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2016 DOT Civil Rights Virtual Symposium Speaker Bios - Session 5

Speaking with One Voice: Accelerating Access to Opportunity

ADA Accessibility: Expectations and Responsibilities Across the Transportation Network

Regina Morgan

Regina Morgan is the Director of Civil Rights for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) within the U.S. Department of Transportation.  She is responsible for civil rights and equal opportunity matters, enforces civil rights compliance of state motor vehicle agencies, and serves as the principal advisor to the NHTSA Administrator on all matters pertaining to civil rights.

Prior to joining NHTSA, Ms. Morgan worked in the Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice for nearly 20 years.  Ms. Morgan enforced the Americans with Disabilities Act by investigating complaints of discrimination and by conducting broad based compliance reviews.  She also provided outreach and technical assistance on the implementation of the ADA.  Ms. Morgan served as one of the central figures in the Justice Project, a DOJ effort to facilitate alliances and understanding between the correctional facilities and disability communities in order to encourage compliance with the law.

Dawn Sweet

Dawn Sweet joined the Federal Transit Administration in 2009 and serves as the Program Manager for Complaints & Communications in the Office of Civil Rights. She is responsible for providing direction to a team of investigators on process requirements and approaches for resolving ADA and Title VI complaints filed by members of the public against transit providers. In addition to overseeing the complaint process, Dawn assists with the implementation of the office’s oversight, training, and technical assistance programs. Before joining FTA, Dawn spent five years in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Departmental Office of Civil Rights working on civil rights policy and oversight issues. Dawn began her federal career at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Patrick Gomez

Mr. Gomez serves as a Civil Rights Specialist for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in its Lakewood, Colorado, Resource Center, where he performs work in various civil rights areas, but his main focus is disability law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Mr. Gomez attained his undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), where he majored in Political Science; and in 1996 attained his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from Cleveland State University/Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. 

Mr. Gomez began his career in Civil Rights when he began working at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where his work focused on employment law.  In 1997, Mr. Gomez continued his work in Civil Rights when he served as a Civil Rights Manager/ADA Coordinator and investigator for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in both its Headquarters and Western Regional offices.  While at the CDOT, Mr. Gomez took over as CDOT’s Legal Unit Manager, where he handled CDOT’s legal issues in preparation for disciplinary action and litigation. 

In November 2007, Mr. Gomez became the Executive Director of Human Resources at the Community College of Denver where he was responsible for an employee population of one thousand, and student population of eleven thousand.

Mr. Gomez began in his current position at the FHWA in 2010.  Mr. Gomez has worked in FHWA’s Resource Center in both its Chicago, IL and Lakewood, CO offices.  Mr. Gomez, a seasoned instructor,  has given hundreds of ADA and other Civil Rights presentations in person and via webinar/videoconference throughout the United States to thousands of State and Local Public Agencies, as well was contractors, attorneys, MPO’s and private consultants.

Mr. Gomez, a Colorado native, currently resides in the Denver-Metro area with his wife and two young children.

Last updated: Thursday, March 17, 2016