[blindkid] Fwd: The White House Special Assistant For Disability Policy is Blind

[Carol Castellano]

>Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
>Vice President Joe Biden Announces Kareem Dale 
>As Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy
>THE WHITE HOUSE
>Office of the Vice President
>________________________
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>February 12, 2009
>VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN ANNOUNCES KAREEM DALE 
>AS SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR DISABILITY POLICY
>First Time a President has had a Special 
>Assistant Focused Exclusively on Disability Policy
>BOISE, ID – Vice President Joe Biden today 
>announced Kareem Dale as Special Assistant to 
>the President for Disability Policy. The Vice 
>President, who was leading a Presidential 
>Delegation at the 2009 Special Olympics World 
>Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, made the 
>announcement during a stop at the Special 
>Olympics’ Healthy Athletes Event, a worldwide 
>program in which athletes receive a variety of health screenings and services.
>"The commitment that the President and I have to 
>Special Olympics and people with disabilities is 
>deep and abiding. And we are backing up those 
>words with real action at the White House," said 
>Vice President Biden.  "This is our first step 
>to ensure that we have a strong advocate for 
>people with disabilities at the highest levels of our Administration."
>Dale, who is partially blind, will have direct 
>access to the President in this role and he will 
>coordinate the Administration’s efforts to see 
>that people with disabilities are on a level playing field with all Americans.
>Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Dale 
>previously served as the National Disability 
>Director for the Obama for America campaign.  He 
>also served on the Arts Policy Committee and the 
>Disability Policy Committee for then-Senator Obama.
>Dale graduated from the University of Illinois 
>at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor's degree in 
>Advertising in May 1995.  He received his JD/MBA 
>in May 1999 from the University of Illinois at 
>Urbana-Champaign, graduating Cum Laude. While 
>attending law school, Dale was also active in 
>community service, including serving as 
>president of two organizations, the Black Law 
>Students' Association and Open Forum.
>Dale, who has been with President Obama for 
>years said he was "just humbled and honored for 
>the faith the president and vice president have shown in me."
>
>The Vice President praised Dale and emphasized 
>the importance of the position: "He is going to 
>have absolutely direct access to the president. 
>What we’re trying to do is make sure that not 
>only do we deal with getting support for what 
>you’re seeing happening at these Winter Games, 
>but also to make sure that persons with 
>disabilities are in position to also be in the 
>work force, so they don’t have to choose, like 
>many have to do now, between staying in a job 
>that’s a dead-end job that they don’t like, or 
>else leaving a job that they like because it’s 
>the only way to get health care."
>
>He continued, "Look, this is a movement. What 
>started off as an avenue and an outlet and a 
>recognition for athletes has turned into a 
>worldwide movement. This is about to change the 
>attitude, change the attitude of governments, 
>change the attitude of individuals.
>
>"It’s a big deal. I started off in the civil 
>rights movement. This is a civil rights 
>movement. This is a movement to make sure that 
>we guarantee that all peoples in the world have 
>the opportunity to succeed to the degree they are capable."
>
>For more information:
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/13/Biden-honors-a-movement-at-the-Special-Olympics/>http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/13/Biden-honors-a-movement-at-the-Special-Olympics/
>
>
>
>Pamela L. Gaston
>Department of Human Services
>Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
>153 Halsey St. 6th. Flr.
>P.O. Box 47017
>Newark, NJ 07101
>
>Office: (973) 648-6149
>Cell:    (973) 900-2564
>Fax:    (973) 648-2043
>www.cbvi.nj.gov
>
>
>
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