Disability Business News
You Need to Know
December 2021
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The theme for IDPD 2021
"Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.”
The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
The main programme of the observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the UN Headquarters in New York will include the Opening, panel discussions and cultural events. Member States, civil society organizations and the private sector are welcome to organize their own events to celebrate the International Day to raise awareness and promote the rights and perspectives of persons with disabilities around the world.
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DC METRO 2022 WEBINARS
Co-Host Schedules are Still Available
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Become a Webinar Co-Host in 2022!
DC Metro is scheduling 2022 webinars-
Would you like the opportunity to co-host?
One of the outstanding benefits of Corporate Business Membership in the D:IN DC Metro is the ability to co-host one of our programs.
The annual calendar fills quickly with employers wishing to select a topic of specific interest to their employees. As co-host, the employer has the opportunity to showcase its leadership in disability inclusion within the program to all attendees including its own employees and guests, who may not often get the opportunity to hear from its senior leaders about this topic. Program co-hosts often include Executive Sponsors and their Business/Employee Resource Group Members.
Choose a topic or month and get on the calendar!!
Month/Topic
- February/Federal Updates on Disability Policy Initiatives featuring ODEP, EEOC, OFCCP (co-host pending)
- March/Integrating Your Disability- focused ERG for Culture Change
- July/Returning to In-office Post-Covid
- August/Partnerships and Collaboration with Community Partners
- September/ Proactive and Intentional Inclusion for Blind and Vision Impaired Talent
- October/NDEAM/Promising Practices Roundtable
- December/ Understanding Non-Apparent Disabilities
Accessibility is key: as a Program co- host, your organization provides an accessible platform, ASL interpreting and captioning.
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In Case You Missed ...
Visit our website to view the recorded November Programs sessions
Co-Hosted by Deloitte
"Mental Health in the Veteran Community"
"Veteran Transition Event"
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These Webinars Are Happening This Week |
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Driving Digital Inclusion at Sales –
Hosted by Microsoft
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 1ST, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
Microsoft believes its most important contribution to accessibility will come not from their own work, but from helping their customers and partners use technology to meet their accessibility commitments. In this webinar, Disability:IN President and CEO Jill Houghton will speak with Microsoft Lead Accessibility Evangelist Hector Minto and three esteemed panelists on how Microsoft wants others to join this global cause to make society more inclusive. Disability is a strength, and society is stronger when it is accessible to everyone.
Introduction:
- Hector Minto, Lead Accessibility Evangelist at Microsoft
- Jill Houghton, President & CEO of Disability:IN
Panelists:
- Christina Mallon, Global Head of Inclusive Design and Accessibility at Wunderman Thompson Global
- Joe Morley, Technology Evangelist – ONEImpact & Non-Profit at SoftwareONE
- Prajakt Deotale, Industry Sponsor Digital Advisory at Microsoft UK
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Are Your Marketing Communications Accessible?
Hosted by Current Global
FRIDAY, DEC. 3RD, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
This International Day of Persons with Disabilities is the second to occur during the Covid-19 crisis. To honor this important day, Disability:IN's Dorothy Garcia will open this webinar by sharing initial findings from the pilot round of the Global Disability Equality Index, and how the pandemic has made disability inclusion top of mind for businesses navigating a rapidly changing landscape. With over 30 companies and 25 countries participating, there’s a lot to be learned about how businesses have adapted their policies and practices to address employee needs and attract potential hires.
The conversation will then turn to Disability:IN Corporate Partner, Current Global, who will address the topic of accessible communications. Every day, content is published that is inaccessible to many, and marketing campaigns are launched that aren’t designed to be inclusive of people with sight, hearing, speech and cognitive disabilities. Learn why and how Accessible by Design – an initiative that Fast Company named a 2021 World Changing Idea – is challenging organizations to commit to making content that’s accessible to all.
Moderator:
- Dorothy Garcia, Senior Manager of the Global Disability Equality Index (GDEI)
Speakers:
- Rebecca Roussell, Senior Vice President, DEI Communications at Current Global
- Sena Pottackal, Junior Associate, DEI and Corporate at Current Global
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2022 Disability:IN Annual Conference & Expo
July 18-21 in Dallas
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Our Mission
“Building the Business Network for Disability Inclusion.”
Our Vision
“Cultivate workforces and workplaces where talent with disabilities are recruited, included, promoted, retained and valued as both internal talent and innovative vendors.”
"In This Together" Campaign Continues
Please Donate!
Shop Amazon Smile!
In these ongoing unprecedented times, non-profits face the situation of limited funding. The DC Metro Chapter is no different. As we continue to provide education and resources with the newsletters and free virtual programming, your support is needed now more than ever. Please consider a donation to support our mission in support of our monthly efforts! As most of us are shopping virtually these, days, please shop on Amazon Smile!
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Support Our Mission through your Membership
Be Recognized for your Leadership Brand
Join before year-end to be first in line to receive access to
C5 Consulting Disability Inclusion IQ e-learning modules!
