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Letter from the Acting President & CEO
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Image: Portrait of Rebecca Williford
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Dear DRA Family,
2023 is here and DRA is celebrating our 30th anniversary! 30 years of defending the promise of the ADA and bringing about transformative change benefitting the 60 million+ of us with disabilities across the country. DRA has big plans to commemorate our third decade and I’m excited to share some of them with you today.
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Reflecting on our past, we’re deeply grateful to each one of you who has contributed to DRA’s Larry Paradis Legacy Fund–created to honor the legacy of DRA’s late Co-Founder and Executive Director. The Fund was designed to support high-risk, high impact cases to be carried out in Larry’s honor and this year that Fund will support two crucial programs that I know Larry would have loved: our National Sidewalk Accessibility Project and our Affordable Accessible Housing Crisis Initiative. More on these in the newsletter below.
We also want to express our thanks to all who’ve donated to support our Wolinsky Fellowship Fund, an ongoing two-year Fellowship program named in honor of DRA’s Co-Founder Sid Wolinsky. This year’s Wolinsky Fellow, Amelia Evard, comes to DRA from UC Davis School of Law and brings a deep passion for civil rights law. We couldn’t support talented fellows like Amelia without your support and we’re deeply grateful for it.
In alignment with DRA’s strategic plan and in concert with the disability community, we’ve identified case priority areas that DRA will undertake in 2023 including: access to transportation, healthcare, voting, parks, and reproductive rights. More than 60% of DRA’s clients are black, indigenous or people of color, from cities and towns spanning the country. DRA remains committed to defending the civil and human rights of people across the disability spectrum who are multiply marginalized through our high-impact legal advocacy and, case by precedent-setting case, advancing inclusion and equity.
And, of course, we’re going to CELEBRATE the awesome impact of this year and DRA’s 30 years—with a hybrid, bi-coastal gala in October: national disability employment awareness month. A date, time, and sponsorship opportunities are coming soon, so please stay tuned!
Thank you so much for all that you do as the community that fuels DRA! And here’s to our next decade of working together to bring about disability justice!
With gratitude,
Rebecca Williford, Acting President & CEO
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Putting Our Larry Paradis Legacy Funds to Great Use
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DRA’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Larry Paradis, died in July of 2016. With the blessing of Larry’s family, DRA established the Larry Paradis Legacy Fund to support the ongoing work of DRA in Larry’s honor and in the last 7 years, so many of you have contributed generously year after year. At the end of 2022, DRA’s board approved using the fund to cover these important areas of casework:
- National Sidewalk Accessibility—Sidewalks play a key role in everyday life, guiding people to work, school, doctors’ appointments, and entertainment. Even though it has been more than 20 years since DRA secured the first national precedent applying the coverage of the ADA to sidewalks, municipalities continue to ignore their duties regarding making sidewalks accessible for people with disabilities. Larry Paradis Legacy funding will help DRA ensure sidewalk accessibility in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and beyond!
- Affordable Accessible Housing—People with disabilities in cities across the country are experiencing a growing affordable accessible housing crisis. Barriers include a lack of accessible, affordable housing units in major cities, shelters and other assistance programs that fail to provide reasonable accommodations for unhoused persons with disabilities, and RV bans that have disproportionately burdened the significant number of persons with disabilities who are forced to seek shelter in their vehicles. With Larry Paradis Legacy funding, DRA will advocate for people with disabilities seeking shelter and affordable housing in San Diego, Pacifica, Mountain View, Sebastopol, and beyond!
This work wouldn’t be possible without the support of generous contributors to the Larry Paradis Legacy Fund. If you want to donate to the fund, please do so today!
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2022-2024 Wolinsky Fellowship Attorney
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The Wolinsky Fellowship is an ongoing two-year Fellowship program named in honor of DRA’s Co-Founder Sid Wolinsky. Your donations have made it possible for DRA hire Amelia Evard as a Fellow and we look forward to carrying on the tradition of great Wolinsky Fellows for many years ahead.
We asked Amelia why she is excited to be a Wolinsky Fellowship Attorney:
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Image: Portrait of Amelia Evard
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"I'm excited to be working at DRA because of the chance to do big picture disability justice work that provides systemic relief to community members. My experiences as a former educator and a person with a non-apparent disability have led me to this work, and I am so excited for the chance to learn from my DRA colleagues. I am working on a range of topics, including our national sidewalks investigation, accessible pedestrian signals, and juvenile hall conditions. I am particularly interested in education and rural disability issues."
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A Conversation with Bryan Bashin
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We’re so thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of DRA’s Board of Directors: Bryan Bashin.
Bryan has been active in the state and national blind community for decades. He recently stepped down from his position as CEO of the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind after 12 years in the role. Bryan was appointed by President Biden as a U.S. AbilityOne Commissioner in summer of 2021. Through the Commission he worked to end sub-minimum wages nationally and established a new 5 year strategic plan that will prioritize the maximum possible integration of people with the most significant disabilities into the competitive workforce.
Here’s what Bryan has to say about being a part of DRA’s Board.
Why did you decide to join DRA’s board of directors?
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Image: Portrait of Bryan Bashin
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"After I planned to leave the CEO role at Lighthouse I wanted to continue to apply some of my experience to further advance the civil rights of people with all disabilities.
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There are few organizations with a strong national standing and track record of accomplishment in this area like DRA. I’ve come to know and respect the talents of its staff and Board. It doesn’t hurt that DRA is headquartered in Berkeley, which is my hometown as well. I can’t even begin to imagine the accomplishments that lie ahead over the next 30 years and want to work to help bring them to fruition."
Read the rest of the conversation with Bryan here.
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Image: Boy focused on writing at a table in a school setting
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Image: Six fighter jets flying in formation
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In November, a superior court ruled in favor of DRA’s plaintiffs who were discriminated against on the basis of mental health without an adequate process to assess reasonable accommodations by Los Angeles County during their employment process.
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Image: Row of RVs parked beneath a streetlight
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Image: Busy street in Philadelphia with cars driving fast over a crosswalk
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Image: Absentee voting envelope and pen
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