Disability Rights and Advocacy

Aliya Rahman: Crash at the Intersection of Disability and Authority

Aliya Rahman, a software security engineer and former engineering manager, experienced a life-altering traumatic brain injury (TBI) in August 2024. Long navigating the tech industry as an autistic, queer, woman of color, she brought a unique perspective and a strong keen awareness of structural patterns to her work. While on the challenging road to recovery, … Read more

Celebrating 36 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its Informational Network

A Comprehensive Disability Rights Law On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law, representing a consequential improvement in civil rights for people with disabilities. The law prohibits discrimination based on disability and guarantees people with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in society. The ADA also affirmed a national expectation that people … Read more

Rachel Shaw: Getting to Yes in Workplace Accessibility

Employees with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations to perform their jobs. With the recent rise of Long COVID—a series of symptoms that remain after recovering—requests to work from home have surged, often clashing with mandatory return-to-office policies. When employers and employees disagree on these accommodations, the results are often costly litigation, lost … Read more

The Pacific ADA Center

Decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), gaps in legal compliance, information and accessibility still impact the daily lives of people with disabilities. There remains a great need for resources that offer education and guidance to businesses, organizations and local governments on how to implement ADA policies. At the same time, … Read more

Vedanten Naidoo — Rising from The Bluff

Action movies demand intense stamina, precise choreography and physical resilience. For most actors, the grueling reality of a major Hollywood production is a test of endurance. For Vedanten Naidoo, dodging pirates and exploring caves on the set of an international action film is an immersive, highly demanding and welcome form of physical therapy. Vedanten is … Read more

Nadine Naidoo — A Shared Mission of Advocacy

When Vedanten Naidoo stepped onto the set of the international action film The Bluff, he was doing more than playing a character. Accompanied by his mother, Nadine Naidoo—an actor, director, and Ashoka Fellow—he was stepping into a narrative that mirrored their own family’s history. For this mother and son partnership, navigating the entertainment industry is … Read more

Comedian Tina Friml — A Standout in Standup

Tina Friml is a stand-up comedian whose sharp, off-kilter humor has earned her national attention. She has appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Comedy Central,” and “The Drew Barrymore Show.” Her live performances span major comedy festivals and international stages, including the “Netflix Is a Joke Festival,” “Rogue Island Comedy Festival” and clubs … Read more

Bob Kafka’s Legacy: Organizing Power, Expanding Rights, and Mobilizing the Disability Vote

Bob Kafka spent more than forty years transforming disability rights in the United States. Known as a strategist and policy wonk, Kafka was just as comfortable in a suit at the negotiating table as he was wearing a “rabble rousing” T-shirt at a disability rights protest. His work blended insider expertise with unwavering grassroots pressure, … Read more

Alice Wong — A Legacy of Disability Activism

Alice Wong (1974–2025) was an influential writer, editor, and disability justice activist. Her advocacy centered on increasing the cultural and political visibility of disabled people, ensuring their stories were shared without the filter of mainstream media, and demanding systemic change. Wong often described herself as a “cyborg,” reclaiming the assistive technologies she used as part … Read more

ADA35 – Investment in Human Rights

On 7/26/1990 President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 into law on the South Lawn of the White House. Shown sitting from left to right are: Evan Kemp, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; President Bush; and Justin Dart, Chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. … Read more

Eve Hill—Attorney with Purpose

As the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law 1990, civil rights lawyer Eve Hill was just beginning her legal career. What followed was a decades-long commitment to advancing the rights of people with disabilities through litigation, public service, education and policy work. With experience spanning the Department of Justice as Deputy Assistant Attorney … Read more

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights

Children know about Civil Rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez. But many have yet to learn about the transformational work of Ed Roberts, hailed as the “Father of Independent Living.” Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights is a biography about Edward Verne Roberts, who, at age 14, became a … Read more

John Leguizamo Interview

John Leguizamo’s breakthrough one-man shows influenced generations of performers of color to create their own art with authenticity. His characters include “Javier,” a wheelchair user, and his deaf “Uncle Manny,” who were based on real life family members. Leguizamo’s efforts to bring the stories of disenfranchised populations to light is evident in his stage productions … Read more

Disability Voting Rights Week! 

Disability Voting Rights Week, September 11-15, is a national nonpartisan initiative to build the power and presence of the disability vote. There are an estimated 38 million Americans with disabilities who are eligible to vote. Despite the size and power of our voting bloc, people with disabilities voted at a lower rate nationally than non-disabled voters in the 2022 … Read more

Justice Department Secures Agreement to Provide Community-Based Services to Children with Disabilities in Rhode Island

The DOJ settlement agreement with the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services will pay $75,000 in damages and resolve alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The parents of a child with autism filed a complaint with the Justice Department, alleging that Rhode Island failed to provide their minor son … Read more

Hannah Orban — Equalizing Opportunities

“I’m committed to policy-making that improves the lives of people with disabilities,” says Hannah Orban, an advocate, public policy specialist, and Fulbright scholar from Sydney, Australia. “We have to redouble our efforts to dismantle disabling attitudes. People with disabilities have been fighting tooth and nail for far too long.” For Hannah, these issues are personal: … Read more

Dr. Liberman and Psychosocial Rehabilitation

When most people think of treatment for individuals with severe mental illnesses such as recurrent depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, they imagine physician visits, medications or perhaps some sessions with a counselor. Rarely do they think of drama programs, community college classes or role-play groups for making friends and dating. Yet, there is increasing evidence … Read more

Dr. Robert P. Liberman on Electroconvulsive Therapy

Robert P. Liberman, M.D. is one of the fathers of the rehabilitation movement in psychiatry. For the past 25 years he has directed the UCLA Center for Research on Treatment and Rehabilitation of Psychosis, where he studies skills training and other treatments for individuals with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia. Diagnosed with bipolar II illness … Read more

Robbie Watene — Coffee and the Seeds for Disability Integration from New Zealand to Mexico, and Beyond

Robbie Francis Watene, can be thought of as a seed planter. From planting ideas about human rights in her research at the Donald Beasley Institute, to planting coffee in the hills of Mexico. She has grown an international inclusive supply chain through her formation of The Lucy Foundation (named after her prosthetic ‘Lucy Leg’). … Read more

A Better Future — Web Accessibility Guidelines from the Dept of Justice

Finally. The guidance reviews the department’s ongoing work to advance website accessibility for people with disabilities through statements of interest and enforcement matters. For example, the department recently entered into numerous settlements with businesses — including Hy-Vee, Inc., The Kroger Co., Meijer, Inc., and Rite Aid Corporation to ensure that websites for scheduling vaccine appointments … Read more