Tammie Picklesimer served as AUCD's 2008 Disability Policy Leadership Fellow. She earned a BA from the University of Kansas in Business Administration and her MEd at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, in Special Education.

While at AUCD, Tammie assisted the legislative affairs staff in pursuing its legislative goals, especially in the area of education policy, as well as assisting program staff to fulfill Administration on Developmental Disabilities contract activities. Her primary policy focus was in education, specifically No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Tammie served as AUCD; representative to the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Employment and Training Task Force, which was; very active with the Ticket to Work Regulations, development of the Rehabilitation Services Administration's (RSA) strategic performance plan for the VR Program, and reauthorizing the Rehabilitation Act and Workforce Investment Act. Tammie also served on the CCD Rights Task Force, which saw the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act and Mental Health Parity Act passed and signed into law. 

Tammie also acted as the liaison between AUCD central office and the Council on Community Advocacy (COCA), serving as a facilitator to support COCA and their efforts to strengthen consumer advisory committees across the network. Additionally, Tammie developed an Orientation Menu, a resource for new directors to use as they navigate the system, and presented it at the ADD Technical Assistance Institute in 2008. The menu includes resources and activities indentified by ADD and AUCD as being helpful when complying with the ADD requirements, leveraging funds, and building positive relationships within the university setting.

In a cooperative agreement between AAIDD and AUCD, Tammie assisted with promoting involvement of students and young professionals in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. For example, she helped organize teleconferences and webinars focusing on key issues for students and young professionals, distribute relevant materials created by each organization to the other organization's membership, and co-presented at the AUCD Annual Meeting. Other presentations included: a legislative briefing and advocacy training to Partners in Policy Making; a legislative update at the Pacific Rim Conference in Honolulu Hawaii; participated in the AUCD Annual Meeting Training Symposium on Universal Design committee; and presented an oral summary before the U.S. Dept. of Education on the financial aid provisions in the Higher Education Act. 

To read more about Tammie's Policy Fellow experience, read her final report.

Currently, Tammie is employed at the Center on Disability Studies (Hawaii's UCEDD) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa as an Assistant Specialist.;a doctoral student in the field of exceptionalities at the University of Hawaii and a trainee at the Center on Disability Studies where she has conducted research on postsecondary education for students with disabilities among other projects.