Peter Blanck

Peter Blanck

Dr. Blanck is University Professor at Syracuse University, which is the highest faculty rank, granted to eight prior individuals in the history of the University. He is Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.

Blanck holds appointments at the Syracuse University Colleges of Law, and Arts and Sciences, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, School of Education, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Prior to his appointment at Syracuse, Blanck was Kierscht Professor of Law and director of the Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center at the University of Iowa. Blanck is Honorary Professor, Centre for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Blanck received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester, a Juris Doctor from Stanford University, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University.

Blanck has written articles and books on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws, and received grants to study disability law and policy. Blanck is Chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC), and former President of Raising the Floor (RtF) USA. He is a former member of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a former Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Washington Program, a former Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, and has been a Mary Switzer Scholar. Prior to teaching, Blanck practiced law at the Washington, DC firm Covington & Burling, and served as law clerk to the late Honorable Carl McGowan of the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

Blanck’s books include:

Publications

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1980 – 1996

Legal Brief Participation

Episode 121: Suicide Awareness and Prevention

September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC: “Suicide rates increased about 36% from 2000 to 2021. Suicide resulted in 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021 about 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide and 1.7 million attempted suicide. “ (Source: cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html) Continue Reading

Jenny Sykes

Jenny Sykes serves as the Lead Technical Information Specialist for the the Southeast ADA Center. She has worked in the field of disability services for over twenty-five years.

Jenny has worked in community health centers, food banks, and shelters for families experiencing homelessness. In 2000, she began working specifically with individuals with disabilities as a case manager, and her experience since then has been focused on state and local government operations. She has held a variety of roles in Florida, including Supports Consultant, Supported Employment Coordinator, and Licensing Specialist at the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), where she also coordinated Disability Mentoring Day activities in central Florida. She has served as a Senior Counselor for Florida Vocational Rehabilitation, a part-time Care Manager for an elder-care service, and the ADA Specialist for the City of Lakeland, Florida. She is certified as an ADA Coordinator by the University of Missouri’s College of Human and Environmental Science, School of Architectural Studies.

Jenny received a bachelor’s degree in Human Services from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Science in Counseling from California State University.

Episode 119: Celebrate the ADA! Learn about ADA National Network and NIDILRR

Join our celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the ADA with our guest, Shelley Reeves, the ADA National Network Program Coordinator and Section 21 Program Coordinator for NIDILRR. On this episode we will learn more about NIDILLR’s mission, projects and programs that help each regional ADA Center in the ADA National Network serve and support diverse communities of people with disabilities and other ADA stakeholders throughout the United States.
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New ADA Live podcast! Episode 118: Learn about Aphasia

Aphasia is a communication disability that affects our ability to understand written and spoken language. Aphasia can happen suddenly, often following a stroke or head injury or it may also develop slowly, as the result of a brain tumor or a progressive neurological disease. Aphasia does not affect a person’s ability to think or reason. Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders, such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from brain damage. (Source: nidcd.nih.gov/health/aphasia)
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New Disability Rights Today podcast! Episode 8: Perez v Sturgis Public Schools

On March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools unanimously decided that individuals who have entered into a settlement resolving their claims under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), can also pursue claims for money damages against school districts under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) without exhausting the administrative process under IDEA. This decision reverses a decision made by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Continue Reading

New ADA Live podcast! Episode 117: ADA and Effective Communication in Health Care Settings with the Department of Justice

For people with hearing loss and deafness, communication barriers in health care result in the inability to understand critical health information. In the United States, about 1 in every 8 people of all ages has some form of hearing loss. Behind arthritis and heart disease, hearing loss is the third most common disability. (Source: HealthyHearing.com)  Continue Reading

New ADA Live podcast! Episode 115: Living Well with Kidney Disease

In recognition of National Kidney Month in March, learn about kidney disease and your health, kidney transplants, and kidney donors. Our guest is Dr. Frita McRae Fisher, M.D., a board-certified physician and nephrologist with Midtown Nephrology, P.C., in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Frita is also a member of the Georgia National Kidney Foundation Board of Directors.

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Angelica Deaton

Angelica Deaton serves as Spanish Outreach Coordinator for the Southeast ADA Center. She has over seven years of professional experience in the United States in educational and communication services that affect the health of a community.

Angelica’s experience includes working with the CDC Foundation, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, and Alive Hospice. She also has more than twenty years of experience working as a legal program manager and as an attorney for Colombian government programs serving low-income and underprivileged communities. Angelica currently serves as a Cultural Consultant for the University of Kentucky, leveraging her extensive legal and cultural background to improve community access.

Angelica earned a Juris Doctor from the National University of Colombia in Bogota, Colombia, an M.Ed. in Organizational Leadership and Communications from Belmont University, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Texas A&M University School of Law.

Outside of her professional work, she is a proud mother and an avid hiker who has completed the Camino de Santiago.

New ADA Live podcast! Episode 113: Stories of Parenting with a Disability

The American social reformer and clergyman Henry Ward Beecher once said, “We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.” Families come in many forms and in the United States, nearly 10% of children live with a parent with a disability.

Join us for an engaging conversation on parenting with a disability and a new book on the topic, “A Celebration of Family: Stories of Parents with Disabilities,” with our four guests

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