“As a person with autism, Ari Ne’eman serves as an inspiration to millions of people with disabilities around the world,” RFF President Jay Ruderman said. “As one of the leading disability self-advocates in the United States, Ari is extremely wise beyond his years. His voice advocating for people with disabilities taking control of their own lives is respected in our nation’s capital and throughout our country.”

The award, which is named after the RFF’s founder, “carries special meaning to me, not only as a person with a disability, but also as a Jew,” Ne’eman said.

“The Ruderman Family Foundation’s continued leadership on issues of disability inclusion in the Jewish community should be a source of sincere admiration and pride,” he said.

Last year’s recipient of the inaugural Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion was Dr. Michael Ashley Stein, an internationally recognized expert on disability rights and executive director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability.

“My father (Morton E. Ruderman), someone who believed that we all deserve a fair shot in life, would have been proud that Ari has received an award in his name,” Jay Ruderman said.