Meritzer Award

2025 Meritzer Award Celebration

The 7th annual Richard Meritzer Award, co-sponsored by the City-County Task Force on Disabilities and ReelAbilities Pittsburgh, will be presented to Nancy Murray on Saturday, September 6, before the screening of the film Deaf. Join us at 7pm at Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse to celebrate this prestigious award!

Nancy Murray

Nancy Murray, M.S., and her husband have three adult children with Down syndrome. Now retired, Nancy was one of the founders and the first Director of the Down Syndrome Center at Children’s Hospital (UPMC) of Pittsburgh and the President of The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh and Senior VP of Achieva. In addition, she has decades of experience in the areas of public policy, advocacy, family support, support coordination, and health care of people with disabilities. Nancy’s primary areas of interest and study are the resilience of families of people with disabilities and family caregiving.  As a registered lobbyist, she has successfully worked on legislation and funding for services for people with disabilities and on innovative policy development in the areas of home and community-based services, health care, and services for children with complex medical issues.

Honoring Richard Meritzer

The Meritzer Award was named in memory of Richard Meritzer (1953-2019), who served as ADA Coordinator for the City of Pittsburgh from 2007 to 2019. Richard was a leader in promoting the understanding and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the City of Pittsburgh and beyond. His work in disability advocacy, his kindness and his generosity were lauded by all who knew him.