Feb. 9, 2012
Judith Heumann, special adviser for international disability rights at the U.S. Department of State, will speak at Catholic University on Thursday, Feb. 16, about the history of the disability rights movement and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Great Room B of the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center.
Heumann is an expert on disability policy and an internationally recognized trailblazer in the disability community who has been involved in the movement for more than 30 years.
In 1995, she represented the United States at the International Congress on Disability in Mexico City. That same year, she served on the U.S. delegation to the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women held in Beijing.
During both terms of the Clinton administration, she was the assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education. She oversaw new legislation that established disability programs at a national level, impacting more than eight million people with disabilities.
From 2002 to 2006, she served as the World Bank's first adviser on disability and development. During these four years, the disability work of the World Bank expanded tenfold.
"Judith Heumann has been a spokesperson and a champion for the rights of the disabled all over the world," explains Emily Lucio, CUA director of disability support services. "It is thanks to her that more and more people around the world are treated equally. I am excited that she is coming to CUA and I think everyone can benefit from hearing about her lifelong pursuit of the rights of people with disabilities."
Heumann's work has earned her recognition throughout her career. She has won numerous awards, including the Henry B. Betts Award in recognition of efforts to significantly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. She holds honorary doctorates from Long Island University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Toledo.
She graduated from Long Island University in 1969 and earned her master's degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley in 1975.
The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Office of Disability Support Services and Adjunct Professor of Sociology Leszek Sibilski's Disability Support Services and Sociology class. A light reception will be held before the event. For more information or to request disability accommodations, call 202-319-5211 at least one week prior to the event.