Current News

The Lurie Institute is excited to announce that Teresa Nguyen, director of the Community Living Equity Center at Lurie, has joined the Self-Direction Center's Board of Directors. The Self-Direction Center has a diverse board that represents the broader self-direction community and works to strengthen self-direction nationally through collaboration, community, and collective action.

Learn more about the Self-Direction Center.

The Heller School Disability Working Group and Lurie Institute for Disability Policy are hosting a gathering to honor and remember disabled people who have lost their lives due to ableism and neglect. The event will be a moment of reflection, remembrance, and solidarity. Lurie Institute director Monika Mitra will offer an introduction, which will be followed by an interactive session facilitated by Jessica Chaikof (Brandeis Peer Accessibility Liaisons). Jaspreet Mahal, Senior Accessibility Specialist in Student Accessibility Support, will also join the discussion.

The conversational format is intended so that a space for dialogue and reflection can be proomoted.

Date: March 3 | Time: 2:30 p.m. | Location: Zinner Forum, Brandeis University

Learn more about Disability Day of Mourning 2026 events around the country.

The state of Kerala in India invited Dr. Mitra to present at two events this month. First, she presented at the National Institute of Speech and Hearing in Thiruvananthapuram on disability policy and health issues related to Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in the U.S.

Then, she presented on a panel about disability-inclusive development at the International Conference on Development and Democracy.

The latest episode of upEND features Lurie Institute and National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities researcher Robyn Powell. Powell discusses how the child welfare system uses the idea of "predictive neglect" to perpetuate discriminatory practices against parents with disabilities, with particular stigma attached to parents with mental health issues.

Access the Podcast, What About Disabled Parents?