Patricia Morrissey is the Editor-in-Chief of the Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal and the Director of the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and President of the U.S. International Council on Disabilities.
As a problem solver committed through innovative strategies to expanding opportunities for individuals with disabilities, she served as the Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) from August 2001 until January 2009. While serving in that post, she was a member of the U.S. Delegation to a United Nations Committee while it drafted the Convention on Civil Rights for Persons with Disabilities.
Prior to that she was a senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, providing consulting services to federal agencies, especially on accessibility in technology, and worked at the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for five years prior to joining Booz Allen.
She played a central role in drafting major disability legislation – the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1996 and 2000, the Rehabilitation Act amendments of 1998, the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, the Education of the Deaf Act Amendments of 1998 and the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act of 1999.
Pat also drafted disability legislation for the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She is the author of four books and has provided production assistance on training videos on the ADA. Between leaving the House committee staff and joining the Senate committee staff, she served as a consultant to Fortune 200 companies on ADA compliance.