Before the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Coelho became ill and resigned his position as General Campaign Chairman. Doctors later found and removed a tumor on the left side of his brain. He was replaced by former Commerce Secretary William M. Daley. He participates annually at New York Law School with its Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy. He has endowed a chair in Public Policy at the University of California in Merced. He is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation. He partnered with NBCUniversal and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to create the "NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship", which encourages people with disabilities to pursue media-related degrees and careers. He is a former chairman and current member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of People With Disabilities. He also sits on the Council on American Politics, the advisory board of George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Coelho served as an advisor of ZeniMax Media as well. Coelho serves as a founding partner of Vectis Strategies, a national public affairs firm.