Governor Healey Names Allan Motenko as Next Head of the Massachusetts Office on Disability

Governor Healey Names Allan Motenko as Next Head of the Massachusetts Office on Disability

 

Experienced Civil and Disability Rights Official to Rejoin Agency

 

BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura Healey announced that she has appointed Allan Motenko to serve as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD), a state agency created in 1981 that provides information, guidance, and training on disability-related civil rights and architectural access. Motenko, who previously served as MOD’s deputy director from 2014-2015, returns to the agency after working at MassDOT and the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR) on civil and disability rights policy implementation.

 

“Ensuring that residents with disabilities across the state know their rights and how to fight for them has never been more important,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Allan’s experience working for agencies that serve people with a range of needs every day, such as MassDOT and DOR, positions him well to be a voice for the disability community in and outside of government. It’s great to have him back at MOD.” 

 

“I’m pleased to have Allan Motenko take the helm at MOD, bringing his strong track record and expertise back to the agency,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “With Allan’s leadership, the MOD team will continue to promote disability rights in Massachusetts.”  

 

“Allan has been a real leader in state government on diversity and equal opportunity,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz. “He cares about civil rights, knows the legal framework that provides for them, and how to work in government to ensure employees and residents access the protections and services they need. I look forward to working with him to further MOD’s important work.” 

 

“MOD’s mission – to bring about full and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life – is profoundly important to me,” said MOD Executive Director Allan Motenko. “I’m honored and excited to have this opportunity to lead MOD’s dedicated team in realizing that mission.” 

 

MOD is an agency within the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. It works with the public, state and local government entities, and private organizations to help people understand their disability rights and obligations, how regulations apply to the specifics of their situation, and practical steps they can take to assert their rights and comply with the law. 

 

Between 2010 and 2015, Motenko advanced at MOD, starting as a civil rights advocate, serving as a policy and planning specialist and project manager, and then becoming deputy director, where he oversaw policy development and designed training programs on civil rights laws for a range of groups across the state. In these roles, he developed a deep understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which MOD is responsible for advising on and coordinating compliance with across executive agencies. 

 

Motenko’s experience in ADA implementation took him to MassDOT, where he re-engineered the reasonable accommodation process for 4,000 employees, including developing new tracking systems, documentation procedures, and engaging employees and managers in how to apply ADA accommodations.  

 

Since 2017, Motenko served as the director of the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity in DOR, a 1,400-employee agency. In that role, he provided strategic leadership on all aspects of civil rights and equal opportunity; managing compliance with state and federal civil rights laws, coordinating diversity-related training, and supporting the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.  

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