2017 DOT Civil Rights Virtual Symposium Speaker Bios - Session 4
Understanding Language Access in 2017
Laura Godfrey
As the Product Manager in the Office of Products and Programs within TTS, Laura Godfrey leads the efforts to form partnerships with other federal agencies to streamline services offered on the bilingual USAGov platform. In her role as the Lead of the Multilingual Community of Practice, Laura works across the government to improve and standardize the use of Spanish language in federal government communications and to leverage the community to find common solutions to common challenges. Laura joined GSA in June 2005 as a bilingual content manager for GobiernoUSA.gov, the Spanish counterpart of USA.gov. She later led the portal working across government agencies to better serve the Hispanic community (2010-2016) and represented the agency and the government in the media and in outreach activities to non-profit and community-based organizations. Ms. Godfrey holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Maryland. In 2008, Laura was invited to become a collaborating member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language, a very prestigious honor only awarded to those professionals whose work has reshaped communications in Spanish in the United States.
John Lozada
John Lozada is the Manager of Federal Programs for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, directing enterprise-wide efforts to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and leading the transition plan development and implementation efforts for MassDOT under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. John started his work with MassDOT in 2009 as the merged agency’s first Director of Civil Rights, where he led the restatement, implementation and oversight of affirmative action/equal employment and business opportunity programs. Mr. Lozada is an attorney with extensive experience in government and administrative law, in transportation, employment and education. He is a graduate of Amherst College and the University of California – Hastings College of the Law.