DISABILITY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
MAY 2022
|
|
May is Mental Health Awareness Month |
|
Workplace Mental Health:
An Introduction for Mental Health Awareness Month
Thursday, May 5 | 12:30-1:30 PM ET
Employee expectations have shifted rapidly in recent years, emphasizing an employer's responsibility to foster well-being in the workforce. Yet 70% of employees report increased distraction at work, and 3 in 5 employees report seeking other professional opportunities.
In this webinar, we'll explore the latest research on workplace mental health and discuss how companies can meaningfully support employee mental wellness.
|
|
Marginalized Communities and Mental Health
Speaker Dr. Della Mosley
May 18, 2022 1 pm - 2 pm ET
Learn about how being part of a marginalized group can impact mental health in a presentation from Dr. Della Mosley, Assistant Professor in Counseling Psychology at the University of Florida’s Department of Psychology and leader of the Wellness, Equity, Love, Liberation, and Sexuality (WELLS) Healing and Research Collective.
|
|
Wealth of Webinars
Check out our 2022 offerings by signing up at
|
|
THE POWER OF STORYTELLING TO CREATE CULTURE CHANGE
May 18, 2022
Noon - 1:30 PM ET
|
|
When we share our stories, we are reminded of the humanity in each other. And when we take the time to understand each other’s stories, we become more forgiving, more empathetic, and more inclusive.
-Michelle Obama
Stories are how we make sense of the world, give meaning to our lives, discover ourselves and one other. Almost everyone has had a disability experience - an accident, an illness, a chronic medical or emotional condition, a neurological or learning difference, or a relationship to someone who had or has one. Few of us talk about it. At EY we’re changing that. By sharing our personal experiences, we’re building connections and community. Hear EY professionals tell how EY uses storytelling at every level of the organization to encourage openness and strengthen the inclusive culture.
|
|
Attendees have said,
"One of the best series ever!"
"Such a wealth of knowledge sharing!"
We will not miss the third session for sure!
In this webinar, iYellow Access' Director of Training, Jeff Ermold and Harris Rosensweig, Director of Accessibility will address best practices in supporting employees with existing disabilities and those who obtain disabilities while on the job who need or use AT.
The following topics will be discussed:
- Overview of legislation applying to public and private enterprises concerning employees with disabilities. A high-level overview of the ADA and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation act will be provided and what specific provisions apply.
- Key processes, teams and expertise needed to properly assess employees with disabilities' needs around AT and training.
- What skill sets an AT Specialist should possess to assist your organization.
- Best practices around implementing successful AT training (in person or remote).
|
|
DID YOU MISS THESE RECENT WEBINARS?
Access the Recorded Sessions Below
|
|
Autism Acceptance Month
Perspectives on Neurodiversity and DEIA
(Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility)
|
|
Recording:
Remote Training Strategies for Employees with Disabilities
$25 for Non-registered
Webinar highlights included:
- Why implementing accessible remote training is an essential part of reasonable accommodation solutions
- Assistive Technology users' need for specific training on remote conferencing and collaboration tools
- Organizational communication needed prior to conducting remote Assistive Technology training
- Examining remote meeting and collaboration tools regarding their accessibility for employees with disabilities
- Benefits and challenges of screen sharing and remote-control features with Assistive Technology
- Common scenarios and challenges when using remote training tools with Assistive Technology
|
|
JUNE 8
Noon - 1:30 PM
Attracting and Retaining Talent: Blind and Low Vision
|
|
JUNE 9
Noon- 2 PM
The Importance of Chief Accessibility Officers in the
Public and Private Sectors
|
|
Mental Health: Priorities in the Workforce
June Date Pending
|
|
JULY
Thought Leader Reflection Series
FREE
Listen in as one of our DC Metro Board Members engages one on one with one of the top disability leaders!
|
|
July 13, 2022
Featuring
The Hon. Neil Romano and Ryan Walters, Deloitte
|
|
July 19, 2022
Featuring
Carol Glazer, NOD and Meghan Cadigan, KPMG
Registration Coming Soon
|
|
July 26, 2022
Featuring
Janet Fiore, The Sierra Group and
Eduardo Meza-Etienne, eSSENTIAL Accessibility
Registration Coming Soon
|
|
Upcoming Thought Leaders
The Hon. Kathy Martinez
John Kemp
Alan Muir
Billion Strong
BroadFutures
Marcie Roth. Global Alliance for Disaster Resource Acceleration
Dr. Laura Owens, Mid-Atlantic ADA Center
Respectability
Deb Ruh, Ruh Global
Valuable 500
|
|
REGISTRATION WILL OPEN SOON |
|
SEPTEMBER
Date Pending
Filling the Great Resignation Gap:
Building Community Partnerships for Success
Expanding Your Pipeline
Hosted by Deloitte
|
|
OCTOBER
12
Language Matters: The Importance of Disability Inclusion
Fireside Chat: Lori Golden, EY
Katherine McCary, C5
Kia SIlver-Hodge. Hosted by Enterprise
|
|
NOVEMBER
Value of Veterans
DECEMBER
Understanding Non-Apparent Disabilities
|
|
Thank you to all our WOW HOST MEMBERS! |
|
IN THE NEWS - ARTICLES OF INTEREST |
|
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Leslie Wilson, EVP of Global Workplace Initiatives at Disability:IN, is passionate about this topic and helping corporations (including the 100+ companies participating in Inclusion Works) understand their role in building an inclusive workplace. Considering mental illness is the leading cause of adult disability today due to lack of early intervention (One Mind at Work), it is important for corporations to join IN the conversation and efforts around mental health.
