John’s Eras of Employment

Join us for a powerful and personal session with John, a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) policy and systems change. In this session, John will reflect on his employment journey from 2005 to 2025—sharing the challenges, growth, and key supports that shaped his career.

John Lemus has 20 years in advocacy and policy experience he has been with AtWork! since November 2018. John Lives in Cheney with his partner Sydney. John currently works as the Advocacy Manager for AtWork! John co led the push to get Sub Minimum Wage banned in the state of Washington. During the interim the AtWork! Advocacy team switches gears to training and strategic initiatives. John has developed self-advocate driven content on Job Development, Behavior as Communication and Accommodations in the workplace. John is a Leadership Spokane Alumni and a Graduate of the UW (LEND) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental & Related Disorders program. In 2015 John was recognized with the Tom Miller Award For Advocacy from SourceAmerica. 

John also works for the University of Washington Institute on Human Development and Disability as a Project Echo Autism Hub Team Member. Outside of work John serves on the Citizen Advisory Committee for Spokane Transit and was recently elected to the board of directors for WA APSE.