James H. Omvig
Vice Chairperson

James H. Omvig was appointed to the Committee in March of 2003 as a Private Citizen representing the interests of nonprofit agency employees who are blind.

Mr. Omvig began his career in 1966 as the first blind attorney employed by the National Labor Relations Board, where he served until 1969. He then served as the Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind's Adult Orientation and Adjustment Center from 1969 to 1978, and as the Director of the Handicapped Employment Program in the Social Security Administration's Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity from 1978 to 1984. In 1984, Mr. Omvig became the Director of the Alaska Center for Blind and Deaf Adults, where he served until his retirement in 1987.

Mr. Omvig currently serves as President of the National Blindness Professional Certification Board. He also serves on the Louisiana Tech University's Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Advisory Board and the National Board of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. Past board memberships include the University of Arizona Advisory Board on Programs in Visual Impairment; National Federation of the Blind of Arizona; Arizona Governor's Council on Blindness and Visual Impairment; and officer positions at various Lions Clubs.

Mr. Omvig holds both a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D. from Loyola University, Chicago, IL. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1966. Mr. Omvig is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Federation of the Blind's Kenneth Jernigan and Jacobus tenBroek Awards; the Governor's Award, Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, Alaska; the Associate Commissioner's Award, Social Security Administration; and, the Governor of Maryland's Award of Merit. Mr. Omvig is also the author of "Freedom for the Blind: The Secret is Empowerment," a book for the U. S. Department of Education on how best to train and rehabilitate people who are blind, which was published in 2002.