airborne pathogens and impacts of post-viral illnesses.
Brittanie Wilson is a disability justice organizer building a new program called “Our Stories, Our Care”, a disability justice storytelling and care-rooted advocacy project to defend Medicaid and home care in California.
We love helping to share the stories of amazing leaders making this powerful impact for communities and we’re so excited about what comes next!❤️
Video links:
Brittanie: facebook.com/share/v/1S4SNdVnS6
Katie: facebook.com/share/v/1BZFguRvfv