Ed Roberts Campus Welcomes Norman Mineta As New Honorary Chair Of Capital Campaign Committee

BERKELEY, CA - The Ed Roberts Campus is pleased to announce that Norman Y. Mineta will join its Capital Campaign Committee as Honorary Chair.

Last week, Mr. Mineta was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush. Mr. Mineta is currently Vice-Chairman at Hill & Knowlton, a public relations firm in Washington, DC. He was U.S. Secretary of Transportation in President Bush’s Cabinet from 2001-2006, and also served as Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton. Mr. Mineta served as a U.S. Congressman for Silicon Valley from 1975-1995.

As Honorary Chair of the fundraising committee for the project, Mr. Mineta will help the Campus complete the private fundraising for the Center, and head the task force that will organize the groundbreaking ceremonies for the facility, scheduled for July 26, 2007 - to coincide with the 17th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“We are thrilled to have Mr. Mineta’s experience and energy at the helm of our Campaign,” says Dmitri Belser, Chair of the Ed Roberts Campus Board of Directors. “He is known here in California as well as in Washington for his effective leadership – combining good ideas with workable solutions, and adding a profound philanthropy."

The Ed Roberts Campus will house Bay Area non-profits offering a broad range of programs to people with disabilities from legal advocacy and job training to parenting support and wheelchair sports.

“From the moment I heard about the Ed Roberts Campus," says Mr. Mineta, "I knew it was an idea whose time has come. To put these important organizations together at a transit hub in an accessible building is a practical solution for their many clients. I am proud to be associated with this national model for transit-oriented development."

The Ed Roberts Campus' location at Berkeley’s Ashby BART station and its innovative transit-oriented design provides the disability community with unprecedented access to services and opportunities. Designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects of San Francisco, the 85,000 sq. ft. campus will also include fully accessible meeting rooms, a computer-media center, a fitness center, a café, and a child development center. The Campus is scheduled to open in 2009.

Contact: Joan Leon
(510) 652-6583
jleon@cwnet.com

Caleb Dardick
(510) 704-0130
Caleb@cdastrategies.com
Photos available at www.edrobertscampus.org