Clyde Terry Appointed New Chairperson of the National Council on Disability

Sept. 21, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Council on Disability (NCD) – an independent federal agency that advises the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policy – welcomes Clyde Terry as its new chairperson. The appointment was announced by the White House Friday, September 18.

Before being selected as NCD chair by President Obama, Terry was appointed by the Administration to serve two terms with the independent federal agency as a council member. Terry’s first term with NCD began in June 2011. He was reappointed for a second term in March 2014.

During his time at NCD, Terry also served as chair for NCD’s Policy Development & Program Evaluation Committee.

Under a provision in the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act signed into law on July 22, 2014 members of the National Council on Disability can be appointed by the President, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, or the House Minority Leader.  By law, NCD’s chairperson is appointed by the President.

While serving as chairperson of NCD, Terry will continue his role as Chief Executive Officer of Granite State Independent Living in Concord, New Hampshire where NCD plans to conduct its next quarterly meeting November 2 and 3.

“I am honored to continue the work of NCD with our members and stakeholders to advance the interests and increase the quality of opportunity for Americans with disabilities,” stated incoming NCD Chairperson Clyde Terry.

In addition, Terry and the current members and staff of NCD all extend their gratitude and collective thanks to outgoing members of the agency for their public service:  Former Chairman Jeffrey Rosen, and members Ari Ne’eman, Chester Finn, Jonathan Kuniholm (Capt. (Ret) USMC), and Alice Wong.

Current NCD members include:  Clyde Terry (Incoming Chair), Co-Vice Chairs Katherine Seelman, Ph.D. and Royal P. Walker, Jr., J.D., Gary Blumenthal, Janice Lehrer-Stein, Lynnae Ruttledge, Kamilah Oni Martin-Proctor, Benro T. Ogunyipe, Bob Brown, and Neil Romano.

Biography of Clyde Terry:

Clyde Terry is the Chief Executive Officer of Granite State Independent Living in Concord, NH. Previously, Terry was the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Developmental Disabilities Council. His work has included spearheading a national coalition of disability organizations on election reform and election accessibility. In this role, he co-authored “Voters Denied Equal Access at the Polls; A Status Report of the Accessibility of Polling Places in the United States” in 2001. Terry received his B.S. from Emerson College and his J.D. from the Franklin Pierce Law Center, now the University of New Hampshire School of Law.

About the National Council on Disability (NCD): 

First established as an advisory Council within the Department of Education in 1978, NCD became an independent federal agency in 1984. In 1986, NCD recommended enactment of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and drafted the first version of the bill which was introduced in the House and Senate in 1988. Since enactment of the ADA in 1990, NCD has continued to play a leading role in crafting disability policy, and advising the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policies, programs, and practices.