Neil Romano

Acting Chairman

Orlando, Florida

Neil Romano has been a member of the National Council on Disability for over 10 years and is currently NCD’s Acting Chairman. He was previously designated by President Trump to serve as NCD Chairman from 2018 to 2021 and has been on the Council since 2015.

Neil has dedicated his career to marketing ideas and programs designed to save lives and advance public policy. His extensive professional background includes tenure as director of communications for the White House Office of Drug Abuse Policy in the Reagan Administration. In that role, he worked on notable public awareness campaigns, including “Just Say No” and “America Responds to AIDS.”

In 2007, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As head of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), he advised the Secretary of Labor and worked with all DOL agencies to lead a comprehensive and coordinated national policy regarding the employment of people with disabilities in the United States.

His work as a member of the Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled helped improve the quality of life for workers with disabilities across America. In 2010, his work as a member of that committee was recognized by the full committee with a special leadership award.

As a producer/director, his film, “Youth Homicide: A Public Health Crisis,” earned a Best Director Emmy Nomination.

Neil lives in Orlando with his wife, Barbara, of 35 years, and he has two married adult daughters, Bianca Stephens and Christina Retallick, and is the proud grandfather of Rosalie Retallick.