Early life and education Coelho was born in rural Los Banos, California , to parents of Portuguese descent. Coelho attended public schools in nearby Dos Palos, and grew up working on his family's dairy farm. At age 15, Coelho was injured in a pickup truck accident, which doctors later suggested was the precipitating event for the onset of his epilepsy. For years after the accident, Coelho did not know he had the illness. After the Kennedy assassination, Coelho decided to become a priest.'Why Tony Coelho fights for the disabled: epilepsy kept him from Vietnam and the Jesuits,' The National Catholic Reporter, January 20, 1995. He went to a doctor for a medical exam, a prerequisite for entering into the seminary. The doctor informed him that he had epilepsy. Because of canon law, he was unable to become a priest. Once the diagnosis was reported to the state, Coelho lost both his driver's license and his health insurance. Congress In November 1978, Coelho was elected to the 96th Congress. He was later elected to the five succeeding Congresses where he served until his resignation on June 15, 1989. He served on the Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Administration Committees during his tenure , but he specialized in rights of the disabled. Coelho was credited by congressional colleagues as the primary sponsorExcerpt from the Congressional Record-House, July 12, 1990, headed "Tribute to Hon. Tony Coelho," 136 Cong. Rec. 17297, 1990. of the Americans with Disabilities Act,  signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. By 1994, four years after the law's passage, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that some 800,000 more people with severe disabilities had found employment than had been employed when the ADA was first enacted."Coelho Reflects on the Law," The Modesto Bee, January 18, 1997, B1. After leaving Congress, he joined Wertheim Schroder & Company, an investment firm , as a managing director. In 1999, Coelho was made Chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. During his tenure, Coelho moved the campaign headquarters from Washington, DC to Nashville , Tennessee . He oversaw an overhaul of the campaign's message and strategy, and changed personnel and consultants. Gore prevailed over former Senator Bill Bradley in the Democratic primaries of 2000 in every primary and caucus contest and received the Democratic nomination to be president. Before the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Coelho became ill and resigned his position as General Campaign Chairman. Doctors later found and removed a tumor on the left side of his brain. He was replaced by former Commerce Secretary William M. Daley. He participates annually at New York Law School for its Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy. He has endowed a chair in Public Policy at the University of California in Merced. He is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation. He partnered with NBCUniversal and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to create the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship, which encourages people with disabilities to pursue media-related degrees and URL He is a former chairman and current member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of People With Disabilities. He also sits on the Council on American Politics, the advisory board of George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Coelho also served as an advisor of ZeniMax Media . Coelho also serves as a founding partner of Vectis Strategies, a national public affairs firm.
Early life and education Coelho was born in rural Los Banos, California to parents of Portuguese descent. Coelho attended public schools in nearby Dos Palos, and grew up working on his family's dairy farm. At age 15, Coelho was injured in a pickup truck accident, which doctors later suggested was the precipitating event for the onset of his epilepsy. For years after the accident, Coelho did not know he had the illness. After the Kennedy assassination, Coelho decided to become a priest.'Why Tony Coelho fights for the disabled: epilepsy kept him from Vietnam and the Jesuits,' The National Catholic Reporter, January 20, 1995. He went to a doctor for a medical exam, a prerequisite for entering into the seminary. The doctor informed him that he had epilepsy. Because of canon law, he was unable to become a priest. Once his diagnosis was reported to the state, Coelho lost both his driver's license and his health insurance. Congress In November 1978, Coelho was elected to the 96th Congress. He was later elected to the five succeeding Congresses where he served until his resignation on June 15, 1989. He served on the Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Administration Committees during his tenure however he specialized in rights of the disabled. Coelho was credited by congressional colleagues as the primary sponsorExcerpt from the Congressional Record-House, July 12, 1990, headed "Tribute to Hon. Tony Coelho," 136 Cong. Rec. 17297, 1990. of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. By 1994, four years after the law's passage, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that some 800,000 more people with severe disabilities had found employment than had been employed when the ADA was first enacted."Coelho Reflects on the Law," The Modesto Bee, January 18, 1997, B1. After leaving Congress, he joined Wertheim Schroder & Company, an investment firm as a managing director. In 1999, Coelho was made Chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. During his tenure, Coelho moved the campaign headquarters from Washington, DC to Nashville . He oversaw an overhaul of the campaign's message and strategy, and changed personnel and consultants. Gore prevailed over former Senator Bill Bradley in the Democratic primaries of 2000 in every primary and caucus contest and received the Democratic nomination to be president. Before the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Coelho became ill and resigned his position as General Campaign Chairman. Doctors later found and removed a tumor on the left side of his brain. He was replaced by former Commerce Secretary William M. Daley. He participates annually at New York Law School with its Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy. He has endowed a chair in Public Policy at the University of California in Merced. He is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation. He partnered with NBCUniversal and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to create the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship, which encourages people with disabilities to pursue media-related degrees and URL He is a former chairman and current member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of People With Disabilities. He also sits on the Council on American Politics, the advisory board of George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Coelho served as an advisor of ZeniMax Media as well. Coelho serves as a founding partner of Vectis Strategies, a national public affairs firm.
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