George Kerscher: 2004 Catalyst Award Recipient

George Kerscher began working on document access in 1987 and has been a tireless advocate and leader ever since. He coined the term "print disabled" to describe people who cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive, or learning disability, and believes that in the Information Age access to information is a fundamental human right. He also believes that properly design information systems can make all information accessible to all people, and has worked consistently and effectively to push evolving technologies in that direction.

Although his personal accomplishments stand on their own, he is receiving the award for the quiet work he has done advancing the efforts of others in this area. Never one to take credit himself, he has helped foster and advance the work of many and brings out the best in teams that he is associated with. He has also spearheaded the creation of, and then quietly bore a large share of the support for, key groups that we have all come to rely on in this area.

George Kerscher is Senior Officer of Accessible Information at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) in the USA, Secretary General for the DAISY Consortium, member of the Board of Directors for the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) and Co-chair of the Steering Council of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).