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The Role of Impact Litigation in the Fight for Disability Rights: A Conversation with Rebecca Williford, Esq.

In this episode of Disability Inclusion: Required, host Emily Ladau welcomes Rebecca Williford, Esq., President & CEO of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), for a conversation in honor of Disability Pride Month and the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rebecca shines a spotlight on the important work of DRA, a national nonprofit disability rights legal center that fights systemic discrimination against people with disabilities through impact litigation.

Our podcast theme music is by Andre Louis and Precious Perez. Thank you to Recording Artists And Music Professionals With Disabilities (RAMPD) for connecting these talented disabled musicians with the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.

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Featured Guest

Rebecca Williford, Esq.

Rebecca Williford is a seasoned, nationally recognized disability community leader and attorney with extensive experience litigating class action lawsuits on behalf of people with disabilities. Her first job at DRA was as a legal fellow, and she has built her career at DRA, becoming the organization’s President & CEO in April 2023.

As an ardent disability rights litigator, she has achieved multiple precedents on matters of first impression, advancing the rights of people with disabilities throughout the country. For example, in Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled v. Bloomberg, she litigated a class action to a successful trial verdict, representing more than 900,000 people with disabilities in a challenge to New York City’s failure to address their needs in its disaster plans.  In Legal Services for Prisoners with Children v. Ahern, she litigated a taxpayer action that resulted in a court-enforceable settlement agreement that will ensure dramatic improvements to basic accessibility for people with disabilities housed in one of the largest county jails in California.  In American Council of the Blind v. Hulu, she represented people who are blind and have low vision, resulting in Hulu’s agreement to make its website and software applications accessible via screen readers and to increase audio description tracks for streaming content. 

A steadfast leader and mentor in the disability community for the last two decades, Rebecca speaks frequently at national legal and disability conferences.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Disability Rights Bar Association and is a member of the National Disabled Legal Professionals Association.  She is a co-editor of Lawyers, Lead On: Lawyers with Disabilities Share Their Insights (ABA Press 2011) and a past Commissioner of the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights.  From 2006 to 2009, she served a Governor appointment on the North Carolina Statewide Independent Living Council.  She also co-founded and served as president of the National Association of Law Students with Disabilities.

Rebecca earned her B.A. in political science with highest honors and her J.D. as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Her lived experience as a wheelchair-user since adolescence informs and motivates her career.