Dear DRA Supporters,
I write to you today, on behalf of DRA’s Board of Directors, with the exciting news that our search for DRA’s next President & CEO has concluded and Rebecca Williford, who has dedicated her career to DRA, and held the Acting role for nearly a year, is our new leader!
The Board, after a thorough national search yielding impressive candidates from across the country, unanimously selected Rebecca for many reasons including her stature in the national disability community, her deep knowledge of DRA’s operations, and our utmost confidence in her abilities to work with the Board, the disability community, the philanthropic community, the legal community, and the staff, to chart DRA’s next chapters as an organization.
From Rebecca: “Since becoming a wheelchair-user 25 years ago, my life’s work has been advancing the rights, inclusion, and equity of people with all types of disabilities. Having built my career at DRA, working and learning alongside DRA’s late Executive Director and Co-Founder, Larry Paradis, I am truly humbled to lead this organization into the future as President & CEO. As society evolves, technologically, environmentally, politically, and socially, DRA has critical work to do to ensure we are building a truly inclusive world from the ground up for the disability community nationwide.”
Rebecca is a seasoned, nationally recognized disability community leader and attorney with extensive experience litigating class action lawsuits on behalf of people with disabilities. A steadfast leader and mentor in the disability community for the last two decades, Rebecca also serves on the Board of Directors of the Disability Rights Bar Association and is a member of the National Disabled Legal Professionals Association.
What better way to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary year, than announcing Rebecca Williford as our new President & CEO! I hope you all will join me in congratulating Rebecca and look forward to working with her to fulfill DRA’s bold vision of a world where people with disabilities have equal access to opportunity.
With excitement about DRA’s next 30 years and beyond,
Scott Smigel, Chair
DRA Board of Directors
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