Champion for diversity was a leader in community
Rogue Gallart, president of the Central Florida Disability Chamber has died, the nonprofit organization announced on Sunday.
Gallart, 49, was an “exceptional diversity champion” who spearheaded inclusion efforts for people with disabilities and military veterans through programs aimed at job placement or entrepreneurship opportunities in Florida.
“His legacy will live on in the hearts of many whose lives were impacted by his work,” the Orlando-based organization said in a statement.
Gallart received more than a dozen nominations for Central Floridian of the Year — most recently in 2017 — and was recognized as “among the highest ranks of influential community leaders.”
In a 2016 opinion column for the Orlando Sentinel, Gallart emphasized the importance of accessibility and admonished the use of derogatory language when referring to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“‘These people,’ as described by someone who approached me, are your everyday human beings, like you and me, who want the same opportunities in life as all of us do,” Gallart wrote. “We are all equal in the fact that we are all different. We are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same.”
Gallart’s cause of death was not released.
Gallart helped to launch the Disability Chamber in 2009 when he was with the Center for Independent Living, based in Winter Park. Taking referrals from the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, he would work with clients to create a business plan and become entrepreneurs.
The strategy helped to sidestep an unemployment rate of up to 44 percent among people with disabilities.
“In general, anyone with a disability — there is still that barrier,” he said in a 2011 interview. “We’re working with the people who say, ‘You know what, I’m just going to take charge of this myself and start my own business. I’m not going to scream discrimination; I’m just going to go out and do something.’ And the success rate in about 95 percent.”
He is survived by his wife, April, and son, Alexander.