Ly Xīnzhèn M. Zhǎngsūn Brown is NDI’s Director of Public Policy. They bring over 15 years of experience as a committed advocate, community organizer and policy expert at the nexus of disability rights and disability justice. Ly Xīnzhèn has spoken and consulted internationally and throughout the U.S. on topics at the intersections of disability, race, class, gender and sexuality, and has published in numerous scholarly and community publications. Their work has often focused on interpersonal, state and corporate violence, deprivation and exploitation targeting disabled people at the margins. Previously, Ly Xīnzhèn served as Policy Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, focusing on disability rights and algorithmic bias; Director of Policy, Advocacy, & External Affairs at the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network; Justice Catalyst Fellow at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Chairperson of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council.

Outside of their work at NDI, Ly Xīnzhèn teaches at Georgetown University and serves as treasurer of the Disability Rights Bar Association, national executive committee member of the National Lawyers Guild, and commissioner for the Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs. They have also served as an advisor for the Transgender Law Center’s Disability Project, the Nonbinary & Intersex Recognition Project, JOIN for Justice, and The Kelsey. Ly Xīnzhèn is also the founder of The Autistic People of Color Fund.

Ly Xīnzhèn is a lover of all cats, chronic autodidact and polyglot, and deeply proud of their diverse culinary creations.