Former DOJ disability rights leader Anne Raish joins Bazelon Center

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law on Sept. 4 announced that Anne Raish had joined the Center as a senior staff attorney. Raish joins the Bazelon Center with 15 years of experience at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, where she served for much of that time as principal deputy chief of the Disability Rights Section, a news release stated. In that position, Raish led the Section's work enforcing the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and negotiated statewide agreements securing community-based housing and employment services for thousands of individuals. Raish's work at the DOJ also focused on combating discrimination against individuals with mental disabilities in the context of higher education, professional licensing, elementary and secondary schools and employment. She negotiated several agreements eliminating discriminatory barriers to education and employment for people with mental disabilities. In addition to her ADA enforcement work, Raish led several interagency working groups addressing a range of disability rights issues and worked on guidance and rulemakings implementing disability rights laws.