Greg
Hlibok
New
Chief of the FCC’s Disability Rights Office
On November 16, 2010, Gregory Hlibok was named Chief of the Federal Communications
Commission’s Disability Rights Office in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs
Bureau. He had been working as an attorney in that office, and attained his
new post “through a competitive application process.”
As FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “Greg will be heading up the DRO at
a crucial time, as the FCC ramps up to implement the most significant disability
law in two decades. [He] possesses extensive knowledge in the field of telecommunications
access for people with disabilities as well as the leadership qualities necessary
to lead the office. He will be the first head of the DO who has a disability.
Under his direction, the office will work to ensure that people with disabilities
can share fully in the economic and social benefits of emerging 21st-century
technologies.”
In March 1988, Greg, the newly-elected president of the student body, achieved
international fame as the spokesman for the Deaf President Now! movement at
Gallaudet University. He graduated from Gallaudet in 1989, and from Hofstra
Law School in 1994, and practiced general law for two years. In 1996, he teamed
up with his older brother Stephen at Merrill Lynch, where he worked as a financial
consultant and estate planner. In 2001, he joined the FCC, where he has taken
the lead in several key rulemaking proceedings on telecommunications access
for people with disabilities, including new initiatives on the National Broadband
Plan. Greg and his family live in Ellicott City, Maryland.
In 1994, Greg—a Lexington alumnus—participated in the protests against Lexington’s
CEO. He now serves as Board President of Lexington.
New post: As the Chief of Disability Rights Office, I primarily oversee, manage,
and direct the office in determining policy, short and long-range strategic
planning, by setting overall directions and procedures, as well as the staff.
Additionally, I serve as the principal advisor to the Bureau on matters of
legal nature in relations to the Commission’s rules and regulations. I am also
responsible for planning action recommendations for Bureau consideration of
programs and activities under my direction, to assure that recommendations
are in accordance with Commission and Bureau policy in that all available options
are clearly identified and evaluated objectively. Moreover, I facilitate office
and bureau decisions and actions on disability related matters.
Previous post: In my previous position as
Senior Attorney Advisor, I provided consultation and services on projects involving
complex legal and policy issues, mostly in regards to telecommunications relay
service. I took upon a leadership role by steering several key proceedings
which involved collaboration among another bureaus and our office. For instance,
I worked closely with the Office of Engineering and Technology in understanding
the technological aspects of telecommunications. I conducted legal analyses
for several proceedings and spearheaded certain implications sections, including
reviewing draft proposals prepared by other bureaus of offices so to ensure
that decisions were in conformance with existing disability laws and policies
and support the Commission’s goals of increasing accessibility for people with
disabilities.
Goals: I have numerous goals, but I intend to accomplish two major ones at
this time. One is to complete the implementations of the 21st Century Communications
and Video Accessibility Act and the second is to restore the public’s confidence
in video relay service by bringing this program back to its core purpose which
is to ensure that this program serves consumers and not for one’s financial
gain using unorthodox methods.
Working at the FCC: I truly enjoy working at the Commission because I get
the opportunity to work on matters that have a significant impact on the lives
of people with disabilities who have come to rely on telecommunications access
in nearly every aspect of their daily routines and even in matter of emergencies.
I am also fortunate to be working with such bright and conscious colleagues
who are very compassionate and diligent on policy matters concerning telecommunications
access.
What's happening: The scope of the requirement
for captioning on the Internet will be defined during the forthcoming rulemaking
proceedings. Also, pursuant to the Act, the Commission formed two key advisory
committees, the Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) and the Video Programming
and Emergency Access Advisory Committee (VPAC). The VPAC will play a significant
role in advising the Committee on the Internet-captioning matters. Also, I
have every confidence that we will continue to see many great things coming
our way as long as deaf consumers are being part of the rulemaking process,
where they get to chime in. Incorporating input from the community is my #1
goal.
In regard to VRS fraud, we have two major proceedings that
intend to address the fraud. One id a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was
released last may, proposing a number of anti-fraud measures, and another one
is a Notice of Inquiry that seeks input from all stakeholders on the future
of VRS, in particular, on how VRS can be best offered in the most functionally
equivalent manner that primarily serves the consumers.
Family life: I would not be here if it was
not for my amazing wife, Charmaine, who has been very supportive
of me and is also a wonderful mother to our four very active and fun children,
Rainer (10), Brendan (8), Charlton (6), and Lauren (5)—they keep us on our
toes and enrich our lives with such joy by adding new dimensions to our household
with their various interests and individual talents ranging from music to supports
and entertainment. I always count my blessings to have them to come home to,
especially after dealing with a demanding workload and a long bus commute of
at least an hour and half both ways.
