> **Honorable Margaret J. Giannini, M.D., F.A.A.P.** was appointed
> October 1, 2002, Director of the Health and Human Service Office on
> Disability by Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. She serves as advisor to
> the Secretary on HHS activities relating to disabilities. Prior to
> becoming Director of the Office on Disability, Dr. Giannini was
> appointed by President George W. Bush as the Principal Deputy
> Assistant Secretary for Aging at the Department of Health and Human
> Services. From 1981-1992, Dr. Giannini was Deputy Assistant Chief
> Medical Director for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics at the Department
> of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. There her work focused on
> technology transfer and assistive technology involving all
> disabilities. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed Dr. Giannini
> as the first Director of the National Institute of Handicapped
> Research, which was confirmed by the Senate in January of 1980. Dr.
> Giannini, in 1950, was the first to create the largest facility for
> mentally retarded and the developmentally disabled for all ages and
> etiologies in the United States and the world, which became the first
> University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities.
>
> Dr. Giannini is the recipient of many national and international
> awards from various organizations in recognition of her professional
> and humanitarian services and achievements. She was saluted by the
> Association for Pediatric Research; selected \"Woman of the Year\" for
> Achievement in Medicine and \"Woman-Doer\" by President and Mrs.
> Lyndon B. Johnson; received the Wyeth Medical Achievement Award; the
> Seal of the Inner London Education Authority for Contributions in the
> Field of Mental Retardation at the House of Parliament London; and the
> Governor Hugh Carey Citation for Leadership and Medical Contributions
> to the State of New York; presented the First Honorary Degree by Mercy
> College Doctor of Humane Letters; the Meritorious Honor Award in
> Mental Retardation and awarded the Key to the City of Bologna, Italy;
> received the Bronze Medal Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics;
> the National Italian-American Foundation Award for Distinguished
> Achievements in Science and Medicine; \"Recognition Plaque\' from the
> City of San Francisco; Seton Award from Seton Hall College,
> Pittsburgh, PA; the First Presidential Award for Design Excellence
> from President Reagan; the N. Neal Pike Award for Service to the
> handicapped from Boston University; the Isabelle and Leonard H.
> Goldenson Award for Technology Application to Cerebral Palsy;
> President Reagan\'s Distinguished Service Award, Committee on
> Employment of the Handicapped; Silver helmet Award by AMVETS; is in
> the New York Hall of Fame (AHRC, \'98); and was honored by the naming
> of the \"Hon. Margaret J. Giannini, M.D. Physical Rehabilitation
> Pavilion\" in 1997 at Westchester Special School, N.Y. First
> International Leadership Scholars Award by the University of Maryland,
> Baltimore, Maryland in recognition for \"International Programs in
> Rehabilitation and Disability.\"
>
> Dr. Giannini has served on numerous national and international boards
> and chaired more than 61 international conferences on rehabilitation
> and developmental disabilities in many countries, including Israel,
> Italy, Spain, China, Russia, Argentina, India, Egypt and others. She
> also has served for many years as Chair of the Board of Trustees, the
> American University of Rome, Italy. She has published extensively and
> lectured nationally and internationally. Dr. Giannini has most
> recently edited \"Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly,\" December
> 2001. She is also a Member of the Institute of Medicine of The
> National Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the American Academy of
> Pediatrics.