Biography

William Peterson is the former Director, Office of Accessible Systems and Technology within the Department of Homeland Security. He served in this s position for over 16 years. He was responsible for providing the DHS vision, leadership, direction, and strategic planning necessary to ensure that DHS information technology systems and data were accessible to employees and customers with disabilities in a manner complying with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and other Federal Acts, Memorandums, Circulars, Executive Orders, and Presidential Directives dealing with accessible electronic and information technology (EIT).

Prior to joining Homeland Security William served as a Program Manager within the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). In this role he was a principle scientific program manager for national and international programs in the areas of biomedical and rehabilitation engineering. He managed the agency’s $20 million Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) program and served as program officer for numerous projects pertaining to universal design, accessible technology, and engineering.