Driving Force Behind Disabilities Act to Give Keynote Address at JMU

Dr. Richard Pimentel has come a long way since being declared dead at birth, growing up in a dysfunctional family and then losing his hearing in a bomb blast during the Vietnam War. 

On Monday, March 29, Pimentel will deliver the keynote address for Disability Awareness Week at JMU, discussing his life and the events that led him to become a driving force behind the creation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Pimentel's address begins at 7 p.m. in Room 2301 of the Health and Human Services Building on JMU's campus east of Interstate 81. 

Pimentel also will address veteran issues in higher education at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 30, in Room 306 of Wilson Hall. A screening of the 2007 movie inspired by Pimentel's life, Music Within, will be shown at 8 p.m. March 30 in the Alleghany Room of the Festival Conference and Student Center. 

A senior partner at Milt Wright & Associates, Inc., Pimentel is a consultant, keynote speaker, professional trainer and author of numerous curricula and training guides. Pimentel is an expert on disability management, including job recruitment, job retention and attitude change. 

Disability Awareness week - sponsored by the JMU Office of Disability Services, the Center for Multicultural Student Services and the Office of Equal Opportunity - runs March 29 to April 1.

More information about Pimentel is available at www.miltwright.com/_richard_pimentel/index.htm. 

Information about the movie, Music Within, is available at www.imdb.com/title/tt0422783/.