Nelly Nieblas, Manager, Policy
Nelly Nieblas
Nelly Nieblas is a Manager, Policy, at the disability advocacy nonprofit organization Disability Belongs™.
Nelly is a public policy leader, disability rights advocate, and social impact strategist with a powerful track record of advancing equity, access, and inclusion. As a first-generation Latina with a physical disability, she brings both lived experience and policy expertise to her work, championing the voices of underrepresented communities—especially people with disabilities, immigrants, and low-income families. In her current role at Disability Belongs™, she oversees policy on Employment, Long-Term Care Services, Transportation, Housing, and International issues.
With over two decades of experience across government, education, and the nonprofit sectors, Nelly specializes in coalition-building, legislative advocacy, and community engagement. Her professional journey includes previously serving as the Manager of Policy, Advocacy, and Engagement at Disability Belongs™. She also served as the Legislation and Public Information Manager at the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (appointed by Governor Jerry Brown), and as an Assistant Legislative Deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. She contributed to disability policy on the global stage as a United Nations Observer for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Nelly holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California. She is an alumna of the Coro Fellowship Lead LA Fellowship and worked for Public Allies Inc., where she served as liaison to the Obama Administration. As a David Rockefeller Center fellow at Harvard, she collaborated with the Mexican government to assess and address disability inclusion strategies.
Nelly’s writing has appeared in the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy. She is currently a public member appointed by Gov. Newsom to the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, where she helps uphold quality care standards across the state.
Known for blending strategy with storytelling, Nelly is guided by the belief that inclusive policy is good policy, and that true progress happens when the communities most affected by policy are at the center of shaping it.
Contact Nelly Nieblas
Reach Nieblas at Nelly.Nieblas@DisabilityBelongs.org