Annual Membership
Silver - $2,000
Gold - $3,000
Diamond - $5,000
Platinum - $10,000
Non-Profit - $750
Small Business - $800
Government - $2,300
Individual - $200
Introductory Corporate Friends - $600
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COVID-19 Resources
NOW ON OUR WEBSITE!
As the leading regional business on disability inclusion, it seems critical to provide our employers with important information on COVID 19. Check out the listings on our website. Contact us if you have others to add!
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IN THE NEWS - ARTICLES OF INTEREST |
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A Digital Destination for Inclusive Employers: The New EARN Website
As today’s employers seek ways to build inclusive workplace cultures, they can turn to the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN). Funded by ODEP, EARN is an online resource that helps employers learn best practices for fostering more diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible workplaces.
Recently, EARN unveiled its newly redesigned website, AskEARN.org. Structured around four phases of the employment lifecycle—recruit, hire, retain and advance—the new site offers a range of resources, including self-paced online training courses, easy-to-use checklists, in-depth policy guides, videos profiling disability-inclusive employers and archived webinars on a variety of issues.
In addition, the website provides information on trending topics such as workplace mental health, COVID-19 employment-related issues, inclusive telework, federal contractor requirements and the benefits of hiring neurodiverse employees.
EARN’s resources are designed for businesses of all sizes. For example, its toolkit Small Business & Disability Employment: Steps to Success outlines effective strategies to help small businesses recruit and retain qualified people with disabilities. Moreover, visitors to the EARN site can now find answers to their questions through a new “AskEARN” FAQ feature.
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Training Courses: Strategies for Disability Inclusion
As part of its new website, EARN now offers a series of eight online training courses—seven addressing the different components of its employer policy framework, Inclusion@Work, and one on centralized accommodation programs. Each course takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and includes a quiz at the end. Human resources and diversity, equity and inclusion professionals, hiring managers, and other employer representatives are encouraged to use the courses. You can learn or enhance your knowledge about disability inclusion and share them with your staff as appropriate.
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Job Accommodation Network 2021-2022 Webcast Series
Registration is now open for the Job Accommodation Network’s 2021-2022 webcast series. The webcasts are free, fully accessible and provide practical information and expert guidance on job accommodation and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance issues. The training series will include “Ask JAN! Expert Q&A,” “Return to Work After COVID-19 – Focus on Mental Health and Cognitive Limitations,” “Accommodation Solutions for Autoimmune Disorders,” “Next Level Accommodation and ADA Challenges,” “ADA and Accommodation Lessons Learned: Stay at Work/Return to Work Edition,” and “Accommodation Solutions for Executive Functioning Deficits.”
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Events In The DC Metro Area and Beyond |
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Annual Miracle on 23rd Street event!
December 3, 2021
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM / Tree Lighting at 7:30PM
750 23rd Street South
Arlington, VA 22202
Kick off the holiday season with Melwood! Festivities include pictures with Santa, free hot chocolate & snacks, holiday crafts, & a holiday-themed virtual reality experience. Register for this holiday tradition!
Live music: Bluemont Brass Quintet
Festivities and Giveaways
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Friday, December 3, 2021
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (ET) | Online | Free
Join us on Friday for our monthly webinar detailing findings of the latest Jobs Report release and announcements from the disability employment field with a special presentation from guest presenter Julie Christensen, Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE).
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BILG Q4 2021 Meeting
Dec 7, 2021 09:00 AM - 12:00PM
We look forward to having you join the event and to learn from our guest speakers.
Agenda
9:00-9:30 am
Networking/Open Forum, Moderator – BILG Board Members
9:30-9:45 am
Welcome, BILG Business and Online Introductions, Beth Ronnenburg, BILG Chair
9:45-11:00 am
Affirmative Action Verification Interface, Craig Leen, Partner - K&L Gates
Pay Reporting Initiatives, Victoria Lipnic, Partner - Resolution Economics LLC
11:00 -11:05 am Break
11:05-11:30 am
OFCCP Update, Brooke Sensenig, District Director– Baltimore, OFCCP
11:30-12:00 pm
EEOC Update, Marcel Baldwin, Outreach and Education Coordinator, EEOC
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2021 Enriching Lives Breakfast
December 9, 2021
8AM - 9AM EST
Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport
1999 Richmond Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202
Tel: (703) 413-5500
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You’re invited to Melwood’s Enriching Lives Breakfast, an opportunity to celebrate Melwood’s impact, hear stories directly from the communities and people Melwood supports, and connect with others who are interested in investing in Melwood’s mission to advance inclusive employment opportunities for people of all abilities.
The event will feature a complimentary breakfast, testimonials from Melwood partners GDIT and MITRE, and remarks from Melwood President & CEO Larysa Kautz and Joshua Nelson, Security Operations Center Analyst, GDIT, and graduate of Melwood’s abilIT program.
Support and empower our communities to advance workforce integration and inclusion of people of all abilities through advocacy and financial support. Proceeds will benefit Melwood’s abilIT and Building Paths, along with programs supporting career innovation and jobs of the future.
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2022 Events: Call For Presenters |
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The Conference will take place in in Boston, Massachusetts July 25 - 28, 2022 and our theme is, “Be the Beacon of Change”! .
