Cornelius L. Butler is a young person with a disability who recently graduated with full honors from Bainbridge College in Bainbridge, Georgia majoring in Computer Information Systems.  Mr. Butler is legally blind. Several years ago his local rehabilitation counselor introduced Mr. Butler to the Georgia High School/High Tech Program.  He was one of the first students involved when the program was first implemented in southwest Georgia.  He immediately understood the importance and value of the program with its primary goal to assist young people with disabilities gain employment in the fields of science and technology.

     Mr. Butler participated in Georgia’s Carl Anthony Cunningham Youth Leadership Forum. Participants learn skills to empower participants to be politically active, to teach them valuable life skills, and to hear from many accomplished people in the disability rights movement.  The Forum activities develop participant confidence and demonstrate to young people that they do have a voice to make a difference.

     Mr. Butler was a member of the Bainbridge College chapter of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE). This group educates students about the free enterprise system and teaches them important financial management skills.   He also served on The Bainbridge College Student Technology Committee where he advocated for students with disabilities to get the technology needed to fully participate in campus life. 

     In 2001 Mr. Butler was selected to serve as one of fifteen committee members on the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adult with Disabilities Youth Advisory Committee whose goal was to make recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and President Bush on ways of increasing employment levels of youth with disabilities. Cornelius chaired the transportation and public awareness subcommittees.  Mr. Butler also serves on the board of BAIN, a local Center for Independent Living in Bainbridge, Georgia. 

     In 2001 in an effort to make the Internet a friendlier place for people with disabilities, Mr. Butler along with his business partner launched Butler New Media, LLC. The firm offers a variety of accessibility services including consulting, training, remediation, and market research. The company’s strength and primary offering to its clients is the firm’s ability to assist in building a more accessible world allowing employees to fully engage their talents and feel valued by the company.   Butler was the first person to leave High School/High Tech in the nation to start their own business.

     Since its inception Butler New Media has experienced consistent growth quarter over quarter.   As part of the success of Butler New Media, Cornelius has been invited to speak at several international, national, state, and local events. In 2003 the Georgia Lottery Corporation selected Cornelius and Butler New Media to be featured in a statewide commercial celebrating the tenth anniversary of the lottery and the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship program.

    In late 2003 the Georgia Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities along with the Georgia Department of Labor selected Butler New Media to organize and implement the nation’s first ever statewide web accessibility competition, The Georgia Accessibility Rally.   The program allows for students involved in Georgia’s High School/High Tech program to redesign their existing high school and/or other educational website to make it more accessible to people with disabilities. Students formed teams of up to five students and one mentor. Each team was provided the rally judging criteria, rally rules, and additional information on the issues people with disabilities face.   Their assignment, utilize the judging criteria and the technology and make the web sites more accessible.   At the end of the competition in April 2004 a team of judges evaluated the sites and selected the top three winning sites.  The students on the winning teams split $10,000 in scholarship money.

• $5000 1st Place Team
• $3000 2nd Place Team
• $2000 3rd Place Team

The money was used to help these students cover college costs.  Student participants also received a goodie bag full of prizes from corporate sponsors: Cingular, Microsoft, Georgia Department of Labor, Hyatt Hotels, Georgia Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and Georgia Industries for the Blind.

     Mr. Butler’s plans for the future include continuing to further his education, involvement in his current activities and the continued growth of Butler New Media. The first part of 2006 Butler was given the responsibility of creating the first statewide accessible computer software design competition.  The Microsoft Accessible Software Development Competition paired teams students with disabilities in Georgia’s High School/High Tech program with mentors specially trained in accessible software design practices.  The teams were then allowed to create an accessible software program that can by used by people with disabilities. Six teams competed in two skill levels, beginner’s and intermediate. The winning teams received an all-expense paid trip to Microsoft Headquarters where they were able to participate in a roundtable with Microsoft employees.

      In mid 2006 his company launched America’s first nationwide online panels of people with disabilities, their family members, and other stakeholders.  The panels allow clients to conduct market research, mystery shopping, and other specialized studies all involving people with disabilities. It provides corporate America and government agencies with real time data on the unique views of people with disabilities on various issues. The panel has 10,000+ members.  Mr. Butler continues to work with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and its President and CEO, Andy Imparato ensuring a more accessible workplace future for all employees regardless of ability. 

     In 2008, Mr. Butler and Butler New Media will continue its history of success by launching ACCESSIBLENET. A first of its kind initiative dedicated to ensuring a more accessible internet for people with disabilities worldwide. The project aims to create 30,000+ accessible websites over the next ten years. This project will seek to create more entrepreneurs with disabilities and will donate a portion of its revenue to charity.

ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
ITTATC Experts Network (2004-Present)
BAIN, INC BOARD MEMBER
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
ACCESSIBILITY FORUM
BAINBRIDGE COLLEGE STUDENT TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE (CHAIRPERSON 2004)
BAINBRIDGE COLLEGE BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
INTERAGENCY SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY RESEARCH

PUBLIC APPEARANCES:
ADA 11TH ANNIVERSARY SPEAKER (2001)
Disabilityinfo.gov launch keynote speaker (2002)
US-UK SEMINAR OF EXCHANGE SPEAKER (2003)
Georgia Occupational Award for Leadership (2003)
GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL/HIGH TECH STATE CONFERENCE SPEAKER (2004)
GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL/HIGH TECH AUGUSTA CONFERENCE SPEAKER (2005)

GOOGLE REFERENCES:

You may learn more about me by typing any of the following terms into Google:

cornelius butler + disabilityinfo.gov
cornelius butler + butler new media
cornelius butler + disability