US Business Leadership Network Taps John Kemp

April 23, 2007

The law firm of Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC (PPSV) announces the appointment of partner John D. Kemp, Esq. as Executive Director and General Counsel of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®). Under Mr. Kemp’s leadership, the USBLN will continue to advance America's commitment to hire, retain and promote qualified people with disabilities and to value them as important customers and consumers in the marketplace. PPSV will work closely with the USBLN® Board of Directors and its President Katherine McCary to oversee multiple facets of the USBLN® – including its management, marketing, membership benefits, fundraising, governance, and outcomes. Mr. Kemp will maintain his legal and legislative practice serving disability, rehabilitation, health care, and nonprofit organization clients at the firm while assuming this new role for USBLN.

“The USBLN is pleased to have PPSV and John Kemp on board to help us navigate into a new era of success,” summarized McCary of the USBLN®. “John Kemp is a recognized leader in the disability community who has a proven track record of getting things done and has extensive experience in promoting the employment of people with disabilities.”

In 2006, Mr. Kemp received the Henry B. Betts Award, the most prestigious award within the national disability community which honors an individual whose work and scope of influence have significantly improved the quality of life for people with disabilities. As a member of the Medicaid Advisory Commission, he serves by appointment of HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt to make recommendations to stabilize and strengthen the Medicaid program for the years ahead. As a member of the US Department of State’s Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities, he advises the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development on matters of disability and foreign policy. Mr. Kemp served as a presidential appointee to the National Council on Disability for six years ending in early 2002. Mr. Kemp serves as a board member of several non-profit organizations, including the National Rehabilitation Hospital of Washington, Goodwill Industries of Greater Washington, DC, The Eric Fund, and the US International Council on Disabilities. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (Chairman, three years); Independent Sector (serving nine years and as its Vice Chairman); the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; and the American Occupational Therapy Association. He co-founded the American Association of People with Disabilities in 1995, and later served as its Chairman. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations, VSA Arts, and HalfthePlanet Foundation. In 1991 he was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. Mr. Kemp recently published Reflections from a Different Journey: What People with Disabilities Wish All Parents Knew, a McGraw-Hill book co-authored and co-edited with Dr. Stan Klein.

The USBLN® recognizes and promotes best practices in hiring, retaining, and marketing to people with disabilities. The USBLN and local BLN chapters use a “business to business” approach to educate and promote the business imperative of including people with disabilities in the workforce. Businesses join BLN chapters to learn how to expand their diversity recruiting efforts to include individuals with disabilities not as a social model but as a business case to recruit talent and better serve their customers. BLN successes serve the workplace, the marketplace, the community and the economy. Learn more at www.usbln.org.

Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC focuses its practice on health law and public policy, education law, the law of tax-exempt organizations, and the law relating to public health and the environment. The firm, located in Washington, DC, offers a wide variety of legal and legislative services to clients across the United States. PPSV strives to provide the highest quality professional services at a cost that reflects the efficiencies arising from the firm's expertise and to emphasize a personal, positive, and problem-solving approach with each client they serve. Learn more at www.ppsv.com.

For additional information, please contact John D. Kemp at john.kemp@ppsv.com.