Advocacy Network on Disabilities

04/23/2026

✨ Afterschool professionals do SO much more than supervise — they inspire, support, and create spaces where kids truly belong 💙

At the Advocacy Network on Disabilities (AND), we see the impact every day. Afterschool staff are the ones making inclusion real — adapting activities, supporting different needs, and showing up as trusted, caring adults for every child 🌱

From homework help 📚 to creative projects 🎨 to building safe, welcoming environments 🤝 — they’re shaping futures in ways that matter.

🙌 This Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week (April 20–24, 2026), we’re celebrating the people who make out-of-school time meaningful AND accessible for all.

Want to show some love? 💌
✨ Write a thank-you note
📧 Share your appreciation with a program leader
📢 Give them a shoutout using
🤝 Advocate for inclusive, well-supported programs

Let’s fill our feeds with gratitude and turn appreciation into real support 💙

04/22/2026

🌍 Earth Day 2026: Our Power, Our Planet

Climate change affects everyone—but people with disabilities are often impacted more and too often left out of the conversation.

At AND, we believe climate action must include everyone:
✔️ Accessible information
✔️ Inclusive emergency planning
✔️ Disabled voices in decision-making

People with disabilities are leaders, advocates, and problem-solvers—making our communities stronger.

Take action today:
🌱 Learn your local climate risks
🌱 Check if your emergency plan is accessible
🌱 Support inclusive programs

When everyone is included, we all thrive.

04/15/2026

A wonderful evening at Community Newspapers’ Best Networking Event in Town in honor of Autism Acceptance Month.

It was especially meaningful as our new Executive Vice President, Lianie Cuba, joined our President & CEO, Ire Diaz, at her first public event representing the Advocacy Network on Disabilities.

We were glad to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new community members, and even join the Autism Dad Podcast during the event.

04/06/2026

🎉 Tickets for Breakfast for Champions 2026 are now on sale!

Join us for a meaningful morning celebrating the accomplishments of individuals with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. To learn more, please email Tamara Hervera, Director of Outreach, at thervera@advocacynetwork.org.

Purchase tickets here:
https://advocacynetwork.networkforgood.com/events/99098-2026-breakfast-for-champions

04/03/2026

With Historic Hampton House – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

04/03/2026

With United Way Miami – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! Grateful for their partnership

04/02/2026

Today is Autism Acceptance Day — a reminder that awareness is not enough.

Acceptance means listening to Autistic voices, respecting different ways of thinking and communicating, and creating communities where people are truly included and supported. Autism Acceptance Month is centered on moving beyond awareness toward meaningful acceptance, inclusion, and support. 

At the Advocacy Network on Disabilities, we believe every person deserves dignity, access, and belonging. Tomorrow and every day, we stand for a world where Autistic individuals are not just recognized, but fully accepted, valued, and empowered.

Working for a world where everyone belongs.


Way Miami Children's Trust

03/26/2026

Purple Day reminds us that epilepsy awareness is about more than a color — it’s about understanding, inclusion, and support. 💜

Today, on Epilepsy Awareness Day, we stand with individuals with epilepsy, their families, caregivers, and advocates. We honor the strength, resilience, and full humanity of people living with epilepsy, while continuing to push for greater awareness, accessibility, and acceptance in every part of our communities.

Everyone deserves to be safe, supported, and included.

Let’s keep building a world where everyone belongs.


The Children's Trust United Way Miami

03/22/2026

Today we had our Spring Day, when caregivers get to relax while our team helps children with and without disabilities play together. We couldn’t do it without our partners The Children's Trust and Children's Services Council of Broward County

03/21/2026

Proud of our CEO

Ire Diaz leads with a simple but powerful vision: a world where everyone belongs. As CEO of the Advocacy Network on Disabilities , she champions inclusion, services, and systems-level change for individuals with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities—especially at a time when hard-won progress is being challenged at both the state and federal levels.

For Ire, joining the Nonprofit Executive Alliance meant stepping into a community of leaders committed to moving Miami-Dade forward together.

“We are stronger together,” she shares. “NEA gives me a deep sense of connection with other CEOs—people I can exchange ideas with and receive meaningful feedback from. Some challenges are unique to leadership, and having a space for collaboration and support is essential.”

Her advice to fellow nonprofit leaders?
“Be open and be present.” Or, in the words of Angela Davis: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world, and you have to do it all the time.”

Ire wholeheartedly recommends the NEA to any CEO looking for community, shared wisdom, and a trusted space where leadership can flourish. We’re grateful to have her voice, her experience, and her advocacy shaping our network.

Learn more and join the NEA! https://philanthropymiami.org/programs/philanthropymiami-partnership-with-the-nonprofit-executive-alliance/