Bio – Board

Khadija Bari, Board of Directors – Treasurer

Khadija Bari
Photo courtesy of Rick Guidotti, Positive Exposure 109

Khadija Bari (she, her) is the Student Career Coordinator in the Workforce Development department at VISIONS/Services for the Blind & Visually Impaired. VISIONS is a nonprofit rehabilitation and social service organization whose purpose is to develop and implement programs to assist people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired to lead independent and active lives in their homes and communities. Bari has over half a decade of experience guiding underrepresented college youth in academic and career development.

Bari lives in Queens, New York with her husband, stepdaughter and their dog. Bari was born in Pakistan and immigrated to the United States at the age of 22 with her parents and younger brother. It is then that she learned she had a disability and was diagnosed as being legally blind. Bari wrote a personal reflection that RespectAbility published during Women’s HERstory Month in 2020. [continue reading…]

Ila Eckhoff, Board of Directors

Ila Eckhoff

Ila Eckhoff, CPA, Managing Director, is a member of BlackRock’s Business Operations as part of Investment Operations. She is responsible for leading BlackRock’s Industry and Counterparty Management strategy and TSS Services for Aladdin clients. Ms. Eckhoff serves on a number of committees, including the Business Operations and Technology Leadership Committees, and Government Relations Steering Committee. She is also a leader of Blackrock’s ABN- Ability Network.

Ms. Eckhoff has had several roles at Blackrock, most recently managing the Market Initiatives team coordinating operational initiatives associated with meeting Dodd Frank and EMIR commitments for Over the Counter (OTC) derivatives working alongside the market structure, portfolio management, technology, and legal teams. Prior to that, Ms. Eckhoff managed BlackRock’s US Derivative Operations and Trading Operations Groups where she was responsible for collateral management and trade confirmation across fixed income and equity, swap payments and OTC legal confirmations. In addition, she has worked to enhance the firm’s system capabilities and develop the operations infrastructure for derivatives. Ms. Eckhoff has also developed and implemented collateral and swap payment processes and procedures for alternative products at the firm. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2000, Ms. Eckhoff managed the New York Collateral teams at both Barclays Capital and Credit Lyonnais, handling all interest rate, FX and equity derivatives. In this role, she was responsible for coordinating global collateral management for all US clients working with legal, tax and regulatory reporting. At Credit Lyonnais, she also managed the Accounting Policy Group where she developed and implemented the Bank’s procedures on collateralized derivative trading.

Ms. Eckhoff is co-chair of SIFMA/AMF Derivative Operations Committee, a member of the ISDA Collateral and Credit Steering Committees and a member of the SIFMA AMG Committee. She is also a member of MarkitServ’s Advisory Committee and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and RespectAbility Boards of Directors. Ms. Eckhoff earned a BA degree in economics from Brandeis University and an MBA degree in Accounting from Baruch College.

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Craig Leen, Board of Directors – Secretary

Craig Leen

Craig Leen is a partner at K&L Gates LLP in Washington, DC, in the labor, employment, and workplace safety practice group. He advises companies on equal employment opportunity compliance, including under the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He formerly served as the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he was a strong national advocate on civil rights and disability inclusion in employment, including his work developing an award-winning OFCCP enforcement program focused on disability inclusion, accommodations, and accessibility for federal contractors and their employees across the United States. [continue reading…]

Ollie Cantos, Board of Directors – Immediate Past Chair

Ollie Cantos

Ollie Cantos is the Immediate Past Chair of RespectAbility’s Board of Directors. Cantos has been active in the civil rights arena since 1990.  He is Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, Attorney Mentor for the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights, and Member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Past positions include Staff Attorney and Director of Outreach and Education at the Disability Rights Legal Center, General Counsel and Director of Programs at the American Association of People with Disabilities, Special Assistant and later Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House under President George W. Bush. Prior leadership posts include Vice Chair of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Vice President of the Virginia Organization of Parents of Blind Children, Legal Officer for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Vice President of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Chairman of the Board for Scholarships for Eagles, President of the California Association of Blind Students and the National Association of Blind Students, and member of the boards of directors of the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, the Blind Children’s Center, Community Lodgings, the California Association to Promote the Use of Braille, the National Federation of the Blind of California, Loyola Marymount University Alumni Association, and Loyola Law School Alumni Association.

But Ollie is most grateful for his adoption of three blind triplet boys – Leo, Nick, and Steven.  Their compelling story has been told by National Public Radio, PEOPLE Magazine, The Washingtonian Magazine, USA Today, and videos that went viral on NowThis.com, HeartThreads.com, and others. In addition to local media coverage, they were featured as Persons of the Week on ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir In December 2017 for attaining the coveted rank of Eagle Scout as part of Boy Scouts of America. Their story has now reached a grand total of more than 53 million views.

