Tony Coelho named AAPD board chairman, new board members announced

The AAPD news release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. —– The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country’s largest cross-disability membership organization, is pleased to announce AAPD’s new executive board and board members.

AAPD’s board of directors elected former Democratic Whip and co-author of the ADA, Tony Coelho (pictured), as board Chairman; Ralph Boyd, Executive Vice President, Community Relations, Freddie Mac and former Assistant Attorney General of the United States for Civil Rights under President George W. Bush as Vice Chair; CEO; Joyce Bender, founder of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. as Secretary and Meredith Ryan-Reid, a Vice President and Producer at MARSH USA Inc. as Treasurer. Disability rights advocate Cheryl Sensenbrenner is the Immediate Past Chair and will continue to serve on the AAPD board Executive Committee.

“AAPD has been a personal passion of mine since it was founded in 1999. I have enjoyed serving on the board for the past several years, and I am excited and honored to have an opportunity to chair the Board at a time of extraordinary opportunity and change for people with disabilities and their families,” Coelho said.

New board members include: Mitch Glazier, Executive Vice President, Government and Industry Relations for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); Claudia Gordon, who joined the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 and also manages the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities in addition to being a 2002 AAPD Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award winner; Margaret Staton, founder and President of the ELA Foundation and a past AAPD board member and Eric Vaughn, a partner at BookHill Partners and a member of the 2009 AAPD Leadership Gala Steering Committee.

“AAPD has thrived under the leadership of Cheryl Sensenbrenner and her colleagues on the Board. We are thrilled that Tony Coelho is succeeding Cheryl as our board chair, and we are excited about having four strong champions like Mitch Glazier, Claudia Gordon, Margaret Staton and Eric Vaughn join the board during a time of historic challenges and opportunities for AAPD and the disability community,” said Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of AAPD.

The AAPD board also includes: Day Al-Mohamed, American Psychological Association; Kelby Brick, Purple Communications; Robert “Bobby” Coward, Direct Action; John Dziennik, Blanche Fischer Foundation; Wendy Elliott-Vandivier, Elliott-Vandivier, Hibbs & Associates, LLC ; B. Keith Fulton, Verizon ; Alison A. Hillman, Mental Disability Rights International; Andrew J. Imparato, President and CEO, AAPD; Edward Kennedy Jr., Marwood Group; Rahnee K. Patrick, Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago; Will Ris, American Airlines; Helen Roth, Disability Policy Consultant; Laura Sanford, AT&T Foundation ; James Weisman, United Spinal Association; Betsy Buttrill White, Economics Consultant and Betty Williams, Arc of Indiana.