Making the ADA with Chai Feldblum
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Welcome to Season 10 of Down to the Struts!
To kick things off, Qudsiya sits down with the indomitable Chai Feldblum. Chai is a civil rights advocate and scholar. For nearly four decades, Chai has fought for the rights of LGBTQ and disability communities through legislative advocacy, teaching, scholarship, government service, and much more. She played an integral role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Qudsiya and Chai talk about Chai's work on the ADA, including the unlikely coalition that she brought together, and so much more.
Read Chai’s article, The Art of Legislative Lawyering and the Six Circles Theory of Advocacy
Transcript available here
About the guest:
Chai Feldblum
Chai Feldblum is a long-time civil rights advocate and scholar, specializing in issues regarding LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and women. She was a law professor at Georgetown Law in Washington DC for many years, helping non-profit organizations advance their legislative social justice goals through a Federal Legislation Clinic staffed by law students. Chai helped draft and negotiate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and, as a Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , spearheaded coverage of LGBT people under sex discrimination law. Chai served as Vice Chair of the AbilityOne Commission, a federal agency devoted to the employment of people with significant disabilities, during the Biden Administration. In 2025, Chai co-founded two new groups, Pride In Exile and the EEO Leadership Group, to respond to attacks by the Trump Administration on civil rights.
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