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Eleanor Clift, Board of Directors

Eleanor Clift

Eleanor Clift is a columnist for the Daily Beast, an online publication where she writes about politics and culture. She previously worked for Newsweek, where she covered a variety of beats and was a key member of the magazine’s election team.

Her cover story for Newsweek about the television show, Mad Men, won acclaim for capturing the era when women were relegated to the secretarial pool.

Clift is perhaps best known as a panelist on the syndicated talk show, “The McLaughlin Group,” which returned to public television in 2020 after a hiatus following the death of host and creator, John McLaughlin.

She has appeared as herself in several movies, including “Dave,” “Independence Day,” “Murder at 1600,” and the CBS show, “Murphy Brown.”

She has authored or co-authored several books, including, “Selecting a President,” “Founding Sisters and the 19th Amendment,” “Two Weeks of Life: A Memoir of Love, Death and Politics,” “Madam President: Blazing the Leadership Trail,” and “War Without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics.”

Clift lives in Washington, D.C., where she is on the advisory council of the International Women’s Media Foundation, the Boards of the American News Women’s Club and the Board of Governor’s of the National Hospice Foundation.

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Sneha Dave, Board of Directors

Sneha Dave

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Stacie M. de Armas, Board of Advisors

Stacie M. de Armas

Stacie M. de Armas is Senior Vice President Inclusive Insights & Initiatives and a Leader within Nielsen’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practice. She is an inclusion & identity researcher, consumer behaviorist, and subject matter expert on diverse communities. Specializing in data at the intersection of community, advocacy & entertainment, she is responsible for producing inclusive thought leadership and new research initiatives for diverse consumers, content and audiences. [continue reading…]

Neil Jacobson, Emeritus Board

Neil Jacobson

Neil Jacobson is the founder and CEO of Abilicorp, a business innovation consulting company. Abilicorp mission is to significantly increase the employment rate of people with disabilities by promoting entrepreneurs with disabilities and eliminating employment barriers.

Jacobson retired in 2008 from Wells Fargo Bank after 29 years, most recently serving as Senior Vice President in charge of their System Automation Management and Wireless Technology Divisions, and previously as Chief Systems Architect for the retail business.

Over the past 35 years, Jacobson has been an advocate and change agent for the economic development of people with disabilities. In 1975 he co-founded the CIL Computer Training Program, a nationally recognized training program, enabling people with significant disabilities to become computer programmers. When he stepped down as Chairman of the Board of CIL in 1994, more than 300 students had graduated, 92% of who had found competitive employment. More than 28 other programs throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico now use the CIL CTP as their model. Jacobson also founded the Association of Rehabilitation Programs in Data Processing, and helped create the Neil Jacobson Computer Center in Uganda.

Jacobson has continued his work on economic development for people with disabilities as a Board member and past Chair of the World Institute on Disability (WID). He was also the Vice-Chair of the President’s Committee on Employment for People with Disabilities under the Clinton Administration. He now chairs WID’s Center for Economic Growth (CEG). CEG is developing and promoting CareerACCESS – a Social Security Reform Program eliminating work disincentives and providing people with disabilities services required to build careers.

Believing that Judaism must ensure that all people are able to do Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Jacobson works with his Temple and Union of Reform Judaism (URJ). He chairs Temple Sinai’s Access Committee and represents the Committee on the Temple Board. He has presented at several URJ Biennial Conferences and at the Hebrew Union College in New York. He made a video for the URJ’s Disability Inclusion Project and has written several articles for the The URJ’s Religious Action Center.

Jacobson received a B.S. in Mathematics from Hofstra University and completed his MBA at Golden Gate University. In 1991, he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Jacobson has received many awards for his contributions, including the Independence Award from CIL, the Murray Award from the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy, Alumnae of the Year at Golden Gate University and the 2014 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award.

Jacbonson lives in Oakland, California, with his wife Denise. Their son, David, lives nearby.

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Andrew Egan, Advisor

Andrew Egan

As a seasoned creative director, and the founder of CoolGraySeven, Andrew Egan is much more than just a creative resource for his clients and regularly consults on all aspects of their business including strategy, new product development, retail and merchandising. Born and educated in the United Kingdom, Egan studied graphic design and worked in fashion editorial before establishing the London-based design group Egan Melia in 1993.

In 2000, Egan joined Ann Taylor as Creative Director and moved to New York City to help modernize the brand for a new, younger consumer. From there, he moved to fashion advertising agency Laird+Partners where he worked on campaigns for Gap and Nautica before founding CoolGraySeven in 2004. At CoolGraySeven, Egan works with clients across a wide range of different sectors including fashion & retail, luxury real estate and education. His clients include Natori, Frank & Eileen, Geoffrey Beene, Waterworks, Tolkowsky and the New Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

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