ADA National Network Learning Session: FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC) Town Hall

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC) leads FEMA's commitment to whole-community emergency management by integrating individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs into all aspects of disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. In this session, new FEMA ODIC Director Linda Mastandrea will introduce herself and present FEMA Administrator Brock Long's strategic plan for the Agency. She will discuss how the community can leverage that approach to be successful in collaborating with their state, local, territorial and tribal partners in emergency management.

Questions will be fielded for this event. Please send questions to lewisk@adapacific.org with the Subject line: QUESTION FOR LINDA MASTANDREA. These will be addressed by Linda during the session. If time permits, other questions will be fielded during the event.

Learning objectives:

• Understand FEMA's strategic plan and how to leverage it for successful collaborations.

Presenters:

Linda Mastandrea, serves as the Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC) at FEMA. Ms. Mastandrea has spent the majority of her career as an attorney concentrating her practice in disability law and civil rights, representing people with disabilities who have experienced discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and government services and benefits. She has taught disability law, lectured on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability laws nationwide, and served as a special education hearing officer.

Ms. Mastandrea has built a reputation as a subject matter expert on inclusive emergency management practices. She has provided training, consultation and technical assistance to emergency managers around the nation and served as a Disability Integration Adviser Reservist with FEMA. She has presented at the National Homeland Security Conference, the Texas Homeland Security Conference, the Florida Governor's Hurricane Conference, the Illinois Emergency Management Association Conference, and a NEMA webinar.

From 1990-1999, Ms. Mastandrea represented the United States seven times in wheelchair track in international competition, including two Paralympic Games, winning 15 gold and 5 silver medals. She set national, world and Paralympic records numerous times. Ms. Mastandrea is the first female Paralympian inducted into both the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. Ms. Mastandrea currently serves as Chairperson of the International Paralympic Committee Legal and Ethics Committee. Her book, Sports and the Physically Challenged: An Encyclopedia of People, Events and Organizations was published in 2006.

Ms. Mastandrea earned her BA from the University of Illinois and her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.