Bunmi Aina
Director of Communication
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
President Obama To Appoint Benro Ogunyipe to the National Council on Disability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 7 — On Thursday April 3, the White House announced President Barack Obama’s intention to appoint Benro Ogunyipe to the National Council on Disability (NCD). The NCD is an independent federal agency consisting of 15 Presidentially-appointed Council Members and full-time professional staff, who advise the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policy, programs, and practices. Members are appointed by the President, from diverse backgrounds across the nation, and the disability spectrum.
This appointment is due recognition for Benro’s unselfish, consistent dedication and contributions in various capacities to causes and matters which have meaning for Deaf people and communities during the past decade. Notably, as president of the National Black Deaf Advocates Inc. (NBDA) during the 2011-13 term, he was an inclusive, rejuvenative and transformative leader who broadened NBDA’s horizons and reinvigorated the association in terms of membership growth and member engagement.
In addition to his important national leadership role as immediate past president of NBDA, Benro also served as NBDA’s board Chairman and was Vice President from 2007 to 2011. In his home state of Illinois, he has served as a Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission (2007 to 2012). He has also been Bureau Legislative Liaison and Communications Access Trainer with the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), Bureau of Accessibility and Job Accommodation in Chicago. Since 2004, Benro has been an Accessibility Specialist for the DHS.
Benro, a member of Chicagoland Black Deaf Advocates, the National Association of the Deaf, and the Illinois Association of the Deaf, received a B.A. from Gallaudet University and an M.P.A. from the School of Public Service at DePaul University.
NBDA thanks President Obama for recognizing NBDA’s pivotal role in the disability community as noted in the appointments he has made in the recent past. It is worthy of note that the former Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement on disability issues, Claudia Gordon is a former NBDA Vice President.
NBDA congratulates Benro on his new public service role and wish him immense success.
About National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA): NBDA is the official advocacy organization for thousands of Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans. For more than three decades, NBDA has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts for civil rights and equal access to education, employment, and social services on behalf of the Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the United States.
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