The Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated its 25th anniversary in July. As part of the celebration, the City University of New York (CUNY) and John Jay College hosted the “ADA25 Lights! Camera! Access! 2.0 Think Tank: Achieving Disability-Inclusive Diversity Through a “Brand” New Lens” on July 14. As part of the event, CUNY and John Jay College honored the Disability Opportunity Fund (DOF) and its President and CEO Charles D. Hammerman for “leadership in empowering people with disabilities to tell their stories, in their authentic voices, across a range of media platforms.”  Hammerman, who joined the John Jay College Foundation Board of Trustees recently, has been instrumental in making the business case to media industries and others for greater representation of people with disabilities in front of and behind the camera, and on stage.

Hammerman brings many years of involvement with initiatives for people with disabilities and significant experience in the financial markets.  Prior to the creation of the DOF, he founded the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, an organization to advance civic, economic and social participation of persons with disabilities in a global society. Hammerman follows in the footsteps of his uncle, Dr. Burton Blatt, an advocate for integration of the disabled community in the 1960s and the inspiration for the DOF. Hammerman was a senior member of Private Executive Services, a division of Merrill Lynch’s Global Private Client Group, and spearheaded the creation of its “Disability Awareness Professional Network” in its world headquarters.  As a result of his leadership, Merrill Lynch was recognized by Diversity Inc. magazine as the “number one company for employment of people with disabilities” in 2005 and 2006.  Previously, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in New York and began his career as an associate at Morgan Lewis and Bockius.