Welcome Our New Advisory Council Chair: Leland Dudek

We are pleased to announce that Lee Dudek has joined ACRD as Chair of our Advisory Council.

Lee brings more than twenty-five years of federal service, with senior leadership spanning cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and large scale IT modernization at the Social Security Administration. Most recently, he served as Acting Commissioner of the SSA, where he worked directly with ACRD and other advocates on critical policy decisions, including the identity proofing changes that preserved phone-based claims for disability, SSI, and Medicare applicants.

That experience, in his words, reinforced a simple truth: "There is no inside and outside advocacy. That distinction is a myth. There is only the work." His perspective reflects a rare synthesis of operational responsibility, policy rigor, and an unambiguous focus on outcomes for claimants and the professionals who serve them. As part of his expanded role with ACRD, Lee will deliver a keynote at the 2026 Annual Conference at Gaylord Palms and share ongoing insights through a weekly member column. His first installment follows.

"For most of my professional life, my work has lived inside large public institutions. Places built on precedent, process, and careful steps taken in the right order. Many of you have spent your careers in similar spaces. Advocacy built slowly. Cases assembled carefully. Trust earned over time. The work is serious, and the consequences are real.

For a long while, my world was defined by familiar lanes. Statutes, regulations, meetings, briefs. The steady rhythm of helping people navigate a system that was never designed to be simple, but was always meant to be equitable, fair, and just. It is a way of working grounded in technique. Knowing which question to ask, when to push, when to pause, and when to listen.

Then, at different moments in our careers, we all find ourselves sitting at new tables.

I am grateful to be joining ACRD as Chair of the Advisory Council, and I want to thank the members for the trust you have placed in me. It is an honor to serve alongside advocates who show up every day for people who need help, clarity, and dignity.

During my tenure as Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, ACRD did something that matters. You sat down at the table. You engaged constructively. You negotiated a better outcome for identity proofing for people with disabilities. That work was not abstract. It had a real impact on real lives. It made the system more humane and more workable for the people it is meant to serve.

That experience stayed with me. It reinforced a simple truth. There is no inside and outside advocacy. That distinction is a myth. There is only the work, done wherever we are, by people willing to engage seriously and in good faith.

Many of us draw strength from continuity, tradition, and place. That grounding matters. But progress comes from opening the table, sharing perspectives, and focusing on what actually helps people today.

ACRD is at its best when it does exactly that. Practical, informed, persistent advocacy. Rooted in experience. Focused on outcomes. This weekly note will reflect that spirit. Small observations. Shared lessons. Questions worth asking as we move forward together.

Thank you for having me at the helm. I look forward to the work ahead and to doing it together."

Please join us in welcoming Lee to the ACRD Advisory Council. We look forward to his leadership.

Rachel Buck

Executive Director Lee will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 ACRD Annual Conference at Gaylord Palms. Additional information and registration details may be found here: https://www.acrd.org/events/2026-annual-conference-gaylord-palms-resort-convention-center