Nell Carney

Nell Carney (née Cardwell; June 28, 1935 – February 9, 2019) was an American educator and public administrator who served as the commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and as the administrator of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired. She also served as the superintendent of the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Early life and family Carney was born on June 28, 1935 in Anderson County, Tennessee, the daughter of Robert and Mazie Owenby Cardwell. She was blind from an early age. One of Carney's earliest influences was Kenneth Jernigan, who she credited as a mentor.

She was the valedictorian of her high school class, and went on to receive a B.S. and M.A. degree from the Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development, where she majored in special education.

Career After college, Carney first worked as a special education teacher at Berry Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee from 1975 to 1977. For one year in 1977, she taught sensory impaired and learning disabled students at Green Spring Junior High in Baltimore. During the 1960s and 1970s, Carney served on the board of the National Federation of the Blind. Carney also established a national advisory group on rehabilitation facilities and played a critical role in her post during the passage and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services From 1993 to 1997, Carney served as the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. After serving in the past, she worked for three years as the superintendent of the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Honors Carney was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Northern Colorado.