Rachel Tanenhaus

ADA Coordinator, City of Cambridge MA

Rachel Tanenhaus is an Americans With Disabilities Coordinator (ADA) for the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She earned two Bachelor's degrees from UMass Amherst, one in women's studies and the other in journalism, as well as a Master's in public health from Boston University.

Research at Boston University

Rachel began her career as a research assistant at Boston University, coordinating the study of internet use of people with disabilities. Also participating in the research of directional wayfinding, she helped produce accessibility recommendations for the South Boston Seaport District. Her other accomplishments include web editing for Boston Medical Center and the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center, presenting for conferences, and aiding in conducting surveys of schools of public health.

ADA coordination

Between 2000 and 2006, Rachel provided phone support for accessible technology and ADA compliance. Working for Adaptive Environments and then later for the US Department of Justice, Rachel provided guidance, implemented marketing and outreach strategies, arranged informational exhibits, and designed and presented workshops on accessible information technology. In 2006, she became a program coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health where she consults on issues related to disability rights and federal accessibility codes.

One of the things she loves most about her job is that every day is different. She works to provide citizens and business owners with information and resources about their rights and responsibilities surrounding disability services and public access. She enjoys the ability to work with the public and help empower others. Rachel is a guide dog user and notes that good mobility and the ability to travel throughout the city is essential in her position. She is a Zoom Text user and utilizes her iPad to take notes alongside a CCTV to review documents. It takes a lot of mental and emotional energy to do the advocating needed to perform her job, but Rachel firmly believes in self advocacy, that there will be times where it is necessary to speak up if something does not work for you. She advises that in order to best help others, it is essential to practice regular self-care.

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