Marsha K. Mazz

Director of Accessibility Codes and Standards at the United Spinal Association

Marsha Mazz joined the staff of the United Spinal Association as the Director of Accessibility Codes and Standards in September 2018.  Before joining USA, Marsha directed the United States Access Board's Office of Technical and Information Services, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the Access Board's accessibility guidelines and standards, as well as its training and technical assistance programs.

Marsha is best known for leading the development of accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act.  She was instrumental in efforts to harmonize federal accessibility requirements with their counterpart codes and standards in the private sector, including those codes and standards authored by the International Code Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).    

Marsha is highly regarded for her technical expertise and mastery of detail in architectural accessibility and building codes and standards.  Her outreach and coordination with the codes community greatly advanced the integration of accessibility into model building codes and standards.  In recognition of her work at the Access Board, Mazz received the prestigious American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) 2010 Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award which recognizes demonstrated leadership in promoting standardization and eliminating barriers to global trade.  On October 17, 2018 ANSI also awarded her the Meritorious Service Award, presented to individuals or groups with a record of significant contribution to voluntary standardization and who have demonstrated outstanding service in enabling ANSI to attain the objectives for which it was founded.  Marsha is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and was active in the independent living movement in her early career.