LEAD PEOPLE Bob Williams, Deputy Commissioner for the Administration on Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living (ACL), and Director of the Independent Living Administration (ILA)

Bob Williams is the Deputy Commissioner for the Administration on Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Community Living (ACL), and Director of the Independent Living Administration (ILA). Prior to joining ACL, Williams acted as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Earlier roles include advising the Kaiser Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and other organizations on policy issues affecting the health, independence and economic well-being of people of all ages with disabilities. In addition, he served as the Commissioner on Developmental Disabilities and then as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability, Aging and Long-term Care Policy at HHS. Williams also helped gain the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and to create community living services and supports to children and adults once consigned to Forest Haven, the District of Columbia’s institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Williams graduated from George Washington University in 1983. He lives and works in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Helen Rader.