Marca Bristo (June 23, 1953 – September 8, 2019) was an American disability rights activist.

Life and career

Bristo was born Marcia Lynn Bristo on June 23, 1953, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, and was raised on a family farm in

Castleton-on-Hudson, New York Castleton-on-Hudson is a village located in the southwestern part of the town of Schodack in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,473 at the 2010 census. The village is southeast of Albany. As of 2019, Castleton-On-H ...

before moving to West Winfield, New York. She attended

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1846 when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It has an enrollment of roughly 1,000 undergradua ...

and earned her nursing degree from

Rush University Rush University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois. The university, founded in 1972, is the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center. Rush University comprises: * Rush Medical College * Rush University College of Nursing * Rush ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Early in her career, she worked at the Prentice Women's Hospital. Bristo was paralyzed from the chest down in a diving accident in 1977, when she was 23 years old. In 1983, she co-founded the American National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) with Max Starkloff and Charlie Carr. She helped to write the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

, was granted the

Secretary's Distinguished Service Award The Secretary's Distinguished Service Award is an award of the United States Department of State. It is presented at the discretion of the secretary of state in recognition of exceptionally outstanding leadership, professional competence, and sig ...

, the Americans with Disabilities Act Award and the 2014

Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards The Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards were established to honor the legacy of the founder of the Viscardi Center, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a leading disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to ...

. She was also the chair of the American

National Council on Disability The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an advisory agency on disability policy in the United States for all levels of government and for private sector entities. NCD is an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U ...

from 1994 to 2002, and as such was its first disabled chair. In 2014 she became president of the United States International Council on Disabilities. She was also the founding president and chief executive officer of Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago. Bristo died at the age of 66 in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bristo, Marca American disability rights activists People with paraplegia 1953 births 2019 deaths People from Albany, New York Activists from Chicago Activists from New York (state) Beloit College alumni Rush University alumni American women nurses 21st-century American women American activists with disabilities