Geoff Ames, RAS*, APAC-BE

Geoff is not an architect.

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Geoff is not an engineer.

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Geoff is a subject matter expert on disability rights laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Architectural Barriers Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Air Carrier Access Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act. Geoff has been working in the accessibility field for more than 22 years, beginning as an Information Specialist at the Region 8 Rocky Mountain ADA Center in April 2002. In that role he answered thousands of technical assistance questions and delivered hundreds of trainings on all facets of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He has assisted people with rights under the ADA and guided private businesses and state and local governments with compliance responsibilities under the ADA. Most of his services have addressed policies and practices necessary to the inclusion of people of all abilities in access to employment, services and goods of businesses, and government programs. He has also provided guidance on accessibility in the built environment to architects, engineers, builders, and transportation providers.

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Since 2010, he has been applying his knowledge and understanding of the ethical need and legal requirements for inclusion to help dozens of communities across the country to develop ADA transition plans for the removal of architectural and procedural barriers from public services, programs, and activities. He has conducted ADA compliance reviews for the Federal Transit Administration covering paratransit, fixed route buses, rapid rail stations, and intercity/commuter rail stations. He has assisted municipal and county governments with fulfilling their legal obligations to comply with U.S. Department of Justice settlement agreements. He has reviewed plans and conducted inspections for hundreds of public and private buildings and facilities to ensure compliance with the accessibility requirements of the ADA, FHAA, ABA, and ICC ANSI A117.1.

Geoff’s knowledge and expertise are informed not only by the training he has received from numerous federal agencies and years of studying federal disability rights regulations, but also by his travels and experiences with people who live with various disabilities. He has traveled and worked with friends and colleagues who use wheelchairs, who are blind, or deaf. He has negotiated airports with friends who use guide dogs and public transit systems with friends who use wheelchairs. Caring for and about the rights of people with diverse abilities is and has been the foundation of his work.

 

He is a founding member and 2023 President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Accessibility Professionals Association. He currently volunteers on the Colorado Springs Citizens Transportation Advisory Board. He served for several years on the Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind of Colorado. He has piloted tandem bicycles with cyclists who are blind. Prior to working in the accessibility world, Geoff’s work experience included shipping and receiving, factory production lines, purchasing, inventory management, audio-video store owner/manager, construction accounting, small business consulting, and night auditing. He has a BA in Religious Studies with an undeclared minor in philosophy from Lewis University.