Presenter

Michael Morris
National Disability Institute and ABLE National Resource Center

Michael Morris, JD is the founder and Senior Strategic Advisor of National Disability Institute. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. He received his undergraduate degree in political science with honors from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and his law degree from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. He serves as a subject matter expert on employment, economic advancement, financial inclusion and poverty reduction concerning youth and adults with disabilities to the FDIC, OCC, FRB, IRS and US Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services. He was the first Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellow and worked in the office of Senator Lowell Weicker (CT).

In 2015, Mr. Morris helped establish the ABLE National Resource Center, a collaborative of 25 of the largest, national nonprofit disability organizations. The Center’s website is the leading independent source of information about state ABLE programs and since 2016 has had over five million page per views.

In 2019, Mr. Morris established the Center for Disability-Inclusive Community Development (CDICD) to increase opportunity for partnerships between financial institutions and public and private agencies providing support and services to people with disabilities and their families. He is the moderator of the Center’s podcast series titled, “Keys to Financial Inclusion,” that provides insights and advice from leaders in the financial and disability communities.

In 2020, Mr. Morris was awarded the Ketchum Prize by the FINRA Foundation for his extraordinary leadership in creating a better economic future for people with disabilities through advocacy, research and education.

Conference Presentation