About: Javier Robles
Javier Robles has been a disability advocate 17 years. A graduate of Seton Hall Law School, Javier is the Deputy Director of the NJ Division of Disability Services in the New Jersey Department of Human Services. The $350 million Division provides services to over 19,000 persons with disabilities on a monthly basis. Currently, he is the Project Officer for the NJ Medicaid Infrastructure Grant, which seeks to change employment outcomes for people with disabilities. He also oversees the Personal Assistance Services Program (PASP), the NJ Modular Ramp and Low-Riser Step Program, and the Personal Preference Program. He is President of ThisAbled LLC., (www.thisabled.com) a for-profit corporation by and for people with disabilities. He is the Chair of the Drug and Alcohol Advisory Council for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Disabled. He serves on the NJIT EmployMe! Business Advisory Council. Javier was an organizer of New Jersey’s first Latino Health Conference and the Latinos with Disabilities Employment Conference and this year is Chair of the Governor’s Conference on Employment of People with Disabilities planning group. He was also Chair of the committee that planned the African Americans with Disabilities Employment Conference. He is a member of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigration and serves on the Governor’s Working Group on Latino Issues. He is a delegate and founding member of the Latino Leadership Alliance of NJ, and a Board Member of Canine Companions for Independence. He has received numerous awards including the Minorities with Disabilities Advocacy award and the Ramon Ramos Medal of Courage, and served as the Northeast Ambassador for Canine Companions for Independence. Javier, who became a quadriplegic in 1983, wrote about living with a disability for Selecciones, the Spanish edition of the Reader’s Digest. He has been featured in various publications including The Star Ledger and The Home News Tribune, and appeared on programs including Univision’s Despierta America, NJN’s Images/Imagenes, Sally Jesse Raphael, We the People, and Survival After SCI. The Newark native resides in Edison with his wife, daughter, and son.
Posts by Javier Robles:
- Divided We Fall, October 15, 2009 in Politics & Education
- Language and Culturally Competent Services: The Change We Need, January 14, 2009 in Blogroll
- Sarah Palin: A Serious Diss-appointment for People with Disabilities, October 24, 2008 in Politics & Health
- Be Seeing Ya!, August 27, 2008 in Health & Blogroll
- Frida Kahlo: One Hundred Years Later, April 15, 2008 in General & Entertainment & Blogroll
- When Disabilities Meet Codfish, February 19, 2008 in General & Business & Education & New Jersey & Blogroll
- Life, Death and Carmen’s Avena, January 25, 2008 in General