Biography

As a leading accessibility expert, Doug has developed federal, state, and local accessibility codes and standards and worked as an accessibility consultant for many major corporations over the past 20 years. Because of his experience and expertise, he has been a presenter at both international and national conferences and conduct numerous trainings on accessibility standards each year. He began his work with accessibility standards shortly after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1992 at the Great Lakes ADA Center (formerly referred to as a Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC)). This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and housed at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He provided training and technical assistance to businesses and disability groups throughout the Great Lakes region and had direct contacts with staff members at the Disability Rights Section at the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Access Board. In February 1998, he joined LCM Architects as an Accessibility Specialist. During his tenure at LCM, he became a partner and worked on a wide variety of accessibility projects ranging from local government transition plans to nationwide ADA compliance programs for corporations including Hilton Worldwide, Marriott, Accor, Starwood, Red Roof Inn, KSL, Dow, BF Saul, Host Hotels and Resorts, Sears, McDonald’s, Bank of America, Walgreens, and Chick-fil-A. President Bush appointed him to serve on the U.S. Access Board in 2003. He was reappointed for a second term in 2007 and was elected Chair of the Board in 2009. Prior to being elected to this position, he served as Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Executive Committee and Chair of adhoc committees developing guidelines for public rights of way, passenger vessels, and emergency transportable housing.

Doug manages the Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST Program at LCM, funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The FHA FIRST program is designed to provide training and technical assistance on the Fair Housing Act. The FIRST program services include maintaining a website, providing technical assistance through a toll-free telephone line, and conducting nationwide training services using an 11-module training curriculum. He also serves as the American Hotel and Lodging Association representative on the ANSI A117.1 Accessibility Committee.