CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Governor Albert Bryan Jr, said that longtime disability rights advocate Julien Henley will be his Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator.
Henley is an advocate at the Virgin Islands Disability Rights Center and a chairperson for the State Rehabilitation Council. He has an ADA certificate of completion for Cornell University/ Northeast ADA.
He is the co-host of DRCVI Ability Radio Show on 107.9 The Vibe, where he and others provide information and education on DRCVI initiatives and advocate the needs of the Virgin Islands residents with disabilities.
Henley also serves on the Board for the Virgin Islands University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VIUCEDD) and member of the Workforce Investment Board. He volunteers on the advocacy committee with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Virgin Islands.
“I am excited to announce Julien as our territorial ADA coordinator and look forward to him working with our administration to improve government services for our residents with disabilities,” Bryan said. “We plan to expand those services, as well, particularly in provided better access to important government and other emergency information and as we modernize and streamline our government and its services and we will pay close attention to meet those needs. The goal of our administration is to create a portal for public information and ensure that it is easy to use but also ADA compliant.”
The newly-named ADA coordinator is responsible for ensuring the territory’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, prohibits discrimination by disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment and the employment practices of federal contractors.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. Congress passed the ADA in 1990.