David Rice

David Rice graduated in 2009 from Catholic University of America with a degree in psychology, with a focus on social stigmas of people with Intellectual Disabilities.  He has been at National Institutes of Health (NIH) since October 2009., where he is currently serving as the acting branch director for the Special Emphasis Programs.  Being deaf since the age of 4, he has a strong interest in Disability Community.

His work within the disability community started as a sophomore in high school, where he worked summer camps for children with intellectual and physical disabilities. While in college he was part of the first American Sign Language (ASL) program, where students live a dorm in which hearing and deaf students shared their desire to learn ASL.  He was also active in outreach for people with disabilities at Catholic University.

David served as President of DIG (Deaf in Government) from 2014 to 2018. DIG empowers deaf and federal employees with hearing loss to overcome communication barriers, resolve accessibility issues and promote a fully inclusive work environment through networking and fostering professional growth. Some of David’s accomplishments are initiating a workforce complaint program, developing a training program that fosters promotion in the federal government, establishing partnerships with different organizations and creating networking and mentoring opportunities. 

David has also changed the cultural stigma placed on people with disabilities by changing the NIH mission statement. He led the DeafNIH Employee Resource Group at NIH for those who are people with hearing loss, by working closely with the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). David was also a part of Section 508 Advisory group whose mission is to make the internet a fully accessible environment; with his focus being on closed captions.  In his spare time, David enjoys baseball and all things Pittsburgh.    

• HLAA Webinar: Navigating Federal Employment for People with Disabilities