President Obama Appoints Members to the U.S. Access Board

President Obama Appoints Members to the U.S. Access Board

President Barack Obama has named Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda of Berkeley and Karen Tamley of Chicago to the U.S. Access Board. He also reappointed three incumbent Board members.

“I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to serve our country,” President Obama said in announcing the appointments. “They bring their years of experience and expertise to this Administration, and I look forward to working with them.”

Dr. Pineda is President of the World Enabled and the Pineda Foundation, positions he has held since founding the organizations in 2003. He previously served as the Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Fellow for Academic Diversity and as an Adjunct Professor in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. He also was a Senior Research Fellow at the World Institute on Disability.

As Commissioner of the Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, Tamley leads numerous disability policy and compliance initiatives in city infrastructure, transportation, emergency preparedness, housing, schools and technology, and other areas. She also oversees the delivery of independent living services to city residents and represents the city on a number of boards and committees.

They succeed Board members Nancy Starnes of Sparta, New Jersey and Phillip D. Jenkins of Austin, Texas.

In addition, the President reappointed to the Board Regina Blye of Austin, Christopher S. Hart of Boston, and Mathew McCollough, M.P.A. of Washington, D.C. Blye is Executive Director of the Texas State Independent Living Council. Hart is an accessibility consultant who specializes in ADA compliance and Universal Design and who serves as a technical advisor to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Boston’s disability community. McCollough heads the District of Columbia Developmental Disabilities Council which promotes independence and equal opportunity for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The U.S. Access Board is an independent Federal agency that provides leadership in accessible design under the ADA and other laws. The Board is structured to function as a coordinating body among Federal agencies and to directly represent the public, particularly people with disabilities. Half of its members are representatives from most of the Federal departments, and the other half is comprised of public members appointed by the President.