New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. honored six New Yorkers for their accomplishments at his 2004 Disability Awareness Month event that took place on Wednesday, November 17, 2004.

Pictured (back, l to r) are: Dr. Laurie Hanin, Executive Director, League for the Hard of Hearing; Tony Coelho, President-Elect, Epilepsy Foundation of America; Thompson; Philip H. Levy, President and Chief Operating Officer, YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network; Gloria Altieri, Educational Director, Easter Seals Child Development Center; Rev. Winfield Peacock, Director, John Heuss House, Trinity Church; (front, l to r) Karen L. Gourgey, Director, Computer Center for Visually Impaired People, Baruch College/CUNY; Marilyn L. Edwards, Board Member, Black Deaf Advocates Service Coordinator, New York Society for the Deaf; and, Frank Tedeshi, Consumer, Guild for Exceptional Children.

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The event was cosponsored by YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network and the League for the Hard of Hearing. The YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network has been a national leader in the provision of services, education and training in the field of developmental and learning disabilities. The organization has a range of programs and has created more than 350 initiatives to assist people of all ages. The League for Hard of Hearing is the oldest hearing rehabilitation and human services agency in the world, serving infants, children and adults who are hard of hearing, deaf and deaf-blind and their families.

“From securing basic legal rights, to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, to the ongoing battle to increase access and opportunity, people with disabilities have fought hard for the right to participate fully in all aspects of our society,” Thompson said. “People with disabilities continue to enter new professions, breaking down stereotypes and making the road easier for future generations.”

A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Tony Coelho, President-Elect of the National Epilepsy Foundation of America. Coelho, a former California Congressman, was a prime sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Other distinguished honorees were: Gloria Altieri, Educational Director of the Easter Seals Child Development Center; Marilyn L. Edwards, Board Member of the Black Deaf Advocates and Service Coordinator for the New York Society for the Deaf; Karen Gourgey, Director of the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People, Baruch College/CUNY; Alberto Muneton, Painter, Sculptor, and Resident at the Services for the Underserved; and, Richard Traum, President of the Achilles Track Club.

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