THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESIDENT NAMES ARTHUR M. HAMILTON AND SALLY ANN JOCHUM
TO THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON MENTAL RETARDATION
The President today announced his intent to appoint Arthur M. Hamilton and Sally Ann Jochum as members of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation.
Arthur M. Hamilton, of Phoenix, Arizona, has been the Minority Leader of the Arizona House of Representatives since 1981. Concurrently, he is a Public Affairs Representative for Salt River Project, a Phoenix-based water and electric company. As a state representative, Mr. Hamilton has a strong record of accomplishment in improving Arizona's primary education system, and he serves on the committees on Ways and Means, Rules, Legislative Council, Joint Committee on Capitol Review and the Joint Legislative Tax Committee. He is a past president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and serves on the NCSL Foundation of State Legislatures. Mr. Hamilton is a former Chairperson of the NCSL Developmental Disabilities Task Force and is a frequent keynote speaker at developmental disabilities conferences.
Sally Ann Jochum, of Olathe, Kansas, is a Community Living Coordinator at the Johnson County Development Supports in Lenexa, Kansas. Ms. Jochum will be the first direct support professional ever appointed to the President's Committee on Mental Retardation. She is responsible for supervising and coordinating community living programs for adults with mental retardation. She is active in the development of person-centered planning and for the overall management of the living center. She has served as a teaching consultant at Community Living Opportunities in Lawrence, Kansas, and as an Expressive Therapy Coordinator at Charter Hospital in Overland Park, Kansas. She is a member of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals and the American Association on Mental Retardation. Ms. Jochum received a B.A. degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The President's Committee on Mental Retardation was created by Executive Order in May, 1966. The Committee provides advice and assistance to the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services and publishes an annual report regarding the concerns of the mental retardation community.