We know that although 90% of workers have been touched by mental health challenges (Accenture), either personally or through someone they are close to, the fact remains that there is still stigma associated with the illness. The stigma is as great a challenge as the disease itself, which is why only 33% of the people who need help will get it due to societal stigma and fear of repercussions at work (MHFA).
Resources included:
|
|
SHRM Mobilizes for
Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is partnering with the Campaign for Disability Employment at the Department of Labor (DOL) to spread the message that all of us have a role to play in promoting a mental health-friendly workplace. Together with SHRM, DOL launched the
Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do?” campaign during SHRM’s Workplace Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. SHRM is proud to be a partner in this effort because the HR community, in particular, has a major role to play when supporting the growing number of Americans who are facing mental health challenges.
SHRM is also sharing new research to help organizations and government officials better understand the opportunity at hand. SHRM and the SHRM Foundation collaborated with Otsuka America Pharmaceutical to complete Mental Health in America: A 2022 Workplace Report. The report draws on the perspectives of HR professionals, shining a never-before-seen light on mental health and wellness in America. Here are some key findings:
- Nearly 78 percent of organizations currently offer workplace mental health resources or plan to offer such resources in the next year.
- 94 percent of HR professionals believe organizations can improve the health of employees by offering mental health programs. They point to increased productivity, employee retention and attracting new talent as additional reasons to support mental health.
- Employees who are struggling with mental health challenges cite demonstrating empathy, encouraging them to take time off and offering remote or flexible work options as the top supportive responses from their managers.
A factsheet on the research is being distributed to members of Congress to help policymakers understand that HR is part of the solution to addressing mental health challenges.
|
|
By signing the ILO GBDN Charter, the companies commit to improve their disability inclusion practices and engage in knowledge sharing. The Charter’s ten principles include equality of treatment and opportunities, accessibility and awareness-raising, the provision of reasonable accommodations at the workplace and collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities.
|
|
Business Disability Forum (BDF) has published a new global guide showing how employers can make their built environments accessible to the one billion people in world who have a disability. Having a disability can affect how a person accesses, navigates, and uses the spaces and structures around them. Built environments include everything from entrances, exits, stairs, lifts, signage, to parking, green spaces, roads, and transport systems.
|
|
Events In The DC Metro Area and Beyond |
|
SHRM in partnership with Aetna,
Present
Mental Health & Wellness Virtual Retreat
May 4 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
Registration for the free webcast is open to all SHRM members.
In the keynote session, SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, Aetna President of Behavioral Health and Wellbeing Cara McNulty and 23-time Gold Medalist and mental health advocate Michael Phelps will discuss the disconnect on mental health between workers and employers and the need for employers to care for the whole employee.
Topics also include the need to destigmatize mental health issues, what it means to care for the whole person, and how employers can offer modern family benefits to support working parents and caregivers.
|
|
nTIDE Lunch & Learn
May 6, 2022
nTIDE COVID-19 Updates
May 20, 2022
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (ET) | Online | Free
|
|
Professor of Economics / Research Director
Institute on Disability & Paul College of Business and Economics
|
|
Director of Policy Innovation
Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD)
|
|
Director of Employment and Disability Research
Kessler Foundation
|
|
Accessible Procurement: An Essential Element of Disability Inclusion on GAAD and Every Day
Wednesday, May 18th | 12:00pm-1:00pm EDT
Join our panel of corporate leaders as we explore best practices and challenges to ensuring that purchased workplace technology is accessible and usable by everyone. Whether your organization has a developed program, has never thought about accessible procurement, or falls somewhere in between, this webinar will offer valuable information for procurement, accessibility, legal, and diversity and inclusion teams and others.
|
|
Wednesday, May 18, 2022 2-3 p.m. ET
Special introduction by U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
Learn about the important role employers play in addressing mental health in the workplace and how a proactive, individualized approach can lead to a more inclusive and productive work environment for all.
The challenges of the past two years, along with general increased understanding, have prompted many employers to consider strategies to support their employees’ mental health and wellbeing. Given that every person has their own unique mental health needs, strategies that focus on an individualized approach have been proven to be effective.
In this webinar, participants will hear the results of the "Mental Health in America: A 2022 Workplace Report" from Wendi Safstrom, President of the SHRM Foundation, along with a panel discussion featuring Toccara Briggs, Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Team Manager at Intel, and Lori Golden, Abilities Strategy Leader at EY. The guest speakers will share strategies and best practices for creating a supportive and mental health-friendly workplace. Topics discussed will include:
- Effective ways to provide individualized supports for employees with mental health conditions
- Ways to normalize conversations about mental health between employees and supervisors
- Incorporating individual approaches into accommodations systems
- Examples of effective workplace mental health programs implemented by employers
Participation is free, but space is limited. Register today to save your spot!
|
|
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Celebrate the 11th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments. Celebrated on May 19, Global Accessibility Awareness Day (#GAAD) is dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness for digital access and inclusion of more than one billion people with disabilities worldwide. It is a chance to honor progress, but more importantly, it is a chance to learn ways we can all work to advance digital accessibility and inclusion.
Resources included:
|
|
May Digital Accessibility Events
-
Microsoft’s Ability Summit, a free, virtual, community event on May 10 brings together people with disabilities, allies, and industry professionals to Imagine, Build, and Include the future of disability inclusion and accessibility.
-
John Slatin AccessU (May 7-12, virtual and in-person in Austin) presented by Knowbility, a nonprofit leader in the digital accessibility consulting and training space since 1999. AccessU is the rare conference offering classes of 90 minutes or more for a deep dive into all things accessibility.
-
ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium (May 16-19, virtual)
|
|
Workplace Mental Health:
Employee Perspective
Tuesday, June 21 | 12:30-1:30 PM ET
Hear directly from employees about their experience with mental illness, and what