[Iabs-talk] FW: Article about NFB member Patti Gregory-Chang

Sun Mar 4 12:46:28 CST 2007

FYI.

--
Patti S. Gregory-Chang 
President, National Federation of the Blind of Illinois 
pattisgregory at comcast.net

-------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- 
From: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG> 
To: <slabarre at labarrelaw.com>, "Pierce, Barbara" <BPierce at NFB.ORG>, "Office Of The President" <OfficeOfThePresident at NFB.ORG>, <pattisgregory at comcast.net> 
Cc: "Gashel, James" <JGashel at NFB.ORG>, "Danielsen, Chris" <CDanielsen at NFB.ORG>, "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at NFB.ORG>, "Wilson, Joanne" <jwilson at NFB.ORG> 
Subject: Article about NFB member Patti Gregory-Chang 
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:06:34 +0000 

Congratulations, Patti.

Except for the frequent reference to "for" the blind and not "of" the blind, this is quite a nice article.  I really like that you mentioned the March for Independence.

Top Chicago city attorney, volunteer and mom, Harbor Springs graduate living life to its fullest

 [Photo Reprints]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is another in an occasional series we plan to publish focusing on gr
aduates of Harbor Springs High School who pursued unique and different career and life paths. If you have a suggestion for such a feature, email Kate Bassett (kate at ncpublish.com) or Paul Glahn (paul at ncpublish.com). You can call them at the Harbor Light Newspaper 526-2191.
By Kate Bassett
HARBOR LIGHT NEWSPAPER
When Patti Gregory-Chang left Harbor Springs after graduating in 1981, she was planning to attend college to become a teacher. Today, she is rounding out two decades of service as a lawyer for the City of Chicago. Juggling a family, high-powered career, volunteer work, and more, Gregory-Chang represents the best of small town graduates making it– and making it big– in the big city.
“There is no typical day for me,” Gregory-Chang said in an e-mail interview as she described life as senior assistant corporation counsel for the city.
With seven attorneys, 15 law clerks, and four paralegal under her supervision, (not counting the work she does in interviewing and hiring some 50 attorneys and clerks for the Building and Land Use Division), Gregory-Chang and her staff handle nearly 4,000 cases each year.
“We have court calls running in two different forums on most days. I have to laugh because sometimes all the following happens at once: my cell phone rings, my desk phone rings on both lines, someone is at my office door, and my alarm on the computer goes off. I enjoy being busy though, and I’m one of those people who doesn’t get things done unless I have a deadline.”
Being busy is no problem for Gregory-Chang, who, in addition to her work for the City of Chicago, is raising two children with her husband Francisco, sits on the Section Council for the Illinois State Bar Association Administrative Law Section, and volunteers with numerous organizations, including her church and the National Federation for the Blind (NFB), where she serves as president of the Illinois Chapter and first vice-president of the Chicago Chapter.
The last job in that very long list, may to some be a key to the most unique or amazing part of Gregory- Chang’s life. She is the president of her state’s chapter of the National Federation for the Blind because she herself has been without full vision since the age of 12, when her sight began failing as a result of Microthalmia, cataracts, and Glaucoma. For Gregory-Chang, however, her blindness is no more important or interesting than her “being a woman.”
“The most satisfaction (from being involved with the NFB) comes when someone who is newly blinded realizes that life goes on and puts aside society’s stereotypes about how wonderful or incompetent we are,” she said.
That being said, her pride in the National Federation for the Blind is obvious.
“NFB is huge. The organization works for equality, security, and opportunity for the blind. We want the same chances to succeed as everyone else. With the right techniques, blindness is reduced to an inconvenience, not a tragedy.
“For example, I am using a computer program called JAWS which is a screen reader. It turns the visual output on a screen into speech. That, along with Braille and a cane, allow me to do the things I do,” Gregory-Chang said. “By the way,” she added, a smile almost obvious in her typing, “I am looking for sponsors for a 5K walk in Atlanta we are calling the ‘March for Independence,’ which will occur on July 3 of this year.”
Growing up in Harbor Springs, Gregory-Chang said her childhood was spent like most others who are raised here.
“We lived in town. My younger brother Gerry and I hung out. I did winter sports and worked a little in the summer. My parents (Eve Lauer and Donald Gregory) did a good job of treating me like anyone else. They had high expectations,” she said.
Losing her sight at an early age was not a tragedy to Gregory-Chang, as she said some might expect.
“I learned Brail and cane travel through a consultant. In that respect, I have an advantage over many people who are legally blind but have some vision. Some are forced to keep depending on poorer and poorer vision, which is a recipe for failure. I was lucky enough to have people around me who accepted that my vision was not going to get me through life.”
As she left Harbor Springs and headed to Michigan State University, Gregory-Chang’s original goal was to be a teacher for the visually impaired. That track changed, however, when she became interested in studying law after earning her teaching certification and she ended up at the University of Chicago Law School.
“I worked for big firms during my summers in law school,” Gregory-Chang recalled. “I guess I was drawn to the big money they offered. Ending up with the City of Chicago was one of those ‘blessings in disguise’ dropped on me. The firm I had an offer from went bankrupt, and I reevaluated. I decided that I wanted to work in the public interest, so I applied lots of places, but really wanted the City. I knew they would hire me when my interview with the chief of our Torts Division went well. I started in the Traffic Division, hated that, and moved to the Building and Land Use Division as soon as possible.”
The draw for Buildings and Land Use– which covers everything from violations to the city’s building or fire codes to Department of Construction cases– was strengthened by a family tragedy.
“I wanted the Buildings and Land Use Litigation Division and just about the time I was re-evaluating my situation, my step-brother Tom Cassidy died in a fire. I am sure that some of the factors leading to his death related to poor fire safety measures in his trailer, so I decided to stay, since that is what we enforce in my division.”
Now, 18 years later, Gregory- Chang said the biggest challenge of her job can be summed
up in one word: “politics, politics, politics,” she said, adding that “lack of resources is a distant third.”
Still, she said that she enjoys her job, and will probably stay. When looking at her busy schedule, and the fact that she and her husband, Francisco, are extremely dedicated to their children and to traveling the globe, changing jobs would be just one more thing to add to an already busy plate.
“I have a very understanding spouse and kids who are also active in the NFB and church,’ Gregory-Chang said of how she balances work and family life, and still has time to “play.”
“I love to brag about my kids (John, a high school sophomore and Julia, a sixth grader). They are both high honor students in special enrollment programs in the Chicago Public Schools. They also both play an instrument (as did Chang, for the Harbor Springs High School marching band). They are really special people,” she said.
Gregory-Chang’s husband, who is of Chinese dissent and was raised in Belize, has tricitizenship, which “makes for an interesting cultural mix in our household,” she said. Assisting permanent residents to become U.S. citizens in Chinatown’s PuiTak Center is yet another way the lawyer/ mother/wife/activist celebrates the diversity in her life. She administers naturalization practice exams and review sessions at the center.
“We travel a lot,” Gregory- Chang noted (final proof of just how well she performs her hectic balancing act). “I have been to Belize at least 10 times. We have been to other Central American countries and Mexico. My long-awaited honeymoon to China is coming in 2009.”
In the end, Gregory-Chang is a role model for women who strive to have it all: careers, families, philanthropy, and fun. Growing up on the opposite shore of Lake Michigan may have been another world but high expectations and involvement as a child have carried through to her success in all aspects of life.

