Biography

---

Jim Raggio, an attorney who has specialized in civil rights for persons with disabilities, became General Counsel at the Access Board in 1989 after 9 years of service as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland. A graduate of Columbia University and New York University, Jim interned with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund before joining the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, where he was instrumental in getting the US Department of Transportation to adopt standards for a low-floor, ramped bus and to issue regulations for access to all modes of public transportation. He also developed an advocacy training program for disability organizations to implement Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Its syllabus became a national model and was subsequently replicated by the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare's Office of Civil Rights in all 50 states. Mr. Raggio has also been a consultant to the Senior Citizens Law Center and the National Consumer Law Center in Washington, DC. Mr. Raggio's work at the Access Board has focused on its rulemaking responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and on its compliance and enforcement mandate under the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. In addition, he has developed a particular expertise in access to historic facilities, authoring several publications on law and regulation in this area. He is a frequent participant in training seminars for preservation specialists in the public and private sectors.

Contact

---

United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street NW, #1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111
TEL: 202/272-5434
TTY: 202/272-5449
FAX: 202/272-5447
BB: 202/272-5448
TECHNICAL