ASID Celebrates President Obama’s Intent to Appoint Shelley Siegel to US Access Board
On May 5, 2016, President Obama announced his intent to appoint Shelley Siegel, FASID, CAPS, founder and CEO of the Universal Design & Education Network, to the U.S. Access Board. The Board, created in 1973 to ensure access to federally funded facilities, expanded its mission to the regulation and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when the law passed in 1990. As such, they provide design criteria, technical assistance, and training, as well as issuing accessibility standards for the built environment. Overall it is a leading source of information on accessible design and a strong advocate for people with disabilities.
Shelley Siegel is uniquely suited for this appointment. Her 44 years as a principal of the Siegel Design Group and 35 years as founder and CEO of the Universal Design & Education Network, have been dedicated to bringing aesthetically pleasing universal design concepts to the home, workplace, hospitality, and healthcare environments.
Siegel holds a degree in Interior Design, a Master’s Degree in Gerontology, is a licensed interior designer in the State of Florida, is NCIDQ certified, and is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). She has served on numerous boards and committees to share her expertise on ADA and universal design matters, and has authored countless articles on barrier-free and universal design. In 2010, Siegel was inducted into the ASID Florida Chapter Hall of Fame.
“We applaud President Obama’s decision to appoint a Licensed Interior Designer to the U.S. Access Board,” said ASID CEO Randy Fiser. “Shelley is a pioneer and testament to the fact that interior designers are experts on designing for and meeting accessibility standards in the built environment. It has always been a priority for ASID and our members to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to places where they live, work, play and heal.”
Fiser concluded, “Shelley is an inspiration to us all. I am confident she will bring a tremendous wealth of knowledge and understanding to the U.S. Access Board.”
About ASID
The American Society of Interior Designers believes that design transforms lives. ASID serves the full range of the interior design profession and practice through the Society’s programs, networks, and advocacy. We thrive on the strength of cross-functional and interdisciplinary relationships among designers of all specialties, including workplace, healthcare, retail and hospitality, education, institutional, and residential. We lead interior designers in shared conversations around topics that matter: from evidence-based and humancentric design to social responsibility, well-being, and sustainability. We showcase the impact of design on the human experience and the value interior designers provide.
ASID was founded over 40 years ago when two organizations became one, but its legacy dates back to the early 1930s. As we celebrate nearly 85 years of industry leadership, we are leading the future of interior design, continuing to integrate the advantages of local connections with national reach, of small firms with big, and of the places we live with the places we work, play, and heal. Learn more at asid.org.
About US Access Board
The Access Board is an independent federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards. Created in 1973 to ensure access to federally funded facilities, the Board is now a leading source of information on accessible design. The Board develops and maintains design criteria for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, medical diagnostic equipment, and information technology. It also provides technical assistance and training on these requirements and on accessible design and continues to enforce accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities.
