Board of Directors

BETH BUTLER
VP, Employment Compliance, Wachovia Corporation
Chair, US Business Leadership Network

Beth is a Vice President in Employment Compliance with Wachovia Corporation and recently relocated to Wachovia’s Corporate Headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina where she serves as Disability and Accommodations Consultant for the company. In July 2007, Beth was invited to testify before the Congressional Sub-Committee on Higher Education, Life Long Learning and Competitiveness and shared her personal and professional journey as a consumer of the Vocational Rehabilitation Program. In August 2007, Beth received a Governor appointment to serve on the North Carolina Commission for the Blind and currently serves as Vice Chairman. In April 2006 the Council of State Administrators for Vocational Rehabilitation presented Beth with an Inaugural Leadership Award at the Capitol in Washington D.C..

Beth has served as Vice Chairman of the Alabama State Rehabilitation Council and Chairman of the Employment Subcommittee since 2004. Beth is also a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Business Leadership Network where she serves as the Southeastern Regional Representative. Beth has presented at numerous conferences across the country and appeared in professional magazines such as PINK Magazine, HR Executive and DiversityInc. As a wife, a mother and an attorney who happens to have a disability, Beth brings a unique perspective to the dialogue on employment of people with disabilities. Legally blind since birth, Beth uses ZoomText Software and other assistive technology to achieve her success at Wachovia.

DEB RUSSELL
Corporate Manager, Walgreen Company
Vice-Chair, US Business Leadership Network

Deb Russell is a Corporate Manager for Walgreen Co. She oversees the company’s commitment to have one third of the workforce in its latest and all future distribution centers consist of qualified individuals with disabilities. The first of these centers opened in January 2007. Ms. Russell has advised and monitored the efforts in order to disseminate lessons that are learned. Walgreen Company is the nation’s largest drugstore chain and the 7th largest retailer.

Fortune Magazine ranks Walgreens as the 45th largest company in America and it employs over 200,000 people. Deb’s background includes working in the field of employment of people with disabilities for more than 15 years. These experiences include being a Special Education Teacher, job developer, and addressing issues related to the employment of people with disabilities within the workforce investment and Medicaid systems. She has presented nationally on topics related to the employment of people with disabilities.

DEBRA RUH
President & Founder, TecAccess
Secretary/Treasurer, US Business Leadership Network

Debra is the President and Founder of TecAccess. TecAccess is the leading provider of professional IT/Web accessibility and usability testing, consulting, training and award-winning disability workforce solutions, staffing programs and marketing programs. TecAccess was awarded the prestigious 2005 Presidential Freedom Initiative Award. For her efforts, Debra was awarded the 2007 Outstanding Achievement Award by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, Enterprising Women Magazine’s Advocacy Award, Northrop Grumman’s 2007 Community Support Award, and the prestigious Wells Fargo/NAWBO “Trailblazer” Award.

She has been featured on CNN, NPR, and US News and World Report. In 2006 Debra embarked on a new mission to expand TecAccess services to better serve disabled veterans through DVETs. Debra is currently partnering with leading organizations to train disabled veterans across the country. This programs use Assistive Technology (AT), such as screen readers and voice activated controls, for one-of-a-kind training and employment opportunities. Our DVET is the first of its kind program in the nation – a program that guarantees employment to our veterans.

The Honorable KATHERINE O. McCARY
Vice President & Manager, Disability Resource Center,
SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Katherine McCary reports to the Chairman, President and CEO, SunTrust Mid-Atlantic and has corporate responsibility for the Disability Resource Center, a program that seeks to increase the employment of people with disabilities throughout SunTrust's workforce and to increase awareness of marketing opportunities for customers with disabilities. She co-chairs SunTrust's National Disability Mentoring Day and acts as disability consultant to SunTrust's 17 Diversity Councils. Katherine was a co-founder of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®) and serves as immediate past chair. She also currently serves as a Presidential appointee to the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency that provides advice to the President, Congress and federal agencies.

