Rosenblum Selected As Seventh Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of the Deaf

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Board of Directors announced that after conducting a nationwide search, it has selected Howard A. Rosenblum as its next Chief Executive Officer. The announcement was made at the conclusion of the 50th Biennial NAD Conference, held July 6-10, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rosenblum is currently employed as Senior Attorney at Equip for Equality in Chicago, Illinois. He brings to the NAD nearly two decades of leadership and advocacy experience. The presentation he gave as one of three CEO finalists can be viewed at www.nad.org/ceosearch [2].

“It is my honor to work for such a historic organization such as the NAD and to work with such a talented and passionate Board of Directors and staff,” said Rosenblum. “I look forward to making a positive difference and to doing all I can to serve Deaf America and to raising awareness of the deaf community as first-class citizens and contributors.”

“The Board has full confidence that Howard A. Rosenblum has the organizational and advocacy experience we need as the NAD faces fiscal challenges and ongoing redefinitions in national accessibility policies. Equally important, Rosenblum embraces the core values inherent to the NAD – equal access to information and to society, communication as a human right, and American Sign Language legitimacy,” said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins. The Board looks forward to Rosenblum's strong leadership in strengthening our organization’s capacity in advocating for our rights as first-class citizens and consumers.

Rosenblum will become the seventh Chief Executive Officer on April 1, 2011, succeeding Nancy J. Bloch, who took office in 1992 as the first female Chief Executive Officer.  Bloch will end her service on March 31, 2011 as overseer of national advocacy and policymaking efforts in an era that ensued after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, through the Decoder Circuitry Act of 1996 and through the nationwide implementation of telecommunications relay services, among many other civil rights milestones impacting the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Transparency and integrity have served as two guiding principles throughout the CEO search process. Comprehensive information on the CEO search process is available at www.nad.org/ceosearch [2], and includes captioned vlogs and announcements, the search timeline, position description, finalist profiles, frequently asked questions, and related details.

NAD President Scoggins added, "please join the Board of Directors in congratulating and welcoming Howard A. Rosenblum as the next CEO of the National Association of the Deaf.”

About the NAD
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. These beliefs remain true to this day, with American Sign Language as a core value. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.