KEN WRIGHT'S SON, STEVE, AND STEVE'S WIFE HONORED WITH THEIR DAY IN CORAL GABLES

 

Steve Wright, son of the late BJ computer honcho Ken Wright, and his wife Heidi Johnson-Wright were honored July 25 with Steve Wright and Heidi Johnson-Wright day by the city of Coral Gables, Florida for their three decades of work on behalf of people with disabilities.

Johnson-Wright has used a wheelchair for mobility for 40 years and brings her practical experience as well as her 30+ years of professional expertise to the University of Miami classroom in Florida.

Wright is America’s go-to journalist for reporting on architecture, town planning, mobility engineering and urban policy – as they relate to people with disabilities and access for all.

Steve and Heidi have published more than 1,000 articles on best practices for planning, architecture, transportation engineering and urban design for people with disabilities.

They have lectured at national conferences across the United States and in Europe. This year, they have combined to appear on more than one dozen podcasts focusing on better housing, mobility, jobs, parks and quality of life for people with disabilities.

The Wrights donated 100% of their School of Architecture professor pay toward further outreach and education to support Universal Design on a global scale.

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Ken Wright was one of the nicest people I worked with during my 27 years at the BJ, including when I was a newsroom coordinator and Ken did the same for Composing and Bob Tigelman’s computers wizards who kept the whole system up and running.

Steve is a 1987 Kent State graduate. Heidi is a 1982 KSU grad.

Steve’s first job was with the Columbus Dispatch because his wife was starting law school at Ohio State. He covered growth, planning, urban affairs and stories on people with disabilities, including the landmark passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

By 2000, when Steve saw the handwriting on the wall for newspapers’ woes, he became Senior Urban Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Miami City Commission.

By the time Steve was 50, a founded a  storytelling firm with the emphasis on people with disabilities, which strikes 60 million Americans.