Paul has nearly 50 years’ experience in the field of employment for people with disabilities, particularly in the area of youth development and career preparation. He has served in a number of Federal government agencies as well as university programs focusing on careers for college students with disabilities. Among his singular achievements, Paul played pivotal roles in the legislative and policy implementation of such major laws as the ADA, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, IDEA, and the Architectural Barriers Act. He was also instrumental in the development of the Workforce Recruitment Program, Youth Leadership Forums, the High School/High Tech program, Job Accommodation Program, and EARN. As director of the Disabled Students’ Program at two California universities, he created and taught a ground-breaking course on “Professional Development and Disability” which has been replicated nationwide and has been a core component of two Kessler Signature Employment Grants including the highly successful C2C California project where Policyworks partnered with the Interwork Institute at San Diego State University to improve employment outcomes for students with disabilities preparing for their careers.
Paul’s career in the disability field began in 1971 at the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He rose to be Director of the Office of Plans, Projects and Services and then Senior Employment Advisor, as PCEPD transitioned to become the Office of Disability Employment in the US Dept of Labor. Retiring from Federal service in 2006, Paul was appointed Director of the Disabled Students’ Program, at California State University, East Bay, and then at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2017, he became Director of Employment & Disability Benefits Initiative at the World Institute on Disability. He is currently a program consultant to various education and employment programs, assisting them in implementation of Employment Empowerment instruction.
Paul has a BA from Marquette University in Political Science and an MA from the George Washington University in Disability Secondary/Post-Secondary Transition Educational Programming. He served as an officer in the US Navy and was awarded a “service connected” disability rating with the Veteran’s Administration following two tours in Viet Nam.