Task Force Member Profiles

William W. Altaffer, Esq.
Tucson, Ariz.

Bill Altaffer is an attorney who is deeply committed to improving the quality of life in his community and on our planet. He lives in Tucson with his wife, Colette.

Altaffer, 49, graduated with honors from Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., and earned his law degree from the University of Arizona College of Law. At the firm of Strickland & Altaffer, he served as associate general counsel to three Indian nations, assisting these governments in the interpretation of their constitutions and the enactment of environmental protection legislation.

Altaffer and his wife led the precedent-setting effort to enact the Inclusive Home Design Ordinance in Pima County, Arizona. This visitability ordinance requires that new single-family housing meet minimum accessibility requirements, thereby promoting the independence of people with disabilities. It’s currently the most progressive legislation of its type in the country.

Over the years, Altaffer has served on a variety of boards, commissions and committees whose goals are the promotion of world peace and the improvement of the quality of life for persons with disabilities.

Altaffer is a member of the national task force steering committee and is a member and past chairman of the Southern Arizona Task Force on Public Awareness. He was the recipient of MDA's 1995 National Personal Achievement Award. In 2002, Altaffer received the Tucson Human Relations Commission's Rabbi Albert T. Bilgray Make a Difference Award for his lifelong activism for human rights and social change based on the rule of law.

Altaffer has type 3 spinal muscular atrophy, also known as Kugelberg-Welander disease, which first appeared in childhood. The progressive condition involves weakness in the leg, hip, shoulder, arm and respiratory muscles.

Jan Blaustone
Nashville, Tenn.

Jan Blaustone, 51, is a Nashville-based author and speaker who focuses on family life and disability issues.

Her second book, Every Family Is Special: Love Comes First, was published in 1994 by Fairview Press, and her first book, The Joy of Parenthood, in 1993 by Meadowbrook/Simon & Schuster. Her books have been endorsed by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse and are used as counseling tools in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Blaustone earned a bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Sacramento. She has worked in advertising, as a fire fighter and as assistant to best-selling author H. Jackson Brown Jr. She volunteers with Canine Assistants of Alpharetta, Ga., has also served as a volunteer consultant on special needs adoptions for Family & Children's Service of Middle Tennessee, and has served as a substitute teacher for Metro-Davidson County in Nashville.

She has assisted with MDA summer camp and was profiled on the national broadcast of the 1996 MDA Telethon. She has written for MDA's Quest magazine and various publications nationwide via wire services. She also participates as a member of the national task force steering committee and as a motivational speaker at MDA functions and support groups. In 1994, she was honored by the Nashville mayor's office for her efforts to promote a positive image of people with disabilities. She was the 2001 recipient of MDA's National Personal Achievement Award. She served two terms as president of MDA's Middle Tennesee and Southern Kentucky Chapter.

Blaustone enjoys activities involving children, fishing, boating, painting, gardening and photography. She has contributed four works of art to the MDA Art Collection. She lives in Nashville with her husband, Michael, and their 15-year-old son, Lee.

Blaustone has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, which affects her shoulders, upper arms and legs. She uses a power wheelchair for mobiliy. Her condition was diagnosed in 1987.

Marilyn J. Cooper
Northridge, Calif.

Marilyn Cooper, a marriage and family counselor, has numerous professional and community activities to her credit. She counsels people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Cooper, 62, was born in London and came to the United States at age 4. She graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in history and elementary school teaching. She received her credentials for counseling from the University of Judaism and her master’s degree in counseling from California State University-Northridge in 1991. She and her husband, Richard, have three adult children and four grandchildren.

Her enthusiasm and perseverance helped to earn Cooper MDA’s 1998 State Personal Achievement Award for California. She serves on the Executive Committee of MDA’s Los Angeles Chapter and, together with her husband, on MDA’s ALS Task Force for Southern California. She also shares her experiences in the workplace as a person with a disability.

Cooper is affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which was diagnosed in 1975. She uses a power wheelchair and an adapted van, which help her to lead a very active life.

Mario Damiani, Esq.
Arlington, Va.

Mario Damiani, 29, is an attorney by training who, from 2001 to 2006, served in various legal capacities with the District of Columbia Government. He is licensed to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia, and most recently worked for the District of Columbia Department of Health as an Attorney-Adviser. In September 2006, he took a position as a Policy Adviser with the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Damiani received his undergraduate and law degrees from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., as part of an accelerated, six-year program. As an undergraduate, he was named a University Scholar for his achievements in the University Honors Program and earned summa cum laude honors and election to Phi Beta Kappa. In law school, he undertook various internships and participated in the Moot Court program as a competitor and judge.

During and after his academic career, Damiani has engaged in personal advocacy for individuals with disabilities, which has included striving to improve the accessibility of his alma mater for students with disabilities and encouraging disability sensitivity training for employees in Washington, D.C.’s Metrorail (subway) system.

Damiani and his family, including his mother, Judy, are involved with many aspects of MDA as volunteers. He serves as a member of the Greater Washington Chapter’s Executive Committee, and was selected to receive the 2002 MDA Personal Achievement Award for the District of Columbia.

In September 2006, Mario and his wife Emily happily celebrated their third wedding anniversary. They are the proud owners of two precocious dogs, Haley and Adriana; as hobbies they enjoy travel, concerts and movies, among other things.

Damiani has Becker muscular dystrophy, a progressive disease that causes generalized muscle weakness. He uses a Levo standing power wheelchair for mobility and independence. More importantly, he credits his own positive attitude and loving family and friends for allowing him to attain his personal goal of living each day to the fullest.

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