Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán

35, Coordinator for State Autism Strategy, Maryland Department of Disabilities

Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán knows the autism world is “full of strong, very passionate personalities.” In her first year as Maryland’s coordinator for state autism strategy, part of her work has been dedicated to harnessing that energy into working together to develop the state’s first comprehensive plan for addressing autism needs. That means meeting with various groups throughout Maryland to determine what they need, whether it’s parents of autistic children living in rural areas or people of color with autism. The goal is to create a broad policy that integrates with state disability law and helps people with autism lead “self-directed lives.”

Rodríguez-Roldán’s favorite part of the job is holding listening sessions throughout the state to get a sense of what those disparate communities need.

“We try to listen to people who haven’t been heard yet, like communities of color [with autism], LGBTQ autistic people, rural people,” she says. “There’s a fundamental need to see autism or a developmental disability as neither scary nor worth of pity. Autism is not a tragedy; it’s part of the diversity of our community.”

— Lia Russell