One month out from the 13th Annual Disability Summit!

Rep. Jen Mazzocco April 8, 2026 | 1:42 PM

We want to invite you to join us for the 2026 Disability & Mental Health Summit at CCAC’s Allegheny Campus on Pittsburgh’s North Side. We are excited to partner with Rep. Jessica Benham and Rep. Emily Kinkead to continue this important opportunity to learn about the state of disability and mental health across the Commonwealth.

Now in its 13th year, our free Summit has touched thousands of lives and educated legislators from both sides of the aisle, while helping to inform families and working to increase opportunities for self-advocates across the board.

Each year the Summit differs in form and content. This year’s Summit will take place on Thursday, May 7th and will include programming, resources, guest speakers, and special events! For a full schedule of everything that is happening and details about this year’s sessions and speakers, please visit DisabilitySummit.com. To pre-register to attend, please click here.

Here are some of this year’s Summit highlights:

Over 20 free informational sessions on a wide range of disability and mental health topics
A Resource Fair with nearly 150 organizations, including service providers, government programs, and disability/mental health organizations engaged in advocacy, education, employment, inclusive recreation, and much, much more!
Legislative Panel, drawing legislators from Allegheny County and beyond to focus on disability and mental health issues

The summit is the largest event of its kind in western Pennsylvania and would not be possible without the help of countless volunteers, community partners, and our fantastic hosts at the Community College of Allegheny County. If you are interested in volunteering on the day of the event, we’d love to have your help! Click here to learn more about our volunteer needs or to sign up to help.

We hope to see you there!

Disability Summit Keynote Presentation

I’m grateful to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty for joining us for a keynote presentation at the Summit. He’ll be able to share insight into his Autism advocacy and the current challenges facing our justice system.

Joining Dougherty will be the man who started this event, Judge Dan Miller! This presentation is a great way to kick off the Summit, so please join us early for this event.

Credits for Professionals

The Summit offers many continuing education opportunities for professionals in disability and mental health spaces. For more information about these credits or to register for sessions, click here. I’d love to have you learn, connect and earn credits while you’re there.

Legislative Panel

This year’s Summit Legislative Panel will be an engaging conversation about issues impacting those with disability and mental health issues. Along with myself and my fellow hosts, Reps. Kinkead and Benham, we have the following state representatives scheduled to join us:

Rep. Aerion Abney (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Abigail Salisbury (D-Allegheny)
Rep. John Inglis (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Brandon Markosek (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Dan Deasy (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Anita Kulik (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Lindsay Powell (D-Allegheny)
Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D-Lehigh)
Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh)

We will also be joined by State Sens. Wayne Fontana and Jay Costa for the panel. Register today for the Summit to get access to the panel, resource fair, an art exhibit and so much more!

South Hills Futures Fair

We are also excited for the return of the South Hills Futures Fair. This year's Futures Fair will be on Thursday, April 16th, and will offer educational, employment, housing, leisure, and support resources for teens and young adults with disabilities. Look for more information on this next week!

My Open House is Today!

Make sure to come out this evening to my first Open House as your District 42 representative! I’ll be there to meet you and share how my office can help with?state government services?-- from consumer and small business support to driver services and senior citizen programs.

Even if you don’t require any help now, I hope you'll drop by for a few minutes to share your thoughts and ideas for District 42 and grab some delicious cookies! I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.

Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, our office is here to help. You can reach us by phone at 412-343-3870 or visit us at 650 Washington Road, Suite 102, in Mt. Lebanon.