Senior Fellow, Center for Workforce Development, Institute for Educational Leadership
Curtis Richards is a nationally recognized leader in the disability community. From 1998–2001, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education, where he administered more than $10 billion of national programs in special education, disability research, and vocational rehabilitation for youth and adults with disabilities.
In 2001, Richards formed The Advocrat Group, a public policy consultancy focused on issues of disability, education, employment, and healthcare. He is currently Senior Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Center for Workforce Development, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization.
Before moving to Washington, DC, Richards was chief consultant to the California State Assembly’s Budget Committee, where he held specific budget responsibilities for key programs serving people with disabilities. From 1991 to 1995, Richards served as an Assistant Director for Consumer Affairs in the California Department of Rehabilitation. Richards also has an extensive background in postsecondary education, serving as a consultant to a California State Assembly committee on higher education from 1985 to 1991.
Visually impaired since he was a toddler, Richards has been honored for his work in the disability field. Among his numerous awards are a Certificate of Appreciation from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities in 2000, a Disability Rights Activist Award from the California Foundation of Independent Living Centers in 1999, and the Lanterman Award from the California Association of Postsecondary Education and the Disabled in 1997.
He holds a B.A. in Government–Journalism from California State University, Sacramento, where he is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Government.
