Amity Lachowicz serves as a Monitor and Support Specialist with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) National Training and Data Center (NTDC) in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling and Special Education – Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.

Amity is a past recipient of Social Security benefits and a disability rights advocate. Amity got her start in the disability field working at a Center for Independent Living, where she provided supports and services to people with disabilities, including benefits counseling, independent living skills training, and pre-employment transition services for youth. Prior to joining the NTDC, Amity served as the Program Manager for the Representative Payee Review Program at Disability Rights Maryland, under the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018. In this role, Amity oversaw the review of over 100 representative payees serving Social Security beneficiaries in Maryland.

Amity has a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Administration and Policy and a minor in Sociology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.