1. Physical Impairment: Cerebral palsy – affects walking and speech
2. Challenges of Having a Physical Impairment:
Understanding that I had to work harder to get the same results as most people
3. Education:
Attended Texas A&M University, where he holds both a Bachelor of Science & Master of Science degree in Meteorology
4. Employment:
Recently retired from the Federal Government – Special Assistant to the National Weather Service’s Eastern Regional Director; NOAA’s Disability Ambassador and Chair of the NOAA Disability Committee
Currently: Virginia Tech – Administrative Faculty; Disability Rights/Advocacy Speaker
5. Interests / Hobbies:
Disability Rights: I speak on the subject "Our Untapped Human Potential" to government agencies, corporate America, schools and churches. Senior Olympic Gold Medalist in Table Tennis (2003), Golf and Shuffleboard (2004)
6. Advice “Life’s Lesson”: Ever onward, no matter the odds.
MORE ABOUT JOHN
John V. Wright, Jr. retired from the National Weather Service in October 2004 where he held the position of special assistant to the National Weather Service’s eastern regional director. His current responsibilities relate solely to disability issues within the Diversity and EEO arenas. He has recently accepted an administrative faculty position with Virginia Tech. He was also the NOAA’s disability ambassador.
Mr. Wright was the meteorologist-in-charge of the Weather Forecast Office in Blacksburg, Virginia from July 1994 until October 2002. He managed a staff of 24 meteorologists, hydrologists and hydrometeorological technicians.
John attended Texas A&M University where he holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in meteorology. He also attended Angelo State University.
Mr. Wright has 30 years of experience with the National Weather Service. His weather service career began in 1974 at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, near Washington, D.C. In 1978 he transferred to Indianapolis after being one of the first meteorologists to be selected to serve with the Federal Aviation Administration at an Air Route Traffic Control Center. John next transferred to Anchorage, Alaska. In 1983 he transferred to New Orleans where his duties included hurricane forecast responsibilities. In 1985 he was selected to manage the Weather Service Office in Midland, Texas. In 1992, John was chosen to manage the Nexrad radar office in Goodland, Kansas. After overseeing the implementation of the Doppler Weather Radar and the new Automated Service Observing System in Goodland, John became the first weather service manager to head a second Nexrad radar office in 1994 when he was selected to manage the Blacksburg office.
Since 1985 John has given more than 510 presentations to over 25,500 people, mainly in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Georgia. He has trained more than 2,000 SKYWARN observers to be volunteer severe weather spotters.
John has received awards that include: the National Exceptional Specific Prediction Award from the American Meteorological Society (1989); the Bronze Medal in ceremonies in Washington, D.C. (1988); the Administrator’s Award from the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrative (parent agency of the National Weather Service) in ceremonies in Washington, D.C. (Dec 1999). In July 2002 John was awarded the Starfish Inspirational Award at the NWS’s Executive Leadership Seminar in Kansas City. In his honor, future Starfish Inspirational Awards will bear his name.
John participated in the People with Disabilities Job Fairs in 1998 in Philadelphia and Boston. He spoke at the 1999 and 2000 Disability Month celebrations at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. He also spoke at the National Weather Service Disability Celebration in 2001.
John has been involved in many programs that have served the youth of this nation, both those with and without disabilities. He has been involved with Project Datastreme, which is sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, as well as the Kids as Global Scientists Program. He has also given a series of motivational presentations to students with disabilities, beginning in New York in 1997.
In August 1998 John founded a program in Montgomery County, Virginia, which is sponsored by the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, called High School/High Tech. This program is a community-based partnership of parents, educators, rehabilitation professionals and business representatives. Its purpose is to encourage students with disabilities to explore the fields of science, engineering and technology, in the hopes that they will go on to post-secondary education and become productive members of the high-tech workforce of the 21st century. During the past five years, approximately 140 junior and senior high school students with disabilities have had paid summer internships with approximately 40 high-tech companies of the Virginia Tech University Corporate Research Center as a result of this initiative.
John has participated in the Youth Leadership Forums (YLF) in Virginia and Warm Springs, Georgia. The YLF brings together approximately 25 of each state’s outstanding high school leaders with disabilities for week-long activities that include a visit to the Governor’s office. He was the keynote speaker at the 2000 Georgia Youth Leadership Forum.
For the past four years John has been a Federal Recruiter with the Department of Labor’s Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP). These recruiters visit more than 150 colleges and universities throughout the United States, recruiting over 1500 college students with disabilities.
John believes his never-say “I can’t do it” attitude is an important attribute that could be adopted by everyone, whether they are physically challenged or not.