John G. Paré Jr. 
Director of Public Relations 
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
1800 Johnson Street 
Baltimore, Maryland  21230 
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371 
Cell phone:  (410) 913-3912 
Fax:  (410) 685-5653 
Email:  jpare at nfb.org 
-------------- next part --------------
FYI.

--
Patti S. Gregory-Chang
President, National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
pattisgregory at comcast.net

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
To: <slabarre at labarrelaw.com>, "Pierce, Barbara" <BPierce at NFB.ORG>, "Office Of The President" <OfficeOfThePresident at NFB.ORG>, <pattisgregory at comcast.net>
Cc: "Gashel, James" <JGashel at NFB.ORG>, "Danielsen, Chris" <CDanielsen at NFB.ORG>, "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at NFB.ORG>, "Wilson, Joanne" <jwilson at NFB.ORG>
Subject: Article about NFB member Patti Gregory-Chang
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:06:34 +0000
Congratulations, Patti.

Except for the frequent reference to "for" the blind and not "of" the blind, this is quite a nice article.  I really like that you mentioned the March for Independence.

Top Chicago city attorney, volunteer and mom, Harbor Springs graduate living life to its fullest

http://www.harborlightnews.com/images/fs_959.jpg

http://www.harborlightnews.com/picbank.php [Photo Reprints]

