Katy Neas
Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of the United States
Washington, DC
Summary
Katy Neas is the Chief Executive Officer of The Arc of the United States, a national nonprofit that advocates for and supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. She leads The Arc’s national office in Washington, DC and a network of nearly 550 state and local chapters across the United States. She is a national leader on disability rights and inclusion, including how policy and public attitudes shape daily life for people with disabilities and families.
Expertise
Katy Neas is an expert in disability policy and special education systems, including IDEA and the ADA, and a national spokesperson on disability rights and inclusion in public life.
Career highlights
- Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education
- Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, American Physical Therapy Association
- 23 years at Easterseals, including as Senior Vice President of Government Relations
- Associate Director, Association of University Centers on Disabilities
- Worked with Senator Tom Harkin and the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy on the ADA and IDEA
- Past Chair, Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities
Education
Georgetown University
In the news
- The 19th (Feb. 2026): 90% of student discrimination and harassment complaints were dismissed last year. Here’s why.
- New York Times (Jan. 2026): The ‘R-Word’ Returns, Dismaying Those Who Fought to Oust It
- Associated Press (Oct. 2025): Education Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special education and civil rights enforcement
- Axios (Sept. 2025): “Heartbreaking” and “cruel”: Mothers decry Trump’s Tylenol-autism claims
- The Independent (May 2025): Uproar as disability rights protesters in wheelchairs dragged out of House Medicaid meeting: ‘You’re going to kill me!’
- CNN (Feb. 2025): Disabled Americans Fear Efforts to Roll Back Protections
- Washington Post (Nov. 2024): When disabled kids are left behind in school shooting drills
Download Katy Neas’s full bio (PDF)
LinkedIn: Katy Neas
Updated: April 14, 2026
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
