Nicole Maher is the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities' coordinator for advocacy initiatives.  She ensures compliance with the federal mandate on self-advocacy programming. She facilitates the Self-Advocacy work team to achieve the goals and objectives in the Council's Five Year Plan. She is the facilitator for Kentucky Partners in Policymaking. Nicole also shares advocacy issues via social media and is responsible for the Council's monthly newsletter. She has been with the Council since 2018 and has worked in the disability field for over 20 years in a variety of capacities. Nicole has a daughter who has Down syndrome and is passionate about disability issues. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.