TecAccess´ Debra Ruh Nominated for the Tom Morales Leadership Award
For immediate release
(804) 749-8646
info@tecaccess.net
Rockville, VA - March 4, 2008-- Debra Ruh, Chairman and Founder of TecAccess, a leading Section 508 and accessibility consultancy, has been nominated for the 2008 Tom Morales Leadership in Accessible Technology Award. The prestigious honor is being awarded by the Alliance for Technology Access (www.ATAccess.org) (ATA) at the 20th Anniversary Gala on March 14th in Los Angeles.
Tom Morales was the Program Manager of the ATA from 1997 until his sudden death in 2003. A critical part of the ATA team, he represented the ATA to thousands of individuals and organizations nationwide. This award honors Tom´s contribution to the ATA and recognize leaders, either individuals or organizations, who are carrying on his work. His passion was ensuring that everyone in every community who might benefit from access to assistive technology found out about it - through advocacy, training and referral. This award recognizes an individual or organization demonstrating this same kind of passion and commitment.
As a nominee for the ATA award, Debra Ruh represents a team of associates with disabilities at TecAccess who are working to make the world more accessible to all computer users. Ruh is an internationally recognized leader in the electronic and information technology (E&IT) accessibility arena, and is a major advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. Her steadfast dedication to making Section 508 and other accessibility legislation truly helpful to persons with disabilities is inspired by her daughter, Sara, who was born with Down syndrome. When Sara reached middle school, Debra realized her daughter´s employment options were going to be extremely limited, and decided to become an employer that values the talents and skills of persons with disabilities.
Inspired by her mission to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities and drawing upon more than 25 years of international experience developing and implementing solutions for government agencies and organizations, Debra started TecAccess in 2001. Her award-winning company works tirelessly to create a fully accessible world of technology.
Debra Ruh is a keynote speaker and has authored numerous articles appearing in consumer publications and trade journals such as Learning Solutions eMagazine. She has also been featured in US News & World Report, Washington Technology, Federal Computer Week, and Virginia Business Magazine. She has spoken before the European Union, Executive Offices of the President, USDA Conference on Disabilities, IDEAS, CSUN, GSA Usability Universes, Fed Web Conference, USPTO Panel on Accessible E-Learning, and the Leadership Institution on Design of Accessible Online Education at Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.
About TecAccess
Winner of numerous awards, including the 2005 Secretary of Labor´s New Freedom Initiative Award, TecAccess is an industry-leading IT firm providing Section 508 compliance and electronic and information technology (E&IT) accessibility solutions for clients in government, private industry, and higher education throughout the world. TecAccess is a certified Woman-Owned and SBA certified 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) committed to hiring people with disabilities.
For further information about TecAccess, please call: (804) 749-8646 , e-mail info@tecaccess.net, or visit our website at www.TecAccess.net.
###
