There is a new staffer at the White House tasked with addressing the needs of the disability community.

Maria Town took over this week as an associate director in the White House’s Office of Public Engagement. In the post, she will focus on incorporating the needs of people with disabilities in Obama administration activities.

The new hire comes just over a month after Taryn Mackenzie Williams left the role. Williams was in the position temporarily and has since returned to the U.S. Department of Labor where she was stationed previously.

Town, who has cerebral palsy, is a full-time, permanent hire, White House officials said.

Before joining the president’s staff, Town worked as an adviser in the Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. In that role, she focused on improving employment among youth and young adults with disabilities.

“Maria’s track record on bolstering youth with disabilities as they transition into the workforce and her demonstrated skill crafting career development opportunities in classrooms, fostering leadership for young people with disabilities and building opportunities for inclusive volunteerism will serve the existing efforts of the White House on behalf of Americans with disabilities well,” said Rebecca Cokley, executive director of the National Council on Disability, a federal agency that advises the president on disability issues.

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