Kimberly Knackstedt

Kim Knackstedt is the principal consultant of Unlock Access, LLC and brings more than a decade of accessibility and disability policy experience to her work. She previously served in disability policy positions in Congress and the White House and brings experience as a person with chronic illnesses to her accessibility and policy perspectives.

Kim’s experiences span education, government, and nonprofit sectors, with strengths in policy writing; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; accessibility program implementation; strategic visioning and planning; project management; public speaking; and coalition building.

Prior to launching Unlock Access, LLC, Kim was the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Public Policy Fellow, serving on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in 2016. She then served as the disability policy advisor for Chairman Bobby Scott on the Committee on Education and Labor in the U.S. House of Representatives. Next, she was the senior disability policy advisor for Senator Patty Murray on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the U.S. Senate. In January 2021, Kim was appointed as the first ever director of disability policy for the Domestic Policy Council for the Biden–Harris Administration. Following her experience in the White House, Kim was a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation, Director of the Disability Economic Justice team, and Director of the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative.

Kim received her Bachelor of Education in special education and elementary education from Gonzaga University, Master of Science in Education in special education from the University of Kansas, and Ph.D. in special education and policy from the University of Kansas.