As a nationally recognized disability friendly employer, SunTrust has received the SHRM HR Magazine 2000 Innovative Practice Award, the 2002 US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®) Exceptional Leadership Award and the US Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao's 2004 New Freedom Initiative Award.

J. ERIN RIEHLE, MSN, RN
Director of Disability Services, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Erin Riehle, MSN, RN is a recognized authority and national leader in promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. She is a founder and Senior Director of Project SEARCH, an employment and transition program that has received national recognition for innovative practices pioneered under Ms. Riehle’s guidance. She is regularly invited to present at national and regional conferences, and has co-authored numerous publications and book chapters.

She is an active member of the Association for Persons in Supported Employment, and has served on many national committees, such as the Virginia Commonwealth University Business Leadership Roundtable and the Youth to Work Coalition. She is a board member for the United States Business Leadership Network and the Northern Kentucky University Research Foundation. She has gained over $1,500,000 in foundation and agency support for Project SEARCH programs, and has won numerous awards for her work. Notably, Project SEARCH received the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2004 New Freedom Initiative Award, and in 2005 Ms. Riehle was named “Dorine Seaquist Outstanding Woman of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center”.

KIRBY CROYLE
Assistant Vice President & Human Resources Consultant,
Wells Fargo Internet Services

Kirby Croyle is a Human Resources Consultant and Assistant Vice President with Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group currently supporting the Online Customer Service Center in Salt Lake City, UT.

She serves on the Utah Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and on the UBET Business Leadership Network Committee of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. Kirby is a Seattle native, and earned her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

FRANCES WEST
Director, IBM Human Ability & Accessibility Center

Frances West is Director of the IBM Human Ability & Accessibility Center. The Center’s mission is to enable human capability through innovation, so all people can reach their potential, regardless of age or ability. She is charged with the worldwide responsibility of establishing IBM market leadership by promoting IBM advanced research technology, products, services and solutions in the area of human ability and accessibility.

Prior to this assignment, Frances was Director, Channels, Alliances and Business Development for the Lotus Software Group. She recruited and managed IBM Business Partners globally that specialize in Lotus software. In addition, Frances was Director, Financial Services Sector Solutions in the IBM Global Services organization. She managed investment funding and executed financial services solution plans for banking, insurance and financial markets globally.

KEVIN BRADLEY
Director, Inclusion & Diversity, McDonald’s Corporation

Kevin Bradley is a Director of Inclusion and Diversity at McDonald's Corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. In this position he is responsible for leading the Company’s external national partnerships in the Asian American and disability communities. Internally, he provides internal support and consultation to the Company in the areas of employment, diversity councils, and people with disabilities and workplace accommodations.

His work also includes serving as in internal resource to both the McDonald’s Asian Employee Network and the Asian McDonald’s Operators Association in the area of diversity. He plays a critical role with McDonald’s Asian Business Vision initiative, leading that groups People Team.

KEVIN FOSTER
Director Human Resources, Motorola’s Quality Master Black Belt

Kevin Foster has worked for Motorola for over 15 years and currently manages the Global HR Quality and the Digital Six Sigma function. Prior to this, Kevin held various leadership roles in Organization Development, Global Inclusion and Diversity, and EEO/AA Compliance.

Kevin is also the founder and co-leader of the Motorola Business Council for People with Disabilities and has been active on several boards and committees including USBLN®, American Foundation for the Blind, Career opportunities for Students with Disabilities, and the Foundation for Blind Children. Kevin graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Industrial Organizational Psychology.

MARTHALEE GALEOTA
Program Manager, Starbucks Accessibility & Diversity

Marthalee Galeota is a grassroots, disability community advocate who has worked in the rehabilitation and non-profit worlds for over 20 years.

Marthalee currently serves as Program Manager for Starbuck’s Accessibility and Disability. She is passionate about Starbucks becoming one of the most inclusive brands in the world and energizing the company around universal access and to that end is establishing an Accessibility Center of Excellence.

