VIDBE-Q Volume 66, Issue 2
19
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Nominated by Kathryn Botsford and Amy T. Parker
Mr. Mark D. Richert, Esq., has an acute grasp of national policy
development, has mentored many leaders in the field, and has committed to serve
as a leader of an international professional organization. While Mark was serving
as the Policy Director at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) he used his
knowledge of the law, his passion for the field of visual impairment and his skills
in coalition building to craft and pass the 21
st
Century Communication and Video
Description Act of 2010. This legislation has had a profound impact on video
description, captioning, and has provided thousands of people who are deafblind
access to telecommunication connections, including the internet.
In addition to working on other seminal policy initiatives, Mark wrote a
large portion of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan-Macy Act which has been
instrumental in articulating the needs of children with sensory disabilities in our
nation. Mark's role in developing and promoting the Cogswell-Macy Act is
noteworthy because it has provided a tool for articulating our needs at a national
level and has conjoined our voices with all educators who serve those with sensory
Advocate of the Year
Mark Richert
