Michael Morris, JD, Senior Strategic Advisor
Michael Morris is the founder and Senior Strategic Advisor of National Disability Institute. 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 is a former legal counsel to the US Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy and is a key architect of the ABLE Act. 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, IRS, National Council on Disability, US Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and multiple state ABLE programs. He was the first Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellow and worked in the office of Senator Lowell Weicker (CT). After his fellowship, Mr. Morris worked for 15 years for United Cerebral Palsy Associations. He served first as Director of Community Services, then Deputy Director and finally as the national Executive Director.
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 on the importance of inclusive community development and effective strategies to build community partnerships. 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. The Ketchum Prize was created and endowed to honor the career accomplishments of Richard Ketchum, chairman and CEO emeritus of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and chairman emeritus of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.