2026 NABWIS Awards
Nominations for the 2026 NABWIS Awards are Open!
NABWIS is accepting nominations for the following awards:
Award Winners Will Receive:
Recognition at the 2026 NABWIS Conference.
Free admission to the next NABWIS conference.
Nominations are due Friday, August 7, 2026. Please contact conference@nabwis.org if you have any additional questions or need assistance.
Mary Ridgely Distinguished Direct Service Award
Mary Ridgely Nomination Form
Purpose: To honor an exceptional certified benefits planner who demonstrates excellence in the direct provision of benefits counseling services.
Background: Mary Ridgely was a trailblazer in the field of disability employment and a founding member of NABWIS. Her career spanned five decades, during which she devoted herself to expanding opportunities for individuals with disabilities through meaningful work and financial empowerment.
Mary was among the first professionals in the nation to provide benefits and work incentives counseling to Social Security beneficiaries. She launched this work under a groundbreaking grant from the Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and went on to lead transformative efforts as Executive Director of Employment Resources, Inc. (ERI). There, she built one of the first comprehensive employment models for individuals with physical disabilities that seamlessly integrated benefits planning. She also established a statewide training and technical assistance center to professionalize the field and managed one of the original SSA-funded Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach (BPAO) programs.
Mary's early innovations laid the groundwork for national policy change. Her work directly informed the development of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, helping bring benefits counseling to the national stage.
She continued this critical work beginning in 2012 as a Senior Technical Assistance Liaison and Trainer at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a role she held until her retirement in 2025. At VCU, Mary taught and mentored hundreds of benefits planners across the country—many of whom went on to become leading voices and changemakers in the field. Her approach to training was marked by rigor, compassion, and an unwavering belief that Social Security beneficiaries deserved the highest quality services. She consistently modeled what excellent benefits planning looks like and challenged others to rise to that standard.
Alongside Susan Daniels and Thomas Golden, Mary co-founded NABWIS with the vision of elevating benefits planning from a support service to a profession rooted in equity, accountability, and respect for the individuals it serves.
Mary believed deeply in the power of benefits counseling—not just as a technical service, but as a life-affirming tool that helps people make informed decisions, pursue financial stability, and move toward greater independence. This award honors direct service professionals who carry forward her values, her integrity, and her enduring commitment to making work possible for all.
Eligibility: An individual nationally certified in benefits planning as a CWIC, CPWIC, or WIP-C that regularly provides outstanding direct benefits planning services to individual beneficiaries and their families. Nominees could include, but are not limited to:
Social Security staff member such as Area Work Incentive Coordinator (AWIC), Work Incentive Liaison (WIL), or other.
Vocational Rehabilitation agency employee
Loocal One Stop Center employee
State or local public agency employee
National or state legislator
Employees at all levels of secondary/post-secondary public education
Employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Nominees will have made meaningful contributions to the field of Work Incentive Counseling in one or more of the following ways:
Advocacy Beyond the Role: Championed access to high-quality benefits counseling services for individuals with disabilities—both within their organization and in the broader community—beyond the expectations of their formal job responsibilities.
Institutional Leadership: Led or supported efforts within a university, nonprofit, for-profit agency, or government entity to establish or expand Work Incentives Counseling as an essential service for Social Security beneficiaries seeking or maintaining employment.
Collaborative Impact: Actively partnered with other professionals or organizations to enhance service coordination, outreach, or referrals—strengthening connections to benefits counseling for individuals with disabilities.
Commitment to Direct Service Excellence: Provided high-quality, person-centered benefits counseling and modeled professionalism, ethics, and excellence in direct service delivery.
Innovative Contributions: Created, led, or collaborated on special initiatives, projects, or resources that advanced the field of Work Incentive Counseling—whether through training, tools, research, or community engagement.
Leadership in Policy or Practice: Served in advisory or leadership roles—such as a board member, subject matter expert, or policy advocate—promoting the importance of direct benefits counseling in statewide or local employment and disability initiatives.â
Thomas P Golden Award
Thomas P Golden Nomination Form
Purpose: To recognize outstanding service to the benefits and work incentives counseling (also known as benefits planning) community and furtherance of the profession of work incentives counseling. This award was established in 2021.
