Katy Schmid is Senior Executive Officer of National Programs at The Arc of the United States. She leads the organization’s national program portfolio, including technology initiatives and partnerships and The ArcSchool, The Arc’s special education advocacy curriculum. Katy specializes in building high-impact partnerships across national nonprofits, major corporate foundations, and university research teams, with a focus on scaling practical programs that expand inclusion and independence for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Katy began her career in public schools in the Washington, DC area as a teacher and later as an assistive technology program coordinator, which informs her focus on innovation and accessibility. Her work has been featured by NPR, NBC, Forbes, and the U.S. Department of Education. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Longwood University and has completed professional certificates through Georgetown and Harvard.