In January, WID welcomed Martin B. Schulter as the new Chair of WID's Board of Directors. "As the new Chair of WID's board, Marty brings to WID a great combination of disability advocate, business acumen and a respected leader in higher education," said WID's Executive Director, Kathy Martinez. Prior to becoming Chair in 2006, Mr. Schulter previously served as Vice-Chair from 2003 to 2006 and has been a board member since 2001. Mr. Schulter received his M.S. in Education & Counseling from Long Island University and then became the first director of New York University's Disability Center. After five years, Mr. Schulter left NYU a very different campus with a comprehensive program to serve students with disabilities and became the first director of San Jose State University's Disability Resource Center, where he currently works.

Concerned about access for people with disabilities in Silicon Valley, Mr. Schulter worked with local disabled individuals and co-founded the Disability Advisory Commission of San Jose, the first commission advising the City of San Jose on all issues of access, and served for a number of years as its chair. In addition to his work with WID, Mr. Schulter also serves as the chairperson of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), is active in the arts and involved in community initiatives supporting diversity and inclusion.

WID would like to express its deep gratitude to Dr. Stanley Yarnell for serving as the Chair of WID's Board of Director's from 2000 to 2006. "Stan provided steady leadership with a great sense of humor through many of WID's significant changes-we're all thankful that he has agreed to continue serving on WID's board," said Ms. Martinez. Dr. Yarnell, a retired physician who specialized in physical medicine and rehabilitation, has been an active member of WID's Board of Directors since 1993.