In Dave’s honor, the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals created the Hingsburger Humanitarian Award. The recipients of this prestigious award will be those who are champions and allies with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They are those who have demonstrated excellence in their advocacy with people with disabilities and direct support professionals.

2025 Award Winner

BJ Stasio

We are proud to announce BJ Stasio as the recipient of the 2025 Dave Hingsburger Humanitarian Award. This prestigious honor celebrates individuals whose lives reflect a deep commitment to justice, inclusion, and the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

BJ Stasio is a lifelong self-advocate, educator, and leader whose impact has extended far beyond his home in New York State. His decades of service with the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and as President of the Self-Advocates of New York State (SANYS) exemplify his passion for making sure that people with disabilities are heard, respected, and empowered.

BJ has led major efforts to expand voter education and accessibility, launching the Get Out the Vote Task Force and partnering with groups like the League of Women Voters. He has influenced public policy through powerful testimony at the New York State Senate and played a key role in securing a much-needed OPWDD satellite office in Buffalo.

Co-founding Art of Advocacy, Inc., BJ is now building tools and resources to support the next generation of self-advocates, families, and allies. His advocacy isn’t just about systems—it’s personal. From helping a peer avoid homelessness to elevating “Rise Up” stories to the Governor’s office, BJ’s work is rooted in compassion and justice.

In the spirit of our late friend and mentor, Dave Hingsburger, BJ’s leadership reminds us what it means to live with courage, dignity, and purpose. We are honored to celebrate his remarkable journey with this year’s Dave Hingsburger Humanitarian Award.

2023 Award Winner

Lynne Seagle

NADSP was proud to recognize Lynne Seagle with the 2023 Hingsburger Humanitarian Award.

Lynne Seagle began her career at Hope House Foundation in 1978 as director of residential services and has been their executive director for more than three decades, retiring in 2022. Prior to joining Hope House, she was a special education teacher. Throughout college, she worked as a direct support professional for the Arc of Tidewater, which later merged its services with Hope House.

Under Lynne’s leadership, Hope House has become internationally known for its innovative, person-centered approach. One of her proudest accomplishments was guiding their transition from group homes to supporting people in their own apartments in the early nineties.

In 1986, Lynne was honored as the Virginia Administrator of the Year by the Virginia Community Living Association (CLAMR). She also received an Innovation Award from the same organization. In 1990, Lynne received the Leadership Award from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). Later in the nineties, she received the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation’s International Future Leader Award (1998). In 2011, she was appointed to The Arc of Virginia’s board of directors. Lynne has served on the President’s Commission on Intellectual Disabilities and served on the advisory board of the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation.

She has a long-standing relationship with the NADSP and was instrumental in assisting the transition from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration to our current iteration. Since 2011, Lynne has facilitated several strategic planning sessions and led a planning group that positioned the NADSP from the portfolio-based credentialing program to the highly successful NADSP E-Badge Academy. Lastly, she has spoken at nearly every NADSP conference and has always been one of this organization’s fiercest allies and trusted advisor.

Lynne and Dave had a deep bond and shared a passion for social justice and equality for all people, particularly those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Lynne’s humanitarian leadership and impactful career was recognized during NADSP’s Conference.

2022 Award Winner

Steve Eidelman

The NADSP is proud to recognize Steve Eidelman with the Hingsburger Humanitarian Award for 2022. For those who are not familiar with Mr. Eidelman, he is currently the Faculty Director of the National Leadership Consortium and the H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Human Services Policy and Leadership at the University of Delaware. He is a past President of the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) and serves as Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Special Olympics International. Steve also serves as the Executive Director of The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation. His recent efforts have focused on implementation of Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), focusing on deinstitutionalization. He was the Pennsylvania state government official in charge when Pennhurst State School and Hospital was closed and continues to be a fierce advocate for community living.

2021 Award Winner

Joe Jobes

It is our honor to recognize Dave’s husband, life-partner and biggest supporter, Joe Jobes as the first recipient of The Hingsburger Humanitarian Award. For more than 50 years, Joe Jobes was a contributor, muse and first set of ears to Dave’s thoughts, writings and lectures. In most recent years, Joe provided physical support as Dave’s health declined. But it would be the emotional support and the biggest laughs at many of Dave’s jokes – which we are sure he’s heard many times – that most of us think of when we reflect on Joe’s loving partnership with Dave. To know Dave, is to know Joe – deeply committed to their mission and deeply committed to each other.