John Kemp
Immediate Past President |
John D. Kemp is the president of the United States International
Council on Disabilities (USICD). A principal in the law firm of Powers,
Pyles, Sutter & Verville, Mr. Kemp is an expert on the areas
of disability, rehabilitation, health care, and nonprofit organizations.
A graduate of Georgetown University and Washburn University School
of Law, Mr. Kemp has served as Chief Executive Officer of United
Cerebral Palsy Associations, VSA Arts and HalfthePlanet Foundation,
and serves in that capacity for Disability Service Providers of America,
a lobbying trade association. He has served as General Counsel and
Vice President - Development for the National Easter Seal Society
and managed a law firm that advised companies on state and federal
civil rights, employment and education laws and policies regarding
persons with disabilities. Kemp & Young, Inc. developed management
training programs in addition to offering consulting services and
editing and publishing Disability & Employment Reporter, a monthly
legal and legislative newsletter for employers.
Mr. Kemp currently serves as a member of the nonprofit Boards of
Directors for several organizations, including: the Rehabilitation
Institute of Chicago; the National Rehabilitation Hospital of Washington,
DC; the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD),
of which he is a co-founder; The Abilities Fund; and the U.S. International
Council on Disabilities. Mr. Kemp served as a presidential appointee
to the National Council on Disability for six years ending in early
2002. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Commission
on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), serving as
its Chairman for three years; Independent Sector, serving nine years
and as its Vice Chairman; and the American Occupational Therapy Association
(AOTA).
Mr. Kemp has personal experience with disability. Having
been born without arms below the elbows and legs below the knees,
Kemp uses four prostheses in living an independent, productive life.
In 1997, he was recognized as Washburn University Law School’s Distinguished
Alumni Fellow, and in 1991 was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association
of Distinguished Americans, an honor extended to singularly accomplished
individuals in recognition of their achievements in the face of extraordinary
challenges. A frequently requested Keynote Speaker and humorist,
Kemp delivers 20-30 major addresses annually before conferences,
conventions and annual meetings. He is admitted to practice in Kansas
and the District of Columbia.
In March 2004, Mr. Kemp’s co-authored and co-edited book, Reflections
From A Different Journey, was published by McGraw-Hill and is available
in bookstores nationwide and online at www.disabilitiesbooks.com,
www.Amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
With the Foreword by Marlee Matlin and essays from writers who were
raised from birth or early childhood with their disabilities, Reflections is
advice that people with disabilities want all parents to have about
parenting. |
