Angel Ponce: Building a Houston Where Everyone Can Move Freely

Angel Ponce was sitting in a hospital wheelchair — a few stories up at Memorial Hermann — watching pedestrians jump curbs and board buses below, and feeling like he no longer belonged in that world. In this episode, he tells Owen Conflenti how that moment eventually led him to run the City of Houston's Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities — and what he's building so no one in Houston has to feel that way again. Angel walks Owen through what MOPD actually does for Houston's 215,000-plus residents living with disabilities: leading Phase 1 of the city's ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan (launched 2024), serving as formal advocate to the Mayor, City Council, and department directors, and pushing the city's definition of accessibility well past ramps and sidewalks. A Department of Justice rule requires local governments serving 50,000 or more residents to meet digital accessibility standards by April 26, 2027 — Houston started the work early, but Angel is candid about how much remains. He covers what that means in practice: alt text on every image, keyboard-navigable websites, screen-reader-compatible PDFs. His framing is direct: access to information is as fundamental as access to a building. The conversation also covers MOPD's community partnerships (METROLift, Disability Rights Texas, TIRR Memorial Hermann, AARP), how residents can report inaccessible sidewalks through the Pedestrian Accessibility Review Program by calling 832-394-0814 or through 311, Angel's own experience going without power for more than 10 days after Hurricane Beryl, October's NDEAM job fair that drew 300-plus attendees and 30-plus actively hiring employers, and a concrete challenge to every employer in the city: stop waiting for awareness month — build accessibility into the interview process from the first step, not after the elevator is already broken. Thanks for listening! New episodes from inside Houston City Hall, featuring candid conversations about the issues, decisions, and leadership shaping the future of Houston. Connect with Mayor John Whitmire and the Mayor’s Office: Instagram: @houstonmayor X: @HouMayor Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ Follow the show for more conversations from inside the Mayor’s Office.