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# Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Senate Confirmation of Danté Quintin Allen

# Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Senate Confirmation of Danté Quintin Allen

December 7, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
The Senate has confirmed **Danté Quintin Allen** as commissioner of the  Rehabilitation Services Administration at the U.S. Department of Education. Secretary Cardona issued the following statement:

*“With  the confirmation of Mr. Danté Allen as commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services  Administration, the Department of Education is gaining a passionate advocate  for students and individuals with disabilities and a proven leader with vast  public and private sector experience. Mr. Allen joins our Office of Special  Education and Rehabilitative Services after an impressive run as executive  director at CalABLE, where he helped empower thousands of Californians with  disabilities and their families to invest in themselves and their financial  futures. I look forward to working together with Mr. Allen to provide  individuals with disabilities and all students with equitable access to the  education and training they need to find good-paying jobs; achieve economic  security; and lead healthy, independent lives.”*

**About Danté Quintin Allen**

Danté Allen serves  as the executive director for CalABLE, California’s qualified federal ABLE Act  savings and investment program for people with disabilities. Allen has led  CalABLE since its launch in 2018 and has grown the program’s reach with more  than 8,000 active accounts with nearly $80 million in assets under management.  During its three years in operation, CalABLE has become the fastest-growing  ABLE program in the United States. Prior to joining CalABLE, Allen also served  as a communications leader in the public and private sectors. Allen served in  the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity as a  senior communications officer, and at Kaiser Permanente, where he served as the  communications director for the organization’s senior operations executive.

Born with spina  bifida, Allen is a fulltime wheelchair user. Allen is a staunch proponent of disability rights and equity. He has been a champion in advocating for the  awareness of the reduction of healthcare and financial disparities especially  among people of color and people with disabilities. He serves as a board member for Resources for Independent Living, Sacramento, a nonprofit that supports the needs of people with disabilities to live as independently as possible. He has also contributed in leadership roles in employee resource groups for people  with disabilities throughout his career. Allen received his undergraduate  degree from the University of California at Davis and a master’s degree at The  University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism and  Communication.
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