Accessibility Forum Bio's

Deborah Buck

Deborah Buck is the Accessibility Program Manager at the NYS Office for Technology and serves as the Co-Chair of the NYS Information Technology Accessibility Steering Committee. She has over 20 years experience in advocating for persons with disabilities. 

Prior to joining OFT Deborah was the Director of the NYS TRAID Project, NY'S Assistive Technology Project, and Coordinator of the Governor's Task Force on Advocacy within the NYS Office of Advocate for Persons with Disabilities. During her tenure in state government she has been a member of the Governor's Telecommunications Exchange; the Verizon Universal Design Committee; the NYS Advanced Telecommunications Project; Co- Chair of the Association of Tech Act Projects; Co-Chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities - Technology Subcommittee; and, has served as an alternate member of the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Advisory Committee (EITAAC).

Deborah has a BS in Sociology from Bishops University, PQ, Canada and a MS in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University at Albany.

David M. Capozzi

David Capozzi is the Director of Technical and Information Services for the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board). At the Access Board, Mr. Capozzi supervises a staff of 17 that develops accessibility guidelines and standards under four different laws (Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998), provides technical assistance and training on the guidelines standards, and conducts research on accessibility issues.

Prior to joining the Access Board, Mr. Capozzi was the Vice President of Advocacy for the National Easter Seal Society and managed Project ACTION, a congressionally created national technical assistance program to promote cooperation between the disability community and transportation industry to improve access to transportation for people with disabilities and to help implement the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He also served as the National Advocacy Director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America. David testified in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act before the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation and was a member of the ADA “Legal team” for the disability community that helped craft the legislation. He also served as Chairman of the Federal Transit Administration’s Americans with Disabilities Act Federal Advisory Committee and as the lead negotiator on a Federal Advisory Committee that negotiated regulations to implement the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986.

He graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo School of Law and was an honors graduate and Phi Beta Kappa recipient of SUNY at Buffalo with an undergraduate degree in Psychology.

Thurman M. Davis

Thurman M. Davis, Sr. has served as the Deputy Administrator of General Services since October 1, 1995. A career Federal servant with over 35 years of service, Davis has focused his efforts on running a more efficient and economical GSA. Prior to his selection to be the Deputy Administrator, Davis served as the Regional Administrator in the National Capital Region and as the Regional Administrator and the Assistant Regional Administrator for the Public Buildings Service in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Davis is a graduate of Hampton Institute and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Davis is a member of the Senior Executive Association, the American Society of Public Administrators, the Conference of Minority Public Administrators, the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, the Federal Employed Women, and the National Association for Advancement of Colored People. Davis is a recipient of both the Meritorious and Distinguished Presidential Rank Award.

Louis J. Hutchinson, III

Louis J. Hutchinson, III, is the CEO of Crunchy Technologies. Mr. Hutchinson has more than 15 years of engineering experience and sales success in the technology industry. Mr. Hutchinson brings proven leadership in establishing, implementing and managing multi-million dollar organizations and has a broad understanding of hardware, operating systems, applications, client/server, database systems, and internet/intranet and extranet technology. Prior to founding Crunchy Technologies, Mr. Hutchinson worked as a national sales manager, sales manager and engineer and for Netscape Communications Corporation, Powersoft and Cyborg Technologies. In only 3 years at Netscape, Mr. Hutchinson created and implemented a business plan and sales approach for Netscape which resulted in the growth of a non existent revenue market to a 22M run rate business using three personnel. In four years at Powersoft, Mr. Hutchinson initiated a new sales organization through generation and implementation of a business, sales and marketing plan and proposal, while still an engineer, generating an annual $61M run rate business with only 17 employees. His recognitions at Powersoft include: top engineer in 1993, and #1 sales team worldwide in 1994 and 1995. As an engineer at Cyborg Technologies, Mr. Hutchinson did extensive technology design, development and implementation consulting at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, MCI, the Wyatt Company and NASA. Mr. Hutchinson serves on the National Advisory Board for the School of Engineering and Applied Science of the George Washington University. Mr. Hutchinson also serves on the National Organization on Disability's Board of Directors. Mr. Hutchinson attended the George Washington University on athletic scholarship for tennis and graduated from GWU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science/Statistics and a minor in Mathematics.

