Founded by Respected Bipartisan Congressional Leaders Tony Coelho (D) & Ron Packard (R)
Honorable Tony Coelho
Tony Coelho (D-Modesto, CA) brings a national reputation as one of the top strategists of the Democratic Party, having served in the U.S. Congress as House Majority Whip (the third highest position in the House of Representatives), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and general chairman of Al Gore’s presidential campaign. Coelho is the current DNC Disability Council Chair and was a 2020 Democratic National Convention Vice Chair.
Coelho is credited as the author, primary sponsor and leader of a bipartisan movement in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law by then President George Herbert Walker Bush. Following a career in politics, Coelho served as president and CEO of Wertheim Schroder Investment Services, which grew from $400 million to $4 billion in managed investments under his leadership.
Currently, Coelho serves on the Board of Directors of publicly traded Service Corporation International and AudioEye. He is Chairman of the Board of Esquire Bank. He is active in helping The Epilepsy Foundation of America and in 2018 launched The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation at Loyola Marymount University’s Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Honorable Ron Packard
Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad, CA), has the distinction of winning election to Congress as one of only three write-in candidates in the Nation’s history. During his 18 years in the House of Representatives he served on the powerful Committee on Appropriations and was Chairman of the Appropriations Committee on Energy and Water. Packard also has extensive local government experience as a Mayor, City Councilman and School Board Trustee in San Diego County. He is a respected national voice on infrastructure, public works, energy and natural resources issues.