- Learned Hebrew as a child, became Bat Mitzvahed as an adult, and was a long-time member of the Adas Israel congregation.
- Had two brothers, Ricky and Joseph.
- Graduated in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley with a Masters in Public Health.
- "The mother" of the disability rights movement.
- Raised in Brooklyn, New York, by her parents Ilse and Werner Heumann, where she contracted polio at age two.
- Gtaduated from Long Island University with a B.A. in 1969.
- Co-authored her memoir, "Being Heumann", and its young adult version, "Rolling Warrior".
- She was appointed as Washington, D.C.'s first Director for the Department on Disability Services.
- From 2002-2006 she served as the first Advisor on Disability and Development at the World Bank.
- From 2010-2017, during the Obama Administration, she worked as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. State Department.
- Served on the boards of the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Humanity and Inclusion, Human Rights Watch, the United States International Council on Disability, Save the Children, and several others.
- Helped found the Berkley Center for Independent Living, the Independent Living Movement, and the World Institute on Disability.
- Was instrumental in developing and implementing national disability rights legislation, including Section 504, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- In 1993 she moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services in the Clinton Administration, a role she filled until 2001.
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