Kimberly Castillo

I began my federal career in 2006 as an intern with the Federal Aviation Administration through the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities internship program. I did two internships with the FAA and was able to land a job soon after. I started as an administrative assistant in the Office of Civil Rights to get my foot in the door, and from there I was promoted to Disability Employment Program Manager, where I was responsible for managing the agency's disability program, processing reasonable accommodation requests, and conducting outreach and recruitment for persons with disabilities. I also served as the Hispanic Employment Program Manager. After a detail with the Department of Education through an Executive Leadership Program where I learned about auditing grants for higher education, I went to the National Archives and Records Administration where I stood up an Affirmative Employment Program from the ground up and established a regional program with Special Emphasis Program Managers serving as liaisons across field offices. I then spent about six years at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where I worked in the Office of Human Resources as a recruiter with emphasis on Hispanics. I was hired there to stand up the Development Diplomats in Residence program, where I established partnerships with universities like Florida International University and managed the strategic plan and budget. I was promoted to serve as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Advisor, where I sat on the executive team in Human Resources and was responsible for giving strategic direction and recommendations on policies, practices, and procedures. I also served as Special Assistant to the Chief Human Capital Officer. I currently work at the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, where I was initially hired as the DEIA Advisor, but that role was eliminated by the current administration. Now I serve full-time as the inaugural Section 508 Compliance Officer, focusing on making information and communication technology accessible. My goal is to change the culture and go beyond what the regulation requires by training our workforce on how to make their work products compliant and creating awareness that accessibility should be applied always, not just for large audiences. I'm proud that the General Service Administration recently invited me to serve as a speaker at the Interagency Accessibility Forum to showcase best practices from a video remediation project I completed.