Yvonne D. Jones

Ms. Jones has been with the U.S. General Services Administration for 28 years, and is currently the Director of Microcomputer Equipment, Software and Electronic Commerce Division, within the Information Technology (IT) Acquisition Center for the Federal Supply Service. 

Ms. Jones currently manages a staffing of 17 contracting officers and contract -specialists. She oversees the top three (3) vendors on the list of the top 50 IT schedule holders, which collectively have sales of over $ 1.3 billion of products and services to Federal agencies, as of May 2002. Ms. Jones is the IT Center’s lead on Section 508. She has formed a strategic partnership with the GSA Office of Information Technology Office of Accommodation to promote the Government’s support and compliance with Section 508. 

Ms. Jones graduated cum Laude and holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Averett College (now Averett University).

Dr. I. King Jordan

I. King Jordan made history in 1988 when he became the first deaf president of Gallaudet University, the world's only university with all programs and services designed specifically for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. That year Gallaudet students, with support from many alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the University, protested the Board of Trustees' appointment of a hearing person to the presidency.

Called Deaf President Now (DPN), the weeklong protest was a watershed event in the lives of deaf and hard of hearing people all over the world. At its conclusion, the Board reversed its decision and named I. King Jordan, one of three finalists for the position, the eighth president of Gallaudet and the first deaf president since the institution was established in 1864.

Since DPN, I. King Jordan's leadership has heightened public awareness of the important educational contributions Gallaudet makes to the
nation and the world. He serves as an international spokesperson for deaf and hard of hearing people, as well as an advocate for all persons with disabilities. Much sought after as a public speaker, Dr. Jordan
continues to challenge the American public to examine their attitudes toward people with disabilities and to open their minds, hearts and workplaces to them.

Dr. Jordan is a native of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town near Philadelphia. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served four years. An automobile accident left him profoundly deaf at age 21.

Dr. Jordan earned a B.A. in psychology from Gallaudet in 1970. The following year he earned an M.A., and in 1973 a Ph.D., both in psychology and both from the University of Tennessee.

Upon receiving his doctorate, Dr. Jordan joined the faculty of Gallaudet's Department of Psychology. In 1983 he became chair of the department; three years later he was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

As professor, department chair, dean, and president, Dr. Jordan has had numerous scholarly contributions to his field. In addition, he has been a research fellow at Donaldson's School for the Deaf in Edinburgh, Scotland, an exchange scholar at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and a visiting scholar and lecturer at schools in Paris, Toulouse, and Marseille, France.

Dr. Jordan holds eleven honorary degrees and is the recipient of numerous awards, among them: the Presidential Citizen's Medal, the Washingtonian of the Year Award, the James L. Fisher Award from the
Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Larry Stewart Award from the American Psychological Association, and the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association for
Community Leadership. In 1990, President George Bush appointed Dr. Jordan Vice Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD). In 1993, President Clinton reappointed Dr. Jordan Vice Chair of PCEPD.

Dr. Jordan and his wife, Linda, live on the Gallaudet campus in the historic Edward Miner Gallaudet residence. They have two grown children, I. King III, a bioinformaticist at National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., and Heidi, a teacher at the Florida School for the Deaf.

Madelyn Bryant McIntire

Madelyn Bryant McIntire is the Director of the Accessible Technology Group (ATG) at Microsoft. Prior to joining the ATG in July of 1999, she worked for Compaq Corporation in Cupertino, California. For nearly twenty years, Madelyn Bryant McIntire has worked to improve the software industry's ability to meet the needs of their customers. She has held positions as a software developer, development manager, test manager and Director in companies as small as a dozen employees and as large as 85,000. Whether it is software used for commercial airplanes, or in the Windows operating system, her focus has always been on solving the problems that arise when the infinite possibilities of computer technology meet the limits of human nature. 

