Embracing challenges

Serving our largest minority community can be intimidating, but Heidi Johnson-Wright welcomes the challenge. As a proud woman with a disability, she serves as the County's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator in the Internal Services Department (ISD).
  
One out of four adults in the U.S. has a disability. Miami-Dade County is home to over 250,000 people with disabilities. The mission of the ISD ADA Office is to ensure all of those individuals can access every County program, service, activity and facility.  
 
"Everyone has the right to accessible, affordable housing, to reliable transportation, to meaningful employment, to attend cultural events and all the other things that many people take for granted," said Heidi. "The ADA, signed into law in 1990, is not a building code. It's not just about ramps, restrooms and parking. It's a federal civil rights law that touches on virtually all aspects of American life." 
 
As a kid, Heidi was a tomboy who climbed trees, did cartwheels and road her bike with wild abandon. But at age 8, she developed rheumatoid arthritis. Many surgeries followed, and she struggled with mobility.  

"When I got my first power wheelchair, the whole world opened up. People see wheelchairs as a symbol of sadness, a prison. Nothing could be further from the truth! Wheelchairs enable movement. They are devices of liberation!" After earning her Juris Doctor degree, Heidi worked 10 years as an attorney for a state government agency in Ohio. She later served six years as the city of Miami Beach's first full-time ADA coordinator. She joined the County in 2007.

"Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and ISD Director Alex Muñoz are committed to inclusion for people with disabilities. They believe in our office's mission. Thanks to them, I have an excellent team of individuals who are passionate about serving the disability community."

July 26 is the ADA's anniversary. From July 25 through 28, the ADA Office is hosting a series of events that will include speakers, performers with disabilities and a resource fair. Learn more about the ADA's anniversary celebration.