Deadline: Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 5 PM ET

Every year, AAPD recognizes outstanding emerging leaders with disabilities who exemplify leadership, advocacy, and dedication to the broader disability community with the AAPD Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award. The award is named to honor the legacy and leadership of our co-founder and AAPD’s first President, Paul G. Hearne, who had a bold idea to create AAPD. 

Two (2) recipients will receive an award of $25,000: $10,000 in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the disability community and $15,000 to further a new or existing project or initiative that increases the opportunities for people with disabilities. A recipient can be an individual or a pair (2-person group). The recipients of the 2027 AAPD Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Awards will be honored among national disability leaders at the virtual 2027 AAPD National Community Event in the Spring.

We encourage applicants who self-identify as an emerging leader with a disability to apply, regardless of U.S. citizenship, incarceration status, or age. We especially encourage people who have experienced intersecting forms of discrimination and from historically excluded backgrounds, rural areas, and U.S. territories to apply. An applicant’s status as an emerging leader is not necessarily tied to age, education status, employment, or specific experience or involvement in the disability community. The full list of applicant requirements can be found here.
AAPD will host a Zoom webinar on Wednesday, August 24th, at 4 PM ET/1 PM PT for any interested applicants to review the information and answer any questions you have. ASL and CART will be provided. Register here for the webinar. If you have any additional access needs, please email programs@aapd.com.
AAPD has a guide for applicants that includes a sample application, financial and disbursement information, resources for creating your application budget, and more. We also encourage you to learn about our incredible 2026 awardees here, and to check out the written and video profiles of PGH award winners over the years, compiled to celebrate 25 years of the award.