Marylanders On The Move
MARSHA MAZZ
In March 2010, Maryland resident Marsha K. Mazz was selected by the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day Planning Committee as the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award. Named for the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the Brown award recognizes demonstrated leadership in promoting the important role of standardization in eliminating global barriers to trade.
As Senior Accessibility Specialist and Technical Assistance Coordinator for the United States Access Board, Mazz is responsible for the continued development of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines, overseeing the technical assistance program for the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act (ADA-ABA), and representing the Access Board to the model code organizations.
For more than 20 years, she has worked to educate standards experts, architects, engineers, code officials and countless other professionals about the need and benefits of accessible design. Her contributions have resulted in development of coordinated national standards that make the built environment far more accessible for people with disabilities.
KIRK M. BAUER, JD
US Army-Retired
As the Executive Director of Disabled Sports USA for the past 28 years, Bauer has led the organization to grow to over 100 community chapters operating in 37 states and serving thousands of youth and adults with disabilities. He is a decorated disabled veteran who knows firsthand what it is like to face the challenges of disability. As a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, Bauer lost a leg from a hand grenade during an ambush. While serving in Vietnam, Bauer was twice awarded the Bronze Star for Heroism.
As director of Disabled Sports USA, Bauer helped establish the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project and the Warfighter Sports Series to serve those injured in Iraq and Afghanistan; and other winter and summer programs for youth and adults with disabilities. Bauer has been active in the Olympic and Paralympic sports movement, helping to expand opportunities within the USOC, for athletes with disabilities.
In recognition of his work, Bauer received a Presidential Appointment to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He was also selected by President Bush to the delegation representing the USA at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino and the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
A graduate of Boston University School of Law (Juris Doctor), he is active in skiing, biking, and hiking. Leading by example, after turning 60, he has completed the Bataan Memorial Death March (three times), Three Notch Century Ride (two times), and most recently, he summited Mount Kilimanjaro with two, double leg amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!
PATRICK SHEEHAN
On Monday, January 10, 2011, Marylander Patrick Sheehan was honored by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Department of Access Services and the Metro Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) with the 4th annual Richard W. Heddinger Accessible Transportation Award. The award is presented to a person or organization whose efforts have resulted in significant improvements to accessible public transportation services for people with disabilities in the Washington metropolitan area.
A resident of Silver Spring, Sheehan has been a member of the AAC for 20 years and has served as chairman for 18 of the 20 years he has been on the committee. In this capacity, he has worked on a number of Metrobus, Metrorail and MetroAccess issues. He helped oversee compliance of the Metrobus fleet with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, which made making the entire Metrobus fleet wheelchair accessible. He has worked with the committee and Metro staff to improve accessibility within the Metrorail system, advocating for the placement of bumpy domes near the platform edge, the installation of barriers between rail cars, guaranteed elevator access and better station lighting.
Sheehan also has worked to improve MetroAccess service. He created a MetroAccess Subcommittee to address issues related to the service for people who are unable to use public transportation because of a disability. The subcommittee meets monthly to discuss service improvements such as door-to-door service and ways to accommodate the growing number of people who apply for the service. Sheehan has served on various advocacy groups, including Metro’s Rider’s Advisory Council as the AAC representative, and as President of the American Council of the Blind in Maryland. He has advocated on behalf of people who are blind on a number of issues, including the installation of Accessible Pedestrian Signals at street intersections throughout the state of Maryland, which resulted in a federal decision to install audible traffic signals at intersections throughout the United States.
