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"DRA Spring 2024 Newsletter"
Image: DRA logo + "DRA Spring 2024 Newsletter"
In This Issue
* Letter from the President & CEO (#President)
* You Are Invited to DRA's 2024 Gala on November 13 (#Gala)
* A Conversation with Barry Taylor (#BarryTaylor)
* Impact Report (#Impact)

Letter from the President & CEO
Dear DRA Friends and Supporters,

Spring is here, and DRA is buzzing with work to move forward our mission advancing rights, inclusion, and equity for with disabilities! As you’ll read in our impact report below, DRA has many accomplishments to celebrate.

To name a few, we compelled the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system to agree to elevator and escalator repair throughout its stations in the San Francisco Bay Area; we’ve brought a suit over vote-by-mail in California to ensure access for people with print disabilities in advance of November elections; we’ve compelled Los Angeles County to end decades of employment discrimination against its Department of Children and Family Services applicants with mental health disabilities; and we’re using our litigation muscle to ensure the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission meets its obligation to provide wheelchair accessible taxis. This is just a small sample of what we’ve been up to so far in 2024.

We’ve also made great progress in supporting our hard-working staff as we work to implement DRA’s first collective bargaining agreement with our Union ([link removed]) . And we’ve expanded our work in locations where disability rights lawyers are few and far between, where inequality is rife, and where legal advocacy is badly needed. I’m writing to you today from our growing Chicago office where we’ve expanded our staff and are growing our services so that people with disabilities throughout the Midwest can benefit from DRA’s legal advocacy. Helping us with this Midwest expansion is our fabulous new Chicago-based Director, Barry Taylor (#BarryTaylor) who you can read more about below.

One year ago, I became DRA’s President & CEO, after nearly two decades in service to the disability community. As I look back on the last 365 days in this leadership role, I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together. It truly does take all of us – staff, clients, partners, co-counsel, volunteers, donors, and friends – to dismantle systemic barriers to inclusion. And together we plan to continue chipping away at these inequities. We’re exploring ways to address critical issues ranging from air travel to affordable accessible housing, reproductive healthcare, and more.

If you care about these issues and want to see DRA continue leading the way in national systemic legal advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities, THANK YOU! And here are a few ways you can support us in the year ahead: mark your calendars for November 13^th and join us for our 2nd annual coast to coast hybrid gala ([link removed]) , make a tax-deductible gift ([link removed]) to support DRA’s legal advocacy today, and/or encourage your family and friends to sign up for DRA’s e-newsletters ([link removed]) so that they too can learn about and support DRA.
Portrait of Rebecca Williford holding the disability pride flag at the 2023 Chicago Disability Pride Parade

Here's to many more years of GREAT work together ahead,

Rebecca Williford signature
Rebecca Williford
President & CEO, Disability Rights Advocates

Image: Rebecca Williford holding the disability pride flag at the 2023 Chicago Disability Pride Parade
Join Us for DRA's November 13th Gala!
Disability Rights Advocates is thrilled to invite you to this year’s Annual Gala on Wednesday, November 13, 2024. Continuing on the success of last year’s groundbreaking coast to coast anniversary gala, we are celebrating with in-person gatherings at City Winery in New York City and Pier 27 in San Francisco as well as welcoming our entire community of supporters through a live telecast.

“…going forward, we’re applying the principles of universal design—meaning the design of products, environments, and services in a way that makes them accessible to the widest pool of people—to our gala’s format, at both the micro and macro levels. This means everything from captioning, sign language interpretation, and audio description to accessible in-person venues and virtual event platforms.”
-Rebecca Williford, DRA President & CEO

Become a sponsor today! Or purchase your ticket. Or start planning your watch party! We hope you will join us to support DRA and be a part of this very special night. Learn more about the gala here ([link removed]) . You may also contact our event office at 212-249-6188 or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
A Conversation with Barry Taylor
Image: Portrait of Barry Taylor

We’re thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of DRA’s Board of Directors: Barry Taylor ([link removed]) . Barry is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, where he has taught Disability Rights Law to second and third-year law students since 2021.
Why did you decide to join DRA’s board of directors?

For 27 years, I was privileged to work to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities in Illinois. When I retired from Equip for Equality last year, I knew I wanted to stay involved in the disability movement. Joining the Board of DRA provides me with a wonderful opportunity to support disability legal advocacy on a national scale. I’m also excited that DRA has opened a Chicago office and I’m honored to be DRA’s first board member from the Midwest. I look forward to helping DRA build a just and welcoming society for all.

Why do you think DRA’s work is urgent and important?

Despite the advances people with disabilities have made, discrimination is still pervasive in our country. With its focus on impact litigation, DRA uses its resources in a very strategic way to identify and then reform discriminatory systems and policies that prevent people with disabilities from being fully integrated into our society. I can’t think of anything more urgent and important.

Read the rest of the conversation here ([link removed]) .
Impact Report
Group photo of DRA staff, clients, and co-counsel outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco after the successful final approval hearing for the settlement agreement with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
Image: Group photo of DRA staff, clients, and co-counsel outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco after the successful final approval hearing for the settlement agreement with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).
Accessible Public Transit in San Francisco’s Bay Area

DRA and affiliated SF advocacy groups received final approval for a crucial class settlement that will improve the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)’s accessibility ([link removed]) for riders with mobility disabilities. (San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed]) )

Accessible Ballot Return for California Voters with Print Disabilities

DRA and a coalition of California disability groups filed an urgently needed lawsuit and motion for a court order to require California’s vote-by-mail program to offer accessible ballot return options ([link removed]) to voters who are blind or have print disabilities for the 2024 elections and all future elections. (San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed]) )

Discriminatory Pre-Employment Psychological Evaluations in Los Angeles County

DRA secured a critical settlement agreement that will completely overhaul how Los Angeles County evaluates interns and applicants for Children’s Social Worker employment ([link removed]) , ending decades of discrimination against people with mental health disabilities. (Los Angeles Daily News ([link removed]) )

Healthcare Access for Deaf Patients in Washington

DRA reached a landmark settlement agreement with Providence Health ([link removed]) that will ensure effective communication and accommodations for Deaf patients in Washington’s Puget Sound region. (Everett Daily Herald ([link removed]) )

Wheelchair-Accessible Taxis in New York City

DRA and a coalition of NYC disability groups filed a motion to compel New York City to comply with the historic 2014 settlement agreement to make 50% of its iconic yellow taxi fleet accessible ([link removed]) to people who use wheelchairs. (New York Times ([link removed]) )

Accessible Rental Cars for People with Mobility Disabilities

DRA filed a major class action lawsuit against national car rental company Hertz ([link removed]) to end its systemic civil rights violations against people with disabilities who need hand controls to operate a rental car. (KTLA Los Angeles ([link removed]) )
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