Andrés Gallegos is a shareholder with the law firm of Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd. and is the founder and director of its national disability rights practice. Andrés is a frequent speaker and has authored numerous articles on matters relating to the application of disability-related laws to healthcare providers and the disability rights movement. Andrés is a member of the National Council on Disability, an independent federal agency that provides advice to the President, Congress, and federal agencies on matters affecting persons with disabilities nationwide. He serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Access Living and was a two-time governor appointee to the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois. Andrés earned a B.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi and a J.D. from the St. Louis University School of Law.
John M. Tuhey is a principal at The Tuhey Law Firm where he uses his twenty years of experience advising board of directors and management teams of numerous small, mid and large-cap public companies. John also frequently counsels high net-worth and C-level individuals on investments, employment, and other related matters. He regularly counsel’s clients in areas of complex commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, litigation, bankruptcy, leasing, securities law, antitrust, compliance, employment, board matters, and corporate structure. John is also a passionate advocate for corporate diversity for people with disabilities. John was one of the first law firms in the United States to become a certified as disable-owned and is also a founder of the National Association of Disabled Owned Law Firms. John is a past fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and ADA25Chicago.
Disability Lead is a network of positive disruptors, made up of people with disabilities who are using their power to create an equitable and inclusive society. That’s why we are thrilled to announce the election of two positive disruptors to our Board of Directors: Disability Lead Members Andrés Gallegos and John Tuhey. Their elections raise the number of our active board members to ten — half of which now identify as having a disability. Andrés and John will play a vital part in moving our ambitious agenda forward in our first full year as an independent 501c3.
“Andrés and John bring decades of legal, management, and disability rights experience to our Board and organization,” says Disability Lead ’s Interim Board Chair Mary Anderson, “and we are so fortunate to have access to their knowledge and expertise.”
Executive Director of Disability Lead Emily Blum looks forward to working closely with Andrés and John. “I know their strong commitment to disability inclusion and disability justice will make our organization better and more impactful,” she says.
We hope you all join us in giving Andrés and John a warm welcome! And to get you all just a little more acquainted, here’s a good ol’ fashioned Q + A.
Why Disability Lead?
“I had the privilege of participating in a number of planning sessions for the city’s civic community’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ADA and, because of my board role at Access Living, I have been able to observe the development of Disability Lead from a dreamy concept and its growth into what it is today — a unique incubator for the development of civic leaders with disabilities. Given the present climate, the mission of Disability Lead takes on greater importance as we need leaders with disabilities on boards of organizations throughout the city to ensure persons with disabilities are not afterthoughts when those organizations’ critical services and programs are developed and implemented.”— Andrés
“I chose Disability Lead because I believe that as a person who makes his living on serving corporations, I see a need for a focus on diversity on people with disabilities. I believe that Disability Lead has the ability to grow a pipeline of talent to fill those important leadership roles in corporate America.”— John
What do you hope to bring to the table?
“Beyond good looks, my wheelchair, (and humility), I understand it’s an asymmetrical relationship—in that I’ll learn and receive more from the organization’s talented staff, its board members and fellows than what I’ll bring, but I hope to help us expand the breadth and reach of our mission.”— Andrés
“I hope to bring to the table my decades of experience in serving corporate boards and management teams combined with my experience as a person with a disability. I have spent years working in diverse environments that focused on creating opportunities for people of different ethnicities and genders. I want to use my experiences to create opportunities for people with disabilities like myself.”— John
What is your favorite board game?
Monopoly — to ensure all properties I land on are accessible!—Andrés
Life—you never know where you are going to land and what fortune or pitfall awaits.—John
Board games, anyone?
