Marcie Roth

Executive Director and CEO

World Institute on Disability

United States

8 profile visitsSpeaker

My organisation

The World Institute on Disability (WID) was established in 1983 as one of the first global disability rights organizations founded and continually led by people with disabilities. We are proud of our rich history, including our incredible founders - Disability Rights Movement leaders Judy Heumann, Ed Roberts and Joan Leon. WID is dedicated to designing, building, and supporting whole community solutions by removing barriers to include people with disabilities. To build a more inclusive global society, WID helps assure that products and services are more accessible, promotes equity policies, provides consulting services, offers training and tools, and supports emergency, disaster, and climate efforts. OUR MISSION On a global scale, to continuously advance the rights and opportunities of more than one billion people with disabilities. DISABILITY-LED We believe in the power of people with disabilities to lead, and that lived experience is critical in creating effective policies, systems, tools, products, and services. OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES Disability-Led: Valuing lived experience, with 51% or more of our Board and staff identifying as people with disabilities, Accelerating Inclusion: Leading a global effort to eliminate barriers and advance policies that eliminate exclusion and drive inclusion, Pan-Disability Movement Solidarity: Pursuing equality, inclusion, and accessibility for all people with any disability, Advancing Human Rights and Supporting Disability Justice Across the LifeSpan: Securing and enhancing independent and interdependent livelihoods for the whole community, Intersectional and Cross-Cultural Competency: Including the full spectrum of identities and the range of privilege, marginalization, and oppression that impact how disabled people are treated, Ethics, Integrity and Accountability: Directing our focus and uncompromising standards to the needs of everyone with disabilities, especially people who are most marginalized The World Institute on Disability brings together our knowledge and skills to  give our customers world-class consulting, training and technical assistance services. Combined with our successful past performance and history, we are excited to help our customers navigate complex challenges. https://wid.org/services/
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About me

Marcie Roth is Executive Director and CEO of the World Institute on Disability, advancing the rights of 1.3 billion people with disabilities worldwide by leading global initiatives on equity, inclusion and accessibility with an emphasis on disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action, climate justice, sustainability and community resilience for governments, corporations, health systems, and the United Nations. She launched and co-leads the Global Alliance for Disaster Resource Acceleration, closing the gaps in humanitarian assistance to crisis and disaster-impacted disability-led organizations across the world.

Marcie has served in executive leadership roles for disability advocacy and public policy organizations since 1995, leading coalitions committed to operationalizing accessibility and inclusion as intersectional imperatives for global social justice.

Appointed by President Obama to the U.S Department of Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from 2009 to 2017, she served as Senior Advisor to the FEMA Administrator, establishing and directing the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. Marcie represented the U.S. government internationally as an expert on whole community inclusive global disaster risk reduction and continues to serve as a global leader throughout the development and implementation of the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

Named by Forbes Magazine to their inaugural Fifty Over 50 Impact List, and by Womens’ eNews as one of  their 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, Marcie serves as Chairperson of the US Department of Health and Human Services National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters, Global Civil Society Advisory Panel representative for the UN Secretary General's Early Warnings for All Initiative, Board of Directors of InterAction, and appointed member of the  National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters.

Marcie lives in the Washington DC area in the US.

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Areas of Activity

Employment

Entrepreneurship and micro-finance

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies)

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Big Data SolutionsSocial Media

Other Areas of Activity

EducationIndependent Living and Political ParticipationAccessibility

At #ZeroCon25, I am looking for...

ConsultingFinancing/InvestmentIncrease expertise in accessibility and inclusionInvitations to international conferencesLicensing PartnershipsNetworkingProject CooperationsResearch Cooperations

At #ZeroCon25, I am offering...

Increase expertise in accessibility and inclusionNetworkingProject CooperationsResearch CooperationsConsulting

Speaker sessions (1)

Friday, 7 March 2025

11:00 - 12:00

Inclusive training and employment during humanitarian crises

Format:In-personLocation:M2Track:Zero Project Awardees
  • Focus: Low- income countries
  • Supported Employment
  • English captions | International Sign

Zero Project Awardees from Africa and the Middle East offer innovative approaches for achieving this, using a combination of online tools, offline manuals, as well as unique coaching approaches.