Robert Hernandez, the City of Colorado Springs’ Human Resources Accessibility Manager, has been named to a state task force’s subcommittee studying issues related to the rights of Coloradoans with disabilities.
His appointment was announced by Governor Jared Polis and House and Senate Leadership Speaker.
Hernandez, who oversees the City’s accessibility efforts, joins the Subcommittee on Physical and Programmatic Basic Access Within State and Local Government for Persons with Disabilities. The purpose of the subcommittee is to study and make recommendations on issues to ensure people with disabilities have access to the services they need, can effectively participate in public discussions, can be employed by governmental agencies, and can run for and effectively serve in elected positions. His appointment is one of four from local and state governments.
Under Hernandez’s leadership, the City of Colorado Springs won the 2021 Kathy Vincent Award for Effective Communication from the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition. The award celebrated the City’s efforts in creating website accommodations such as screen readers and dictated input.
His office currently completes 15-20 cases per month on accessibility issues raised either by direct citizen reports or the City’s self-evaluation. His staff evaluates each case, giving it a priority ranking based on the impact on a person’s life.
The Office of Accessibility continues to provide equal service to Colorado Springs residents by constantly creating and updating to a more accessible and available website.
“If we keep the word inclusion in everything we do and make that a culture, then that in itself will remove barriers from the beginning,” said Hernandez.