APTA has hired Aaron Bishop as APTA’s vice president of public affairs, effective Nov. 1.

The association’s public affairs unit includes advocacy and other relationships with federal and state governments, media relations and consumer awareness, and APTA's policy efforts around health care and payment.

Bishop comes to APTA from the American Psychological Association’s advocacy office, where he served as the deputy chief of public policy and engagement since 2017. Prior to that he served in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017 as the commissioner/deputy commissioner at the U.S. Department of Health, Administration on Disabilities, within the Administration for Community Living.

Bishop has a long career as an advocate for people with disabilities, including having served as the executive director of the National Council on Disability and as professional staff with a focus on disability policy working with Sens. Mike Enzi and Judd Gregg for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 

He has been a Packer Policy Fellow with the Australian Department of Health and Aging and a Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellow. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, holding a double bachelor’s degree in bacteriology and genetics, and a master’s degree in social work. 

Bishop has presented often as an advocate for and with people with disabilities. He currently serves on the International Initiative for Disability Leadership Sponsoring Countries and as a board member for TASH, an international advocacy organization for people with disabilities and support needs. He is also a Little League assistant coach in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Open positions at APTA are posted on our website.