Madelyn believes that there is no more fertile ground for this endeavor than Accessibility.

Ken Nakata

Ken Nakata is a senior trial attorney with the Department of Justice. Since 1992, he has worked in the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division, working extensively on litigation, investigations, and policy involving the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since 1998, he has also worked extensively on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, for which he received the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Information Technology.

In addition to practicing law, Ken is active in software and web-based technologies, including Java, JavaScript, SQL, and ColdFusion. In July 2001, he was certified by Sun Microsystems as a programmer for the Java 2 platform.

Ken holds a Bachelors of Art degree in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Eugene Seagriff

During his 19 years in industry, Eugene has held positions in engineering, sales & marketing, and project management.

Highlights of his engineering career include training a nationwide service network on digital audio theory and product servicing, and constructing a piano sound module for Elton John. In sales and marketing, he helped drive a division from $24 million to $30 million per year in revenue in three years. He has managed operating budgets in excess of $2 million and a staff as large as 30 people.

In his current role as Panasonic’s Product Accessibility Manager, Eugene is responsible for leading Panasonic’s U.S. Task Force on Accessibility. He is also the primary liaison with Panasonic’s Japan-based Accessibility Task Force. The purpose of the Task Forces is to enable the mainstreaming of Accessibility through the implementation of Universal Design practices and by providing continuous awareness of Accessibility issues throughout the organization.

His goal is to leverage Panasonic’s worldwide R&D efforts to ensure that Panasonic maintains a leading role in providing accessible products and services. 

When he is not working, Eugene spends as much time as possible with his wife and children, and is an amateur musician.

Dana Louis Simberkoff

Dana Louise Simberkoff is Vice President of Business Development for Hiawatha Island Software Company, (“HiSoftware”). Ms. Simberkoff directs HiSoftware’s Accessibility outreach and Educational programs, both for HiSoftware Corporate and Government Clients, and through HiSoftware Strategic Alliances. Ms. Simberkoff has over 9 years of business development experience. She serves as a Dartmouth College participant in the MentorNet program supporting Women in technology.

Ms. Simberkoff has formerly served as an officer for two privately held corporations where she was responsible for developing and implementing strategies to address business and technology challenges. Ms. Simberkoff holds a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Christian Smith

Mr. Christian Smith has over 25 years experience in the Management and Development activities associated with Electronic Information Technologies. Mr. Smith was the former Program Director for AT&T Government Solutions Inc., under the DOE Record Management program. He has served as a Senior Engineering Manager for AT&T Government Solutions Inc., under the GCSS-Army Program and is currently the Director of Special Programs. He is responsible for special programs that deal with new technologies and processes including Internet and intranet portal development, knowledge management, and accessibility regulations and technologies. As the AT&T Government Solutions lead for EIT accessibility regulations he has provided support to several organizations within the Federal Government. He is also responsible for training on accessibility related issues across AT&T. In addition, his organization is provides a wide ranges of EIT accessibility services to AT&T’s customers to include, awareness training, EIT accessibility analysis and web site and application remediation. He has worked with members of the accessibility community to include Section 508 Coordinators actively involved in leading many efforts regarding EIT accessibility. In addition, he has worked with attorneys from the DOJ, and the private sector regarding Section 508 and other acts covering disability issues. He has provided input into the technical community response to the FAR regarding Section 508. He continues to support the disability community in an effort to resolve technical issues related to electronic information technologies accessibility. 

Fran Suggs

Fran has served as a procurement analyst in GSA’s Federal Supply Service Acquisition Management Center for 12 years. She has 31 of Government service, bringing with her a varied acquisition background. In previous positions she has served as a Supervisory Contracting Officer in FSS’s Furniture Center and also has procurement experience in their Tools Acquisition Center. Her current work at GSA focuses on a variety of acquisition management issues impacting GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules Program worldwide.