EDITOR’S NOTE:
This is another in an occasional series we plan to publish focusing on gr
aduates of Harbor Springs High School who pursued unique and different career and life paths. If you have a suggestion for such a feature, email Kate Bassett (kate at ncpublish.com) or Paul Glahn (paul at ncpublish.com). You can call them at the Harbor Light Newspaper 526-2191.
By Kate Bassett
HARBOR LIGHT NEWSPAPER
When Patti Gregory-Chang left Harbor Springs after graduating in 1981, she was planning to attend college to become a teacher. Today, she is rounding out two decades of service as a lawyer for the City of Chicago. Juggling a family, high-powered career, volunteer work, and more, Gregory-Chang represents the best of small town graduates making it– and making it big– in the big city.
“There is no typical day for me,” Gregory-Chang said in an e-mail interview as she described life as senior assistant corporation counsel for the city.
With seven attorneys, 15 law clerks, and four paralegal under her supervision, (not counting the work she does in interviewing and hiring some 50 attorneys and clerks for the Building and Land Use Division), Gregory-Chang and her staff handle nearly 4,000 cases each year.
“We have court calls running in two different forums on most days. I have to laugh because sometimes all the following happens at once: my cell phone rings, my desk phone rings on both lines, someone is at my office door, and my alarm on the computer goes off. I enjoy being busy though, and I’m one of those people who doesn’t get things done unless I have a deadline.”
Being busy is no problem for Gregory-Chang, who, in addition to her work for the City of Chicago, is raising two children with her husband Francisco, sits on the Section Council for the Illinois State Bar Association Administrative Law Section, and volunteers with numerous organizations, including her church and the National Federation for the Blind (NFB), where she serves as president of the Illinois Chapter and first vice-president of the Chicago Chapter.
The last job in that very long list, may to some be a key to the most unique or amazing part of Gregory- Chang’s life. She is the president of her state’s chapter of the National Federation for the Blind because she herself has been without full vision since the age of 12, when her sight began failing as a result of Microthalmia, cataracts, and Glaucoma. For Gregory-Chang, however, her blindness is no more important or interesting than her “being a woman.”
“The most satisfaction (from being involved with the NFB) comes when someone who is newly blinded realizes that life goes on and puts aside society’s stereotypes about how wonderful or incompetent we are,” she said.
That being said, her pride in the National Federation for the Blind is obvious.
“NFB is huge. The organization works for equality, security, and opportunity for the blind. We want the same chances to succeed as everyone else. With the right techniques, blindness is reduced to an inconvenience, not a tragedy.
“For example, I am using a computer program called JAWS which is a screen reader. It turns the visual output on a screen into speech. That, along with Braille and a cane, allow me to do the things I do,” Gregory-Chang said. “By the way,” she added, a smile almost obvious in her typing, “I am looking for sponsors for a 5K walk in Atlanta we are calling the ‘March for Independence,’ which will occur on July 3 of this year.”
Growing up in Harbor Springs, Gregory-Chang said her childhood was spent like most others who are raised here.
“We lived in town. My younger brother Gerry and I hung out. I did winter sports and worked a little in the summer. My parents (Eve Lauer and Donald Gregory) did a good job of treating me like anyone else. They had high expectations,” she said.
Losing her sight at an early age was not a tragedy to Gregory-Chang, as she said some might expect.
“I learned Brail and cane travel through a consultant. In that respect, I have an advantage over many people who are legally blind but have some vision. Some are forced to keep depending on poorer and poorer vision, which is a recipe for failure. I was lucky enough to have people around me who accepted that my vision was not going to get me through life.”
As she left Harbor Springs and headed to Michigan State University, Gregory-Chang’s original goal was to be a teacher for the visually impaired. That track changed, however, when she became interested in studying law after earning her teaching certification and she ended up at the University of Chicago Law School.
“I worked for big firms during my summers in law school,” Gregory-Chang recalled. “I guess I was drawn to the big money they offered. Ending up with the City of Chicago was one of those ‘blessings in disguise’ dropped on me. The firm I had an offer from went bankrupt, and I reevaluated. I decided that I wanted to work in the public interest, so I applied lots of places, but really wanted the City. I knew they would hire me when my interview with the chief of our Torts Division went well. I started in the Traffic Division, hated that, and moved to the Building and Land Use Division as soon as possible.”
The draw for Buildings and Land Use– which covers everything from violations to the city’s building or fire codes to Department of Construction cases– was strengthened by a family tragedy.
“I wanted the Buildings and Land Use Litigation Division and just about the time I was re-evaluating my situation, my step-brother Tom Cassidy died in a fire. I am sure that some of the factors leading to his death related to poor fire safety measures in his trailer, so I decided to stay, since that is what we enforce in my division.”
Now, 18 years later, Gregory- Chang said the biggest challenge of her job can be summed
up in one word: “politics, politics, politics,” she said, adding that “lack of resources is a distant third.”
Still, she said that she enjoys her job, and will probably stay. When looking at her busy schedule, and the fact that she and her husband, Francisco, are extremely dedicated to their children and to traveling the globe, changing jobs would be just one more thing to add to an already busy plate.
“I have a very understanding spouse and kids who are also active in the NFB and church,’ Gregory-Chang said of how she balances work and family life, and still has time to “play.”
“I love to brag about my kids (John, a high school sophomore and Julia, a sixth grader). They are both high honor students in special enrollment programs in the Chicago Public Schools. They also both play an instrument (as did Chang, for the Harbor Springs High School marching band). They are really special people,” she said.
Gregory-Chang’s husband, who is of Chinese dissent and was raised in Belize, has tricitizenship, which “makes for an interesting cultural mix in our household,” she said. Assisting permanent residents to become U.S. citizens in Chinatown’s PuiTak Center is yet another way the lawyer/ mother/wife/activist celebrates the diversity in her life. She administers naturalization practice exams and review sessions at the center.
“We travel a lot,” Gregory- Chang noted (final proof of just how well she performs her hectic balancing act). “I have been to Belize at least 10 times. We have been to other Central American countries and Mexico. My long-awaited honeymoon to China is coming in 2009.”
In the end, Gregory-Chang is a role model for women who strive to have it all: careers, families, philanthropy, and fun. Growing up on the opposite shore of Lake Michigan may have been another world but high expectations and involvement as a child have carried through to her success in all aspects of life.

John G. Paré Jr.
Director of Public Relations
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21230
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371
Cell phone:  (410) 913-3912
Fax:  (410) 685-5653
Email:  jpare at nfb.org

-------------- next part --------------
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