Tony Coelho was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 from California's Central Valley. He ascended the House Leadership ranks quickly, serving first as Chairperson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 1981 to 1986, and then as the first-ever elected Majority Whip from 1987 to 1989. As Majority Whip, the third ranking position in the House leadership, Mr. Coelho was responsible for securing votes needed to pass the Democratic legislative agenda.
While in the House, Mr. Coelho, who has epilepsy, authored the Americans with Disabilities Act, widely recognized as the most important piece of civil rights legislation in the last 30 years
Since his appointment by President Clinton in 1994, he has served as Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. In 1998 he was appointed as Vice Chair to the National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities and as Co-Chair to the U.S. Census Monitoring Board. Mr. Coelho also served as the General Chairman of Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign and continues to be a valuable advisor to Mr. Gore.   .
Mr. Coelho's former and current business affiliations include service on a number corporate boards. He served as chairman and a director of ICF Kaiser International, Inc., and a director of AutoLend Group; Kaleidoscope Network, Inc.; LoanNet, LLC; Pinnacle Global Group, Inc. He currently serves on the boards of Cadiz, Inc.; Cyberonics Inc.; DeFrancesco & Sons, Inc.; Kistler Aerospace Corporation; Ripplewood Holdings, LLC; and Service Corporation International. He also serves on the International Advisory Board of Fleishman Hillard, Inc.
A native of California, Mr. Coelho earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1964 from Loyola Marymount University, where he served as Student Body President during his senior year. He began his career in 1965 as a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Bernie Sisk and served as Mr. Sisk's Chief of Staff from 1971 to 1977 before being elected to the House upon Mr. Sisk's retirement.
Mr. Coelho and his wife, Phyllis, live near Washington, DC. They have two daughters, Nicole and Kristin.