Vita: Clair Calhoon, President

Clair is owner and President of A.D.A. WorkLink, a facility specializing in both high-tech and low-tech assistive devices, software and other products for persons with all types of disabilities. He provides consulting, tutoring, ergonomic evaluations and other services, including evaluations of businesses for A.D.A. compliance.

Clair has been certified as an Expert Witness by the Superior Court of San Francisco in the areas of ADA, voice recognition, office ergonomics, reasonable accommodation, wrongful termination, assistive devices and related matters. He has helped injured workers win in their suits against United Air Lines, the Fresno Bee, and a very large law firm that operates in 7 countries, as well as the firm of  Meis & Alexander, of San Francisco.

Clair was a founder of the Cumulative Trauma Disorder Resource Network (CTDRN), a non-profit organization committed to education and support for persons with RSI’s (repetitive strain injuries) and related injuries and disorders. He served as Secretary/Treasurer for its first several years.

In addition, he served as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the Ed Roberts Center, to be constructed above the Ashby BART station in Berkeley. This $15-20 million project is now in the formative stage. This new facility will house the Center for Accessible Technology, Center for Independent Living, World Institute on Disability, Disability Rights and Education Fund (DREDF), Bay Area Outreach (RORP), Computer Technology Program (CTP), Through the Looking Glass (TLG), and Whirlwind Wheelchairs (WWI). Funding will be by BART, City of Berkeley, True North Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, the East Bay Community Foundation, and others. Sponsorship is by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, BART, the cities of Oakland and Berkeley, AC Transit, Berkeley Disability Commission, the University of California, San Francisco State University, the Peralta Community College District, and local neighborhood organizations.

Clair is the Chairman of the panel of judges for the Time-Warner/American Medical Association International Health & Medical Media Awards "Special People" category, which deals with persons with disabilities. He has been the Chairman of this panel since the inception of the festival in 1974, due to his interest video/film and his experience in helping hundreds of special people acquire the skills and technology necessary to enable them to return to work or to pursue their educational goals.

Some of the other organizations Clair has served with include:

• California Association for Neurologically Handicapped Children
• National Association of Media Educators
• Consultant to:
  • Pacific Film Archive, University Art Museum, University of California
  • American Technical Society, Chicago, Illinois
  • State Department of Education, Sacramento, California
• Chair, Student Film Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
• President and founder, Creative Learning Center (for preschoolers), a non-profit parents' group
• Member, Technical Advisory Group, Resource Center for the Handicapped, Seattle, Washington
• Member, RSI Support Groups, Oakland and Diablo Valley College
• President, Film Commission, California Association of Teachers of English
• Member, ISAAC (International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
• Chair, California Arts Commission panel on Communications and Environmental Arts
• Juror, American Film Festival
• Juror, National Educational Film Festival
• Member, Informational Film Producers of America
• Member, International Industrial Television Association

Additional Experience:

• B.S., mathematics/physics, Iowa State University
• Education & Training Officer, USS Yorktown, aircraft carrier
• Teaching credentials: General Secondary, Standard Elementary, Community College
• Teacher, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
• Instructor, University of California Extension, Berkeley, CA
• Invited speaker:
  • Regional Rehabilitation Center, Moulouse, France
  • National Rehabilitation Center, Dublin, Ireland
  • State Department of Education, Sacramento, California
• Presenter at:
  • Closing the Gap Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • CSUN Conference, Los Angeles, California
  • Windows of Opportunity Conference, Tacoma, Washington
  • Many local, regional and state conferences, including the
  • California Teachers of English Conference, Asilomar, California
• Co-inventor of ACCESS-I wheelchair-powered computer (with David Besser)

Publications include:

• "Mathematics in the Dark," School Science and Mathematics, describes special abacus for the blind invented by Clair Calhoon and modified by Tim Cranmer for distribution by the Printing House for the Blind.
• "A Brief History of Computers," School Science and Mathematics.
• "Accessing the Workplace Computer," Proceedings of the Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities, California State University at Northridge.
• "Assistive Technology for Persons with Disabilities," ibid.
• "Virtual Office on a Wheelchair," Closing the Gap Conference, Minneapolis