1. Home
  2. 2021 Legislative Seminar Agenda

2021 Legislative Seminar Agenda

2021 Legislative Imperative Documents:

 

Day 1: Monday, February 22, 2021

  • 12pm - 5:30pm ET

12:00 – 1:00 pm : General Session

Welcome and Political Outlook for 117th Congress – Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); Charles Cooper, Managing Director, Chair of Advocacy at Signal Group, Washington, DC; & Jeff A. Lovitky, Attorney at Law, Washington, DC.

1:00 – 1:15 pm: Connection Show 1

1:15 – 3:45 pm: Breakout Session 1

Breakout A: Transportation (Broadcast on ACB Radio Mainstream)

  • 1:15 – 2:00 pm: Safe Air Travel for Passengers and Service Animals - DOT/FAA Update: Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); Livaughn Chapman, Jr., Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; Alexander Taday, Director of Civil Rights Advocacy, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; & Maegan Johnson, Senior Attorney, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
  • 2:05 – 2:55 pm: Safe Air Travel for Passengers and Service Animals - Airline Industry Panel: Sheila Styron, Chair, ACB Transportation Committee (Moderator); Sarah Calhoun, President, Guide Dog Users, Inc. (co-Moderator); Ray Prentice, Consumer Advocate, Alaska Airlines, Seattle, WA; Todd Green, American Airlines, Dallas, TX; Dana Folsom, Manager, Disability Programs, Delta Airlines, Atlanta, GA; & John Kirn, Manager - International Planning, Regulatory Affairs & Accessibility Programs, United Airlines, Chicago, IL 
  • 2:55 – 3:00 pm: Break
  • 3:00 – 3:45 pm: Autonomous Vehicles (AV) Industry Panel: Ron Brooks, ACB Member, Phoenix, AZ (Moderator); Eric Danko, Director of Federal Affairs, Cruise, Washington, DC;, George Ivanov, Head of International Policy & government Affairs, Waymo, San Carlos, CA; & Dave Furukawa, co-Founder, Foresight Augmented Reality, Atlanta, GA

Breakout B: Live, Learn, & Earn with Vision Loss (Broadcast on ACB Radio Live Event)

  • 1:15 – 2:00 pm: Education - Debbie Grubb, Chair, ACB Special Education Committee, Bradenton, FL; Lori Scharff, ACB Member, Waynesboro, VA; Mark Richert, ACB First Vice President, Falls Church, VA; Tara Armstrong, Parent Advocate, Louisville, KY
  • 2:00 – 2:05 pm: Break
  • 2:05 – 2:55 pm: Rehabilitation - Doug Powell, Chair, ACB Rehab Issues Task Force, Falls Church, VA (Moderator); Lee Nasehi, President & CEO, VisionServe Alliance, Winter Park, FL; Kelly Buckland, Executive Director, National Council on Independent Living, Washington, DC; & Bill Robinson, President, National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, Lansing MI
  • 2:55 – 3:00 pm: Break 
  • 3:00 – 3:45 pm: Services for Older Americans with Vision Loss - Jeff Thom, President, Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss, Sacramento, CA (Moderator); Mark Richert, ACB First Vice President, Falls Church, VA; Pris Rogers, co-Chair, Funding & Policy Goal Committee, National Coalition on Aging and Vision Loss, Rogersville, TN

3:45 – 4:00 pm: Connection Show 2

4:00 – 5:30 pm: General Session 2

Voting & Day 1 Wrap Up

  • 4:00 – 4:45 pm: Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); Donald Palmer, Vice Chairman, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC; Lisa Schur, Professor, Co-director, Program for Disability Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; & Douglas Kruse, Distinguished Professor, Co-director, Program for Disability Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
  • 4:45 – 5:30 pm: Panel of state and local election officials: Christine (Chris) D. Walker, Clerk, Elections Office, Jackson County, Medford, OR; Amelia Powers Gardner, Clerk, Utah County, UT; & Lisa Lewis, Election Director, Volusia County, FL

 

Day 2: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

  • 12pm - 6:30pm ET

12:00 – 1:00 pm: Welcome & General Session 3

Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); & Sachin Pavithran, Executive Director, U.S. Access Board,  Providence, UT

1:00 – 1:15 pm: Connection Show 3

1:15 – 3:45 pm: Breakout Session 2

Breakout A: Digital Inclusion

  • 1:15 – 2:00 pm: FCC Disability Rights Office: Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); Diane Burstein, Deputy Bureau Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC; Will Schell, Attorney Advisor, Disability Rights Office, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC
  • 2:00 – 2:05 pm: Break
  • 2:05 – 2:50 pm: Broadband Access: Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); Cindy Hollis, ACB Membership Services Coordinator, Flat Rock, MI; Zachary Bastian, Manager, Strategic Alliances, Verizon Communications, Washington DC; Jacquelyn “Jackie” Puente, Executive Director, External Affairs, Comcast NBCUniversal, Washington, DC; & Troy Otillio, CEO, Aira, San Diego, CA
  • 2:50 – 2:55 pm: Break
  • 2:55 – 3:45 pm CVAA 2.0: Kim Charlson, Immediate Past President, ACB, Watertown, MA (Moderator); Blake Reid, Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic, Boulder, CO; Carl Richardson, co-Chair, Audio Description Project, Brighton, MA; & Karen Peltz Strauss, National Disability Advocate, Washington, DC

Breakout B: Health & Wellness

  • 1:15 – 2:00 pm – Pat Sheehan, ACB Board Member, Silver Spring, MD (Moderator); & Badar Tareen, Civil rights Analyst, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
  • 2:05 – 2:50 pm: Low Vision Devices – Jeff Thom, ACB Advocacy Steering Committee Chair (Moderator); & Joseph Nahra, Director of Government Relations, Powers Law Firm and Coordinator, Independence Through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM) Coalition, Washington, DC
  • 2:55 – 3:45 pm: Diabetics’ Bill of Rights: Tony Stephens, ACB Director of Development, Baltimore, MD (Moderator); Jeff Bishop, ACB Board Member, Kirkland, WA; Brian Charlson, President, Baystate Council of the Blind, Watertown, MA

3:45 – 4:00 pm: Connection Show 4 

4:00 – 5:30 pm: General Session 4

Blindness Partners & Conclusion – Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA (Moderator); Stephanie Enyart, Chief Policy & Research Officer, American Foundation for the Blind, Arlington, VA; Paul W. Schroeder, Vice President of Government and Community Affairs, American Printing House for the Blind, Silver Spring, MD; Rick Webster, Vice President, Public Policy, National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, VA; John G. Paré Jr., Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy, National Federation of the Blind, Baltimore, MD; Barbara Raimondo, Executive Director, Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, Washington Grove, MD; Sara D. Brown, MPA, Director of Government Affairs, Prevent Blindness, Washington, DC; & Eve Hill, Attorney, Brown Goldstein Levy, Baltimore, MD

5:30 – 6:30 pm: Legislative Imperatives Open Discussion: Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Alexandria, VA 

 

Wednesday, February 24 — Friday, February 26: Affiliate Virtual Capitol Hill Visits

 

Materials:

Agenda

Download the Legislative Seminar Agenda

BRF Files

Legislative Seminar Agenda BRF

Legislative Imperative One Pager BRF

Secure Independence for Seniors and Medicare Beneficiaries Imperative BRF

Disability Access to Transportation Act Legislative Imperative BRF

Exercise and Fitness for All Legislative Imperative BRF