Mary J. Goodwin-Oquendo, Esq.

Mary is an established and respected disability civil rights attorney and adjunct professor of law at Fordham University School of Law. Her passion for disability advocacy was ignited when she was a child and witnessed how hard her mother had to fight to make sure that her younger brother received appropriate special education placement and services. Mary was later diagnosed with a disabling chronic condition as a young adult, so she understands the importance of accommodations and equal access in post-secondary and professional settings, as well as the unique challenges that people with “invisible disabilities” face when asserting their rights.

For more than 15 years Mary has advocated for individuals with cognitive, physical, and psychiatric disabilities who have experienced discrimination in school and/or require accommodations on high stakes admissions and licensing examinations. Prior to starting her own practice, The Goodwin-Oquendo Law Firm, P.C., she worked closely with her mentor and friend, a highly esteemed activist, attorney, and NYS Assembly Member, Jo Anne Simon, Esq. At the beginning of her career at Jo Anne Simon P.C., she collaborated with various affinity groups to submit vital feedback to the United States Department of Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that was incorporated into the agencies’ final rules enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008.

Mary is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and an appointed member of the association’s Committee on Disability Rights. She has developed continuing legal education (CLE) coursework for attorneys and currently serves as one of the editors of the New York State Bar Association's disability treatise. She is also a member of the Disability Rights Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and previously served on the executive board of the New York Urban League Young Professionals and the National Urban League Young Professionals Programs Committee.

Mary has had the honor of speaking before several impactful organizations, including the Annual Stanford Conference on Disability in Healthcare and Medicine, the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, The Docs With Disabilities Podcast, The Coelho Fellowship Conference Panel, The Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs, and The Headache Alliance. She has also been invited to speak at several universities and colleges.

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