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BBI Staff

James Schmeling, J.D.
Chief Operating Officer
and Managing Director

James Schmeling, J.D., is Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of the Burton Blatt Institute. He conducts policy research and directs operations for BBI. His research focuses on policy barriers, civil rights, and legal issues of importance in employment, technology for independent living and environmental access for people with disabilities. He is also currently engaged in a partnership with the Program for Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University to contribute to Whitman’s Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities.

Schmeling’s studies include small business and entrepreneurial activity, employment policy, work incentives, corporate culture, disability programs and policy, tax policy and asset accumulation and information technology in employment, government, and education.

He has published on entrepreneurial activities of individuals with disabilities, Supreme Court interpretations of the ADA, the applicability of the ADA to Ticket to Work Employment Networks, access to courts, the study of corporate culture, and disability as a component of diversity.

Mr. Schmeling has been project director for the National Council on Disability’s ADA Employment Study, a senior researcher for the RRTC (Rehabilitation Research & Training Center) on Workforce Investment Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities. He also conducted research and technical assistance activities on two U.S. Department of Labor funded projects, one a technical assistance project for Workforce Investment grantees and Disability Program Navigators; the other on the National Center on Workforce and Disability.

Schmeling received his J.D. with distinction, from the University of Iowa in 1999 and his B.A. in political science from Iowa State University in 1997. Schmeling was formerly Interim Co-Director of the Law, Health Policy & Disability Center (LHPDC) in the University of Iowa College of Law. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, having served for over six years and was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant. He currently holds an appointment as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law, and has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling in the University of Iowa College of Education.

Curriculum Vita - Word format (.doc) | PDF format (.pdf)

Publications

  1. Tax Credits and Asset Accumulation: Findings from the 2004 N.O.D./Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities (2006)
    James Schmeling, Helen A. Schartz, Michael Morris & Peter Blanck
    Disability Studies Quarterly Winter 2006
    · DSQ index
    · Full-text
  2. Emerging Technologies and Corporate Culture at Microsoft: A Methodological Note (2005)
    David Klein, James Schmeling & Peter Blanck
    Behavioral Sciences & the Law , 23(1), 65-96.
    · InterScience site
    · Abstract | Full-text PDF
  3. Disability as Diversity in Fortune 100 Companies (2005)
    Phoebe Ball, Gregory Monaco, James Schmeling, Helen Schartz & Peter Blanck
    Behavioral Sciences & the Law , 23(1), 97-121.
    · InterScience site
    · Abstract | Full-text PDF
  4. United States Country Report (2004)
    Schmeling, J., Schartz, H.A., & Blanck, P.
    International Disability Rights Monitor, Center for International Rehabilitation, 349-370.
    · http://www.cirnetwork.org/idrm-pdf/IDRM_Americas_2004.pdf (.pdf)
  5. The New Disability Law and Policy Framework: Implications for Case Managers (2004)
    James Schmeling, Helen A. Schartz & Peter Blanck
    Case Management for Rehabilitation Health Professionals (2nd Ed.). Fong Chan & Jodi Saunders (eds.)
    · Word version (.doc)
  6. Disability Civil Rights Law and Policy: Accessible Courtroom Technology (2004)
    Peter Blanck, Ann Wilichowski & James Schmeling
    William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, Vol. 12:825
    ** Pre-publication final draft
    · PDF version (.pdf)
  7. Technology for Independence: A Community-Based Resource Center (2003)
    Blanck, P., Ritchie, H., Schmeling, J., & Klein, D.
    Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 21(1), 51-62.
    http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jissue/102529294?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
  8. “IT Works”: Disability and Employment in Information Technology (2002)
    Blanck, P., Schartz, H.A., Schartz, K., & Schmeling, J.
    SCI Life, Fall 2002/Winter 2003, 26-27.
  9. Applicability of the ADA to Ticket to Work Employment Networks (2002)
    Blanck, P., Clay, L., Schmeling, J., Morris, M., & Ritchie, H.
    Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 20(6), 1-15.
    · http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jissue/101520812
  10. Americans With Disabilities Act: Recent and Pending U.S. Supreme Court Decisions and Implications for Spine Professionals (2002)
    Peter D. Blanck and James L. Schmeling
    SPINE Volume 27, Number 4, pp 439-443
    · Word version (.doc)
    · PDF version
  11. The Emerging Workforce of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities: Preliminary Study of Entrepreneurship in Iowa (2000)
    Peter D. Blanck, Leonard A. Sandler, James L. Schmeling, Helen A. Schartz
    85 Iowa L. Rev. 1691 (2000).
    · Download page for publication files and accompanying demographic charts