The Coelho Center Law Fellows, Class of 2025
About
Tony Coelho has spent his entire adult life helping advance the lives of people with disabilities. He calls this his “ministry”. Congressman Steny Hoyer, former House Majority Leader, says that the disability community call him their “voice” and “champion.”
Diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 22 years old, Tony's ministry is marked by significant milestones: primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — the most important piece of civil rights legislation in the last 40 years; advocating for the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and convincing President Bill Clinton to establish the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor. Tony continued to advocate for civil rights for individuals with disabilities by convincing President Barack Obama to issue an executive order enforcing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to hire people with disabilities as they have been doing since 1973 for women and minorities. He went on to work with the Biden White House to improve access to the internet for individuals who are blind, deaf, and physically impaired.
Tony presiding from the House podium
Tony is a former six-term United States Congressman from California, elected in 1978 and serving until 1989. He served on the Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Administration Committees during his tenure, specializing in disability rights. In 1986, Tony was elected House Majority Whip, the third most powerful position in the House of Representatives.
After leaving Congress, Tony joined Wertheim Schroder & Company, Inc., an investment-banking firm in New York, where he served as a Managing Director and then as President and CEO of Wertheim Schroder Investment Services, a firm that he grew from $400 million to $4 billion in managed investments.
He formed ETC w/TCI, an education and training technology company in Washington, D.C., where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Currently, he serves on a number of corporate boards of directors and is the founding partner of a national public affairs firm.
In 2018, Tony founded The Coelho Center (click here for more details) for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation at Loyola Marymount University (his alma mater). The Coelho Center will pursue a 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.
Tony served on a number of charitable boards, including the Board of Directors of both the Epilepsy Foundation and the American Association of People with Disabilities — two Boards he chaired. He has also served on a number of corporate boards and is currently Chairman of the Board of Esquire Bank, as well as a board member of Service Corporation International (SCI) and AudioEye.
Bringing raw milk home from the barn
Tony has received an honorary degree from Santa Clara University, the Portuguese Presidential Award, and awards from several prominent disability organizations, including the American Association of People with Disabilities, American Council of the Blind, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Bender Consulting Services, Epilepsy Foundation, and the National Federation of the Blind.
Receiving the Portuguese Presidential Award
A native of California, Tony earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1964 from Loyola University in Los Angeles (now Loyola Marymount University), where he served as Student Body President during his senior year. Tony has served as a member of Loyola Marymount University’s Board of Trustees and received an Honorary Doctorate in 1987.
For more about Tony Coelho and his legacy visit The Coelho Archives, which are housed at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.