Background: In 2020, NABWIS and the disability community lost Thomas P. Golden, a leader that truly exemplified the word "service.” Thomas was a founding member of National Association of Benefits and Work Incentives Specialists (NABWIS) to promote work incentives counseling and informed choice for Americans with disabilities who receive public entitlement. He was an active member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, National Council on Rehabilitation Education, National Consortium of State Rehabilitation Councils, Association for Persons in Supported Employment, Consortium of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation, National Consortium for State Rehabilitation Councils, and other national organizations supporting employment for people with disabilities. He is recognized for international comparative policy work including with the Government of Ireland, the International Labor Organization, and the United Kingdom. He managed to secure, direct and manage over $270 million in international, federal and state sponsored initiatives. His favorite professional title was that of professor while also performing his duties as Executive Director of Cornell University’s Yang Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Thomas was devoted to a lifetime of learning, was an incredible disability advocate, and a leading practitioner and coach in the area of Vocational Rehabilitation and disability policies.
Eligibility: An individual who is a current NABWIS member and exhibits the spirit of leadership in the area of Work Incentives Counseling. Nominees have contributed to the Work Incentives Counseling field in at least one of the following ways:
Promoted work incentives counseling as a necessity for beneficiaries returning to work,
Expressed, through action, that work incentives counseling needs to be recognized as a valuable and true profession,
Providing input on SSA and other public policy proposals and/or legislative activities that educated on how those proposals (would impact) impacted beneficiaries.
Educated others in their communities as to how benefits and work incentives counseling matters.
Collaborated with partners to ensure work incentive counseling services are provided to individuals in underserved areas
Collaborated with colleagues and other stakeholders to ensure effective and beneficial direct work incentive counseling serviceâ
Thomas P Golden Nomination Form
Susan M Daniels Award
Susan M Daniel Nomination Form
Purpose: To recognize outstanding government service in support of the profession of benefits planning by a state, federal or legislative partner. This award was established in 2021.
Background: Dr. Susan M. Daniels was appointed as Deputy Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs at the Social Security Administration (SSA) by President Clinton. She was responsible for the direction and policy governing the Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability programs—Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. She led the policy and program management staff at SSA headquarters, Office of Hearings and Appeals and a disability determination process in 54 state agencies with an administrative budget of more than $1 billion and over 11,000 employees. In 2007, Susan, along with Dr. Thomas Golden, Executive Director of the Yang Tan Institute, and Mary Ridgely, former Director of ERI, Wisconsin created NABWIS to support Benefits Specialists as a vital part of an individual with a disability’s return to work and Benefits Planning as a true profession. As Deputy Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs at SSA, Susan worked tirelessly to lay the groundwork for the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act. This act created employment incentives and healthcare provisions for workers with disabilities and removed many of the systemic barriers that forced many individuals with disabilities to choose between health coverage and work. Susan was committed to disability rights advocacy and as a senior policy maker, had a significant impact on improving the lives of others with disabilities.
Eligibility: An elected or career public servant in national, state, or local government that has shown outstanding service in support of the Work Incentive Counseling profession. Nominees could include, but are not limited to:
Social Security staff member such as Area Work Incentive Coordinator (AWIC), Work Incentive Liaison (WIL), or other.
Vocational Rehabilitation agency employee
Local One Stop Center employee
State or local public agency employee
National or state legislator
Employees at all levels of secondary/post-secondary public education
Employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Nominees will have made meaningful contributions to the field of Work Incentive Counseling in one or more of the following ways:
Promoted or advocated above and beyond their employment scope, in their agency and in the community, for access to Work Incentives Counseling for individuals with disabilities.
Introduced or worked on behalf of legislation, policy, or protocols promoting Work Incentives Counseling as a necessity for beneficiaries returning to work.
Collaborated with agencies providing Work Incentives Counseling to increase connection to services for individuals with disabilities.
Promoted Work Incentives Counseling as a valuable and true profession.
Developed a special project to further the field of Work Incentives Counseling.