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Harkin International Disability Summit
Belfast International Conference Centre,
Belfast, Northern Ireland
7-8, June 2022
Following the success of the Harkin International Disability Employment Summit in Iowa in 2021, we can’t wait to bring the Summit to Belfast, Northern Ireland, working in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for Communities.
Harkin Belfast 2022 will provide a platform for individuals and organisations to challenge for change, celebrate and share success, and positively reframe the narrative on how we approach, support and enable persons with disabilities to achieve their career goals and aspirations.
Call for Expressions of Interest
For the first time, we invite leaders and activists at all levels globally, to develop and submit expressions of interest for items they want to deliver as part of this exciting two-day Summit. You bring the content, we will provide the platform.
Under a headline theme of ‘Disability: Shaping, Growing and Driving Economic Change’, we invite creative minds to come forward with content applications in the form of Key Note Speakers, Presentations & Showcases, Panel Discussions, and Workshops under a range of sub-themes:
- Nurturing the next generation of disabled innovators
- Say THE word!: Mainstreaming disability in the diversity and inclusion agenda
- How can the government get it right?
- Innovating through a pandemic: New opportunities
- Still Taboo: Disability in media, communications and corporate Imagery
- Data that drives change.
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RespectAbility Summit 2022
Sunday, July 31 – Tuesday, August 2 on Capitol Hill
You are invited to join RespectAbility for three days of fantastic sessions that prepare people with disabilities and the disability community for a better future.
This event will be fully accessible, with an ASL interpreter and live captions. We currently expect the event to be in-person. We will require that all attendees be vaccinated, unless they have a medical exemption. This event will also be recorded and shared with open captions.
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Save the Dates!
Mid-Atlantic ADA Conference 2022
TransCen and the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center, in collaboration with the Great Plains ADA Center, will host ADAcon, the 29th Annual Mid-Atlantic Conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act!
Tuesday, October 11, Wednesday, October 12, and Thursday, October 13, 2022
- Call for presentation proposals will be issued in early 2022.
- Registration will open late spring, 2022.
Questions? Contact us!
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Our focus is on Culture Change!
Our organization, formerly the DC Metro Business Leadership Network, is the largest regional member network of a variety of industry employers advocating for inclusion of individuals with disabilities in today's workforce, marketplace and supply chain. A non-profit business-led network established in 2006, our purpose is to bring the business community together in a dialog through education, training and resources with a focus on removing attitudinal and organizational barriers by exchanging best practices to ensure that the inclusion of individuals with disabilities as smart business.
Our Members and Guests have access to resources, programs and partners to strengthen the disability inclusion efforts and outcomes.
- Thought leadership
- Business to business networking
- Introductions to community partners
- Access to talent
- Hot topic programming led by Subject Matter Experts
- Webinars
Join our
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Our Board
Board Members:
- John Annand, Marriott International
- Jennifer Bassett, Secretary, JBG SMITH Companies
- Michelle Crabtree, Town of Vienna
- Ellen de Bremond, Treasurer
- Anjali Desai-Margolin, Gallaudet University
- Tom Downs, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Dan Ellerman, Mars
- Andrea Hall, Past Chair, General Dynamics Mission Systems
- Sophie Howard, Chair, General Dynamics IT
- Eduardo Meza-Etienne, eSSENTIAL Accessibility
- Chrisonna Palmer, Vice Chair, EY
- Carrie Martin, MAXAR Technologies
- Jamel Walker, Northrop Grumman
- Ryan Walters, Deloitte
- Myra Wilder, BAE Systems
Advisory Board Members:
- Orly Barbosa, Sandy Spring Bank
- Meghan Cadigan, KPMG
- Crosby Cromwell, The Valuable 500
- Lori Daly, Diversifi Consulting Group
- Ron Drach, Drach Consulting, LLC
- Rikki Epstein, The Arc of Northern VA
- Kelly Harris, Leidos
- Sylvia Henri-Wonasue, Lockheed Martin
- Karen Herson, Concepts, Inc.
- Craig Leen, K&L Gates, Former OFCCP Director
- Jessica Lee Aiello, IYellow Group
- Cynthia Richardson-Crooks, DC BLN Founding Chair
- Rick Rodgers, The Resource Network
- Kia Silver-Hodge, Enterprise Community Partners
- Bob Vetere, C5 Consulting, LLC
Our Staff
The Hon. Katherine McCary, President, C5 Consulting, LLC serves as CEO and Executive Director. Katherine served as founding chair of the USBLN (now Disability:IN) for nine years, the founding chair of the VA BLN (Now Virginia Ability) for 13 years and has launched more than 11 chapters. She received the USBLN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
C5 is a global disability inclusion strategy consultancy comprised exclusively of private sector disability leaders, experienced disability from a variety of areas; as individuals, as caregivers, and as parents of individuals with disabilities. With more than 50 years combined expertise and a deep knowledge of culture change developed through customized business strategies. C5 is the pioneer of disability inclusion "for business by business" with just in time training Disability Inclusion IQ designed for enterprise wide learning, soon to be a DC Metro chapter member benefit!
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