The President today announced the appointment of Ann M. Forts of Center Harbor, New Hampshire, as a member of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR).
Ms. Forts will become the second self-advocate [a person with mental retardation] to serve as a member of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation and the second self-advocate appointed by the President to serve on the Committee.
In appointing Ms. Forts, the President praised the contribution that she will make as a selfadvocate on the PCMR Board: "Ann Forts represents the goal of my administration in meeting the needs of citizens with disabilities. By listening to citizens with disabilities, as experts about their lives and what they need to live healthy and productive lives, we will be able to pursue our common vision of moving from exclusion to inclusion, from dependence to independence, from paternalism to empowerment. I look forward to the insight and wisdom Ann Forts will share with the members of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation."
NOTE: A biography of the appointee was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary.
William J. Clinton, Appointment for the President's Committee on Mental Retardation Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/218411