Karen Peltz Strauss

Legal Advocate

Karen Peltz Strauss earned her B.A. at Boston University (1978), her J.D. at University of Pennsylvania Law School (1981), and her L.L.M. at Georgetown University Law Center (1983). She was Supervising Attorney at the National Center for Law and Deafness (1984-1996), the NAD’s Legal Counsel for Telecommunications Policy, and legislative consultant (1996-1999); she then helped found the FCC’s Disability Rights Office. She co-authored Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990, and Sections 255 and 305 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. She held the Powrie V. Doctor Chair of Deaf Studies (2002-2003), and founded KPS Consulting, an independent consulation firm. Her first book, A New Civil Right: Telecommunications Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons, was recently published.