Access Board News

Each year, the U.S. Access Board visits a city outside of Washington, D.C. to learn about the state of accessibility around the country. During the week of July 7th, the Access Board traveled to New Orleans for its 2025 out-of-town Board meeting. During various sessions throughout the week, the Board heard from residents, advocates, and local government leaders regarding key accessibility issues and successes in the region . . .

July 26, 2025 marks 35 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in both the private and state and local government sectors. Under the ADA, the U.S. Access Board develops and maintains accessibility guidelines for the construction and alteration of facilities covered by the law, as well as guidelines for the design of the public right-of-way and transportation vehicles. These guidelines serve as . . .

Each year, the U.S. Access Board visits a city outside of Washington, D.C. to learn about the state of accessibility around the country. During the week of July 7th, the Access Board traveled to New Orleans for its 2025 out-of-town Board meeting. On Wednesday, July 9th, the Board held its annual town hall meeting at the New Orleans Marriott, where it heard directly from city residents regarding local accessibility concerns . . .

Members of the public are welcome to virtually attend the U.S. Access Board’s in-person public town hall meeting on Wednesday, July 9 from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. (CT) at the New Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA. To ensure all can participate, the town hall meeting will be broadcast live via YouTube for virtual attendees. Virtual attendees will only be able to listen to the meeting and not make public comments . . .

The U.S. Access Board will be hosting a joint webinar with the Zero Project on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, from 1:00 – 2:00 PM (ET), to provide an overview of the Zero Project Awards 2026. Focusing on innovations in Accessibility, ICT, and Crisis Response, the Zero Project Call for Nominations 2026 opened today. The information webinar will be hosted over Zoom for Government and is open to all members of the public; sign language interpreting and real time captioning will be provided . . .

During the latest meeting of the U.S. Access Board, Public and Federal Members, along with staff, attended various sessions throughout the week, several of which focused on veterans organizations and issues affecting veterans with disabilities. On Monday, April 28, following a series of meetings at the Access Board’s office in Washington, DC . . .

The U.S. Access Board will hold a public town hall meeting on Wednesday, July 9 from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. (CT) at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel, 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA. Presidentially appointed Access Board members and representatives from other federal member agencies will be present to hear from the local community about the state of accessibility in Louisiana . . .

At its April meeting, the U.S. Access Board elected Elver Ariza-Silva as its new Chair and Dr. Michael Brennan as its new Vice-Chair. Ariza-Silva is a disability community advocate based out of the District of Columbia. Dr. Brennan is Executive Director for the Office of Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) . . .

This year’s annual Interagency Accessibility Forum (IAAF) will be held virtually on May 20 and 21. The event will be built on the theme Accessible by Design: Enhancing Efficiency in Federal ICT and will take place over Zoom for Government. IAAF will feature a blend of presentations, workshops, and discussions led by accessibility professionals in the federal, private, and other sectors. Presentation topics include . . .

With great sadness, the U.S. Access Board mourns our friend and colleague Mario Damiani, who passed away on Sunday, March 9, 2025. Those who would like to share a memory of Mario can do so using the Kudoboard created in his honor. In addition to sharing a memory through the Kudoboard, please join the Access Board today, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, from 3:00 – 4:30 pm (ET), for a memorial event in honor of Mario’s contributions to the disability community. Attendees are invited to share their memories of Mario . . .