Biography

Marcie Roth is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for the World Institute on Disability, one of the first global disability rights organizations founded and continually led by people with disabilities. WID works to advance the rights and opportunities of over 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide. Active in the Independent Living movement since 1982, Marcie has served in senior and executive leadership roles for national and global disability advocacy and public policy organizations since 1995, establishing and leading coalitions committed to operationalizing disability inclusion as an intersectional imperative for global social justice.

Marcie’s focus on improving emergency preparedness and disaster outcomes for people with disabilities and building accessible disaster resilient communities began in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks while advising the White House on the rights and urgent needs of people with disabilities living in the area around ground zero. Appointed by President Obama to the U.S Department of Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency from 2009 to 2017, she served as Senior Advisor to the Administrator, establishing and directing the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. At FEMA, and in launching the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies in 2017, she led transformation towards disability inclusive emergency management and disaster risk reduction as critical elements for expanding worldwide climate adaptation and disaster resilience.

Marcie is a Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow with a BS in Public Safety Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She maintains offices at WID’s global headquarters located on the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, CA and in Washington, DC.