[Nfbofnc] National Rep at NFB of NC State Convention

[Gary H. Ray]

NC Federationists!

Gary Ray here.  I am just back from Europe.  I am getting excited about our
upcoming convention in Raleigh.  It will be upon us very soon.

Our National Rep is Dr. Frederic Schroeder our First Vice President.  He
will be doing some special sessions Friday afternoon and we are expecting a
good report and speech from him during our convention.

Here are some biographical details:


Fredric K. Schroeder is a research professor with the Interwork Institute at
San Diego State University specializing in the area of leadership and public
policy in Vocational Rehabilitation.  In 1994, prior to joining the
Interwork faculty, President Bill Clinton appointed Dr. Schroeder to serve
as the ninth commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration
(RSA) within the U.S. Department of Education.  As RSA Commissioner, Dr.
Schroeder administered a $2.5 billion dollar program that provides services
to more than 1 million people with disabilities annually.

On July 6, 2005, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the National
Federation of the Blind, but his service to the Federation is not new.  Dr.
Schroeder previously served on the Board for ten years from 1984 to 1994.
In addition to his service on the Board of Directors, Dr. Schroeder serves
as the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and has
represented the Federation at numerous national and international meetings
and conferences.  

Dr. Schroeder was born in Lima, Peru and was adopted when only 19 months
old.  As a young child he had normal sight but became blind after suffering
a severe allergic reaction at the age of seven.  He attended public school
in Albuquerque, New Mexico but received no special education services to
teach him to read braille or learn any alternative techniques that would
allow him to function competitively.  

After graduating from high school, Dr. Schroeder attended the Orientation
Center for the Blind in Albany, California.  It was there that he found the
Federation and his involvement in the organization has been central to his
life and work ever since.  

In the early 1980s, while living in New Mexico, Dr. Schroeder helped
establish the New Mexico Commission for the Blind.  At that time he was the
President of the New Mexico affiliate of the Federation and was deeply
troubled by the poor quality of rehabilitation services available to blind
people in the state.  After a bitter legislative fight, in 1996, the
Federation was successful and the Commission was established.  Dr. Schroeder
worked for eight years as the Commission's first Executive Director,
bringing Federation philosophy into the work of the newly founded agency.  

Dr. Schroeder earned a Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology in 1977; a
Master's Degree in Education in 1978 and completed postgraduate work in
Orientation and Mobility in 1980.  Dr. Schroeder was the first blind person
in the nation to be admitted to a university program in orientation and
mobility, although he was denied certification on the basis of blindness.
Dr. Schroeder went on to earn a Ph.D. in education administration from the
University of New Mexico in May, 1994.