Voices For Veterans Members of <strong>the</strong> BU Law community work in every corner of <strong>the</strong> public interest world — and <strong>the</strong>ir stories continue to inspire us. These alums from four generations have pioneered programs championing <strong>the</strong> rights of military veterans to receive effective rehabilitation, community support, adequate benefits and employment opportunities. Fall 4 | 2009 Boston | University The Record School | of 4 Law | www.bu.edu/law
The Veterans’ Veteran: Kirk Bauer (’78) Executive Director, Disabled Sports USA www.dsusa.org Kirk Bauer knows first-hand that sports can help people rebuild lives. After losing a leg to a grenade injury during <strong>the</strong> Vietnam War at age 21, he found a steep downhill path to recovery when fellow veterans introduced him to a skiing program run by Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA). Bauer reinvented himself as a competitive ski racer and one of <strong>the</strong> first fully certified disabled ski instructors in <strong>the</strong> country. Today he is a nationally recognized advocate for disabled sports, and serves as vice chair of <strong>the</strong> President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Since 1982 he has spearheaded <strong>the</strong> growth of DS/ USA into <strong>the</strong> country’s largest sports and recreation organization for physically disabled people, with 100 chapters nationwide. “I saw <strong>the</strong> issue of disabled rights as parallel to civil rights,” said Bauer in a recent telephone conversation. His training at BU Law played a key role in his effectiveness as an advocate and strategist. “I felt that with a legal education, I could help people with disabilities move forward,” he said. In <strong>the</strong> winter of 2002–03, as <strong>the</strong> U.S. invasion of Iraq loomed, Bauer and colleagues at DS/USA devised a strategy to offer wounded returning soldiers <strong>the</strong> same rehabilitation through sport that had helped <strong>the</strong>m find new hope in lives torn apart by injury. Since <strong>the</strong>n, <strong>the</strong> Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project has served more than 2,500 seriously wounded veterans, providing free individualized training in many winter and summer sports, with transportation, lodging and adaptive equipment. “The results have even surprised me,” said Bauer, citing a February 2009 survey by HarrisInteractive, commissioned by DS/USA, showing that program participants are twice as likely to be employed than <strong>the</strong> general population of adults with disabilities. “They are really getting on with life,” he said, adding that <strong>the</strong>ir courage and capacities remind us that “people with disabilities are people first.” The Guardsman’s Neighbor: Nathaniel Dalton (’91) Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Affiliated Managers Group Co-founder and Executive Board Member, Guard Support of Massachusetts www.guardsupport.org What happens to <strong>the</strong> families, jobs and businesses of National Guardsmen and women when <strong>the</strong>y leave for active service Nate Dalton, a top executive for <strong>the</strong> asset management company Affiliated Managers Group, had not given <strong>the</strong> question much thought until a conversation in 2007 with his Swampscott neighbor, Michael Finer. Finer explained to Dalton <strong>the</strong> challenges he faced as he prepared to deploy to Iraq for a year as a lieutenant colonel in <strong>the</strong> Massachusetts National Guard. As president of a financial planning group, Finer was better placed than many National Guard colleagues to wea<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> time away from his business. But for many selfemployed workers and small business owners, deployment can have drastic economic results, he told Dalton. “These are people who put <strong>the</strong>ir lives on hold to serve us,” Dalton said. He felt <strong>the</strong> private sector had a responsibility to step up and serve <strong>the</strong>m back. In August 2007, with Finer and o<strong>the</strong>r friends in <strong>the</strong> legal and business community, Dalton launched Guard Support, a nonprofit dedicated to boosting support services for Massachusetts National Guard soldiers and <strong>the</strong>ir families. Guard Support aims to plug gaps in government-provided support, by setting up a range of services such as giving emergency cash for child care, housing and utility bills; setting up Internet connections between overseas troops and families at home; and supporting groups that organize moraleboosting send-off and homecoming events. A major focus is linking entrepreneurial veterans with business planning, training and access to capital to help <strong>the</strong>m launch or re-launch small businesses. For Dalton, <strong>the</strong> most touching aspect of this homegrown response to a national emergency is “<strong>the</strong> level of gratitude from people to whom we should be grateful.” Fall 2009 | The Record | 5
Change language