The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy & Innovation Based at LMU Loyola Law School

LMU Loyola Law School launched The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy & Innovation on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018 with a gala event and inaugural symposium announcing the details of its newly commissioned poll tracking the electoral involvement of people with disabilities. Founded by former Democratic congressman, disability rights icon and LMU alumnus Hon. Tony Coelho (LMU ’64), The Coelho Center is the only organization of its kind at a Catholic university in America and the only one housed at a top U.S. law school.
The Coelho Center will pursue a unique three-pronged mission: convening thought leaders to pursue positive change on disability issues; leveraging technology to advance the lives of people with disabilities; and creating a pipeline of lawyers with disabilities to populate the bench and hold elected office. To be housed at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, The Coelho Center also will draw on multiple areas of expertise from each of the other six LMU colleges.
The former House Majority Whip (the third-highest position in the U.S. House of Representatives), Coelho has been a key advocate for those with disabilities over his entire adult life. As the driving force behind the ADA, he was later appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Coelho has held leadership positions at the American Association for People with Disabilities, the Epilepsy Foundation and the Partnership to Improve Patient Care.