"Lessons Learned from the EEOC's Interim Report on Best Practices for the Employment of People with Disabilities in State Government"

About the Presenters

Christopher Kuczynski is Assistant Legal Counsel and Director of the Americans with Disabilities Act Policy Division at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In this position, he is responsible for supervising the development of policy guidance interpreting Title I of the ADA. Mr. Kuczynski also advises EEOC’s field offices, Office of General Counsel, and Chair and Commissioners on ADA investigations and litigation. Since assuming the position of Assistant Legal Counsel in February 1997, Mr. Kuczynski has made hundreds of presentations on the ADA to a variety of audiences – from human resources professionals and EEO counselors in the public and private sectors, to plaintiff and defense counsel.

From October 2003 to April 2004, Mr. Kuczynski worked as Associate Director for Disability Policy with the White House Domestic Policy Counsel. In this position, he coordinated implementation of the New Freedom Initiative, President George W. Bush’s comprehensive strategy for the full integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of American life. Mr. Kuczynski also served for nine months as Special Assistant to EEOC Chair Cari Dominguez, advising her on issues arising under all of the EEO laws that the Commission enforces and serving as the agency’s representative for activities related to the New Freedom Initiative.

Prior to joining the EEOC, Mr. Kuczynski worked as a Trial Attorney for the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, where he enforced Title II of the ADA (which prohibits discrimination by State and local government entities), and Title III of the ADA (which applies to places of public accommodation). He also worked for three years as an associate in the litigation department of a major Philadelphia law firm.

Mr. Kuczynski has a B.A. in English from Villanova University, a J.D. from Temple Law School, and an LL.M. from the Yale Law School, where his course of study focused on civil rights and constitutional law.

Contact Information

Chris Kuczynski
Assistant Legal Counsel
ADA Policy Division
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1801 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20507
Phone: (202) 663-4665
Fax: (202) 663-7176
Email: christopher.kuczynski@eeoc.gov

Steve Serra is the Director for Recruitment and Examination Division in the Maryland Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Office of Personnel Services and Benefits (OPSB). In his current position, he directs recruitment, examination, and selection activities for the State Personnel Management System (SPMS), which covers approximately 40,000 merit positions. Steve manages a specialized staff of personnel supervisors, analysts and associates to offer a wide variety of services including recruitment, special employment & outreach programs, test development and administration, special research studies, workforce planning, agency consultation and audits, and policy development. Since 1999, Steve has facilitated the Disability Employment Workgroup, which is co-sponsored by OPSB and the Department of Disabilities, with representation by the State’s Division of Rehabilitation Services and several cabinet agencies. During this time, the Work Group has implemented two extensive ADA training conferences, enhanced tracking procedures for reasonable accommodations across State agencies, and developed and implemented the Governors QUEST Internship Program for Persons With Disabilities, a signature initiative now in its 6th year of implementation. Steve earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Psychology from Towson University, and his Master's of Science degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Baltimore.

Jade Ann Gingerich serves as Director of Employment Policy for the newly created Maryland Department of Disabilities. The Department, one of Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Junior’s campaign commitments, came into existence on July 1, 2004. Prior to that, she served since 1997 as Executive Director of the Maryland Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
She has also worked for the HEATH Resource Center (the national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities) at the American Council on Education, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the International Development Management Center at the University of Maryland and the Embassy of Japan. Ms. Gingerich received her Masters of Science in Special Education with a specialization in Transition Services from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and completed her undergraduate work at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia and at Hull University in Kingston-upon-Hull, England.
As an advocate for individuals with disabilities to be involved in all aspects of community life and a longtime actress and singer, she founded “The Paradigm Players” in 1996. With the motto “celebrating differences, challenging perceptions,” The Paradigm Players offered individuals with and without disabilities the opportunity to participate in high quality community theatre, and has lead to increased performing opportunities for individuals with disabilities throughout the Washington DC area.