Katy Kale and Elver Ariza-Silva Elected as Chair and Vice-Chair to U.S. Access Board

At its July meeting, the U.S. Access Board elected Katy Kale as its new Chair and Elver Ariza-Silva as its new Vice-Chair. Kale is the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) under the Biden-Harris Administration. Ariza-Silva is a disability community advocate based out of the District of Columbia. The Board approved both choices unanimously.

Every year, the Board elects officers, including a new Chair and Vice-Chair, which alternate between a Public Member and a Federal Member. As Chair, Kale succeeds attorney and accessibility consultant Gregory S. Fehribach, and Ariza-Silva succeeds Kale as Vice-Chair.

“Government works best when it works for everyone, and I am honored to serve as Chair for the U.S. Access Board and to help lead the critical work it is doing to advance accessibility throughout the federal government,” said GSA Deputy Administrator Kale. “Over the past three years, the Biden-Harris Administration has made tremendous progress to make government more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to all Americans - including people with disabilities. I’m thrilled to take on this new role to build on this momentum as we advance full access and inclusion for all.”

In her capacity as Deputy Administrator at GSA, Kale leads a staff of more than 11,200 GSA employees nationwide, overseeing more than 370 million square feet of property, approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, 4.9 million government credit and purchase cards, and 225,000 leased vehicles within GSA’s fleet.

Prior to serving as the Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator of GSA, Kale was President and Chief Operating Officer of Elevate. There she led growth strategy, operational process, financial planning, and performance management, and ensured all were aligned with the broader purpose of serving the nonprofit sector.

Under the Obama Administration, Kale was a senior leader who served as Assistant to the President for Management and Administration, Director of White House Operations, and Chief of Staff of GSA. She also served 10 years in the United States Senate working on operational and legislative issues for several senators. Kale is a graduate of George Mason University.

Kale’s position as Vice-Chair over the last year will be filled by disability advocate Elver Ariza-Silva. “It is not about the disability, but the ABILITY, remarked Ariza-Silva. “It is not about nah, you cannot, but HOW you can. It is not about the opportunities, but the ACCESSIBILITY to get them.”

Ariza-Silva is active in advocacy efforts for all people with disabilities, with a focus on those who are Latino in the District of Columbia. Originally from the Republic of Colombia, Ariza-Silva is a polio survivor and a professional with more than 20 years combined experience in human and social services and in the food industry. He has served as a research assistant for a Johns Hopkins University study that focused on preventing child trafficking from Latin America and has held leadership roles in the food industry.

Ariza-Silva was appointed by District of Columbia Mayors Vincent C. Gray and Muriel Bowser to serve as Chairman on the Statewide Independent Living Council. He also served as Vice-Chair of the Accessibility Advisory Committee Board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, advising Metro on ways to improve Metro Rail, Metro Bus, and Metro Access.

The Access Board has a twenty-five member Governing Board. Twelve of its Governing Board members are representatives from most of the federal departments. Thirteen others, who are appointed by the President, are members of the public, and most of them must have a disability. The Access Board also employs approximately thirty staff across four units: Office of Executive Director, Office of Administration, Office of General Counsel, and Office of Technical and Information Services.