MARTHA ARTILES
Chief Diversity Officer, Manpower Inc.

Martha Artiles, chief diversity officer, brings a unique combination of human resources, engineering and community experience from her 25-year career to Manpower where she oversees global strategic diversity and workforce development. Her expertise spans many categories including diversity, organizational change, recruitment, quality management and mechanical engineering. Prior to joining Manpower, Artiles led diversity initiatives at global corporations in the manufacturing, IT and service sectors. Her accomplishments include the initiation of a minority council to educate senior executives at a Fortune 300 global corporation, the creation and development of an executive focused mentoring program and the co-founder of a Hispanic employee networking group.

Artiles holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Santa Clara in California. She serves on the Board of the United States Business Leadership Network, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM) and is a member of the Conference Boards Workforce Diversity Council, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the newly formed World Economic Forum’s Global Diversity Agenda Council. She is an accomplished speaker, addressing engineering, human resources, Hispanic and women’s groups and is often cited as an expert in the media.

SCOTT K. WILLIAMS
Vice President of E-Commerce, Sam’s Club

Scott has responsibility for the Samsclub.com business unit and leads the Sam’s digital marketing initiatives and call center operations. Scott joined Sam’s Club in 2006. Prior to joining Sam’s Club, Scott served as Senior Vice-President, Marketing and OfficeMax.com for OfficeMax, Inc. in Itasca, IL. Additionally, Scott has held marketing and general management positions with PepsiCo, Boise Cascade Office Products, and Koch Industries.

Scott is on the Board for Life Styles, an organization supporting Adults with Disabilities.

Scott has an MBA, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, and a B.S., Business Administration, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

MICHAEL TAKEMURA
Director, HP Accessibility & Aging Program Office

Michael Takemura, director of the HP Accessibility & Aging Program Office, is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy for HP’s accessibility efforts. This office guides corporate-wide accessibility in product design, engineering, product development, marketing, web, services, support and programs for persons with disabilities and age-related limitations.

Michael is a frequent speaker representing HP and the information technology industry on global information technology accessibility issues. He is currently serving as co-convenor of the JTC1 Special Working Group on Accessibility - Task Group on User Requirements, and the chair for the INCITS Study Group on Accessibility. Michael also represented the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) on the U.S. Access Board Telecommunications and Electronic Information Technology Advisory Council (TEITAC). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), and has previously served on the Board of Directors for the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and the Advisory Board for California State University at Northridge – Center on Disabilities (CSUN-COD). He is a member of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Accessibility Committee, and the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) Business Advisory Council. In 2005, he was named one of Careers & disABLED Magazine’s Employees of the Year, for his professional and advocacy efforts on behalf of people with disabilities in the workplace.

Takemura has been in the technology industry for over 20 years, representing HP/Compaq for more than 16 years, with strategic roles in the marketing and sales organizations and currently in the HP Office of Strategy & Technology. He resides in Houston Texas where he is an active member in his church, serving on the Missions Committee and making annual visits to Mexico and Costa Rica working with disadvantaged children. Michael attended Creighton University with studies in Organizational Communications.

MICHELLE MAYBAUM
Director, Employee Relations, Qualcomm Incorporated

Michelle has been involved with the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®) since 2003, and she served as the Vice President of the Board from 2004-2007. She is also the representative for Qualcomm as one of the lead companies for the San Diego Chapter of the California BLN.

Michelle actively partners with the Department of Rehabilitation and other service providers as a member of the San Diego Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities (SDCEPD) to further the employment of people with disabilities.

Michelle has 20+ years of Human Resources experience and is currently employed as a Director, Employee Relations at Qualcomm Incorporated. In that capacity, she is responsible for disability awareness for the entire the organization, overseeing accommodation needs, and outreach to the disabled community. Qualcomm is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology.