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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 1, 1995

      PRESIDENT NAMES RONALD W. DRACH AND DR. SYLVIA WALKER TO THE 
     PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

President Clinton today announced his intent to appoint Ronald W. Drach and Dr. Sylvia Walker as Vice Chairs of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

Ronald W. Drach of Maryland is National Employment Director for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a position he has held since 1975. He joined the DAV in 1970 as a National Service Officer in Pittsburgh, after working at the Veterans Administration's Pittsburgh office for two years. He has been on the Washington staff of the DAV since 1972. A Vietnam veteran, Drach was retired from the military in 1967 as a result of serious injuries, including the loss of a leg, while on patrol near Chu-Lai. Mr. Drach chairs the VA's Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation and the Department of Labor's Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment and Training. He has served on the President's Committee's Subcommittee on Disabled Veterans for a number of years, and last year became a member of the Committee's Executive Board.

Dr. Sylvia Walker of the District of Columbia is Professor of Special Education in the School of Education and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Howard University. She is also Director of the Center for Disability and Socioeconomic Policy Studies and the Howard University Research and Training Center. Dr. Walker is the former Chairman of the Department of Psychoeducational Studies at Howard, and has also conducted research and training projects in South America and Africa. In addition, she has taught at Hunter College, New York, and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, West Africa. Dr. Walker has served on the President's Committee's Subcommittee on Employee Disability Concerns since 1987, the last three years as chair.

The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities is an independent federal agency whose mission is to facilitate the communication, coordination and promotion of public and private efforts to enhance the employment of people with disabilities. The Committee provides information, training and technical assistance to America's business leaders, organized labor, rehabilitation and service providers, advocacy organizations, families and individuals with disabilities.

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