White House Names New Board Members September 15, 2008
President Bush recently named four new members to the Access Board: Edward H. Gee of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Phillip D. Jenkins of Austin, Texas, Nancy Starnes of Arlington, Virginia, and Hans A. Van Winkle of Lumberton, New Jersey. The new members, whose terms on the Board will begin in December, will be sworn in at the Board’s January meeting. |
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 Jenkins is a senior software engineer in IBM’s Research Division who has over 27 years of experience with the company. He has been active in the development of innovations to enhance the accessibility of IBM technologies, products, and services through IBM’s Human Ability and Accessibility Center. He represented IBM on Access Board advisory committees involved in drafting and more recently updating access standards for electronic and information technologies issued under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. |
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 Van Winkle is President of the Project Management Group at Hill International, Inc., a leading construction management firm, and has over 35 years of experience in engineering, operations, construction and project management. Before joining Hill, he was director of the Construction Industry Institute, a non-profit consortium at the University of Texas at Austin, and served for more than 30 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where he rose to become Deputy Commander. |
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The new members succeed Tricia Mason of Arlington, Virginia, Philip G. Pearce of College Station, Texas, Daniel O. Rios, P.E., of McAllen, Texas, and John O. Woods, Jr., P.E., of Alexandria, Virginia. The Board is structured to function as a coordinating body among Federal agencies and to directly represent the public. Half its members are representatives from most of the Federal departments. The other half is comprised of members of the public appointed by the President to four-year terms. |
Gee is president of the ISES Corporation, a facilities engineering and management support firm that he founded in 1987. He has almost 35 years of experience providing capital planning and budgeting services to corporate, institutional, and government clients. Through his company, Gee has pioneered and developed a range of management services and tools, including facility condition analyses, operations and maintenance programming, asset management studies, life cycle modeling, and accessibility surveys, among others.
Starnes serves as Senior Vice President of the National Organization on Disability which is dedicated to expanding the participation and contributions of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. She directs the organization’s efforts to close the participation gaps between those with and without disabilities in the nation’s towns, cities and counties. Starnes has been active in disability rights advocacy for over 30 years and has served on numerous organization and consumer boards and coalitions.