You Are Here: NYS Forum Executive Director
Deborah Buck is the Executive Director of The NYS Forum, Inc., a non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote policies and practices for effective, equitable and secure use and management of information resources in New York State. The Forum has a long and unique history providing a neutral environment for its membership, comprised of New York State information technology leadership and IT corporate leaders, to collaborate and pursue common goals.
Previously, she served for six years as the executive director of the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, a non-profit organization focused on access to assistive technology and accessible information technology for individuals with disabilities. During that period she also served as the principle investigator/director of the National Information System for Assistive Technology (NISAT) a project funded by the US Department of Education.
Buck previously served as the director of State Information Technology Accessibility Initiatives for the Information Technology and Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. She provided technical assistance and support to state and local governments, advocates and corporations regarding information technology accessibility policies and standards.
Buck's 30 years of experience directing public and private sector programs at the state and national level was key to her selection. For the last 20 years, she has held state and national leadership positions actively advancing accessible information technology (IT) and telecommunications. She was responsible for the development of IT accessibility-related policy, standards and training as the accessibility program manager, NYS Office for Technology; provided technical assistance to state and local governments as the national director of State IT Accessibility, Information Technology and Technical Assistance Training Center (ITTATC), Atlanta, GA; and served in national advisory roles on policies, standards and programs for the U.S. Access Board, Telecommunications and Electronic Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) and the Federal Communications Commission.
Buck holds a Master of Science from the University at Albany and a Bachelor of Arts from Bishops University, PQ, Canada. She grew up in the Mohawk Valley region of New York State and currently resides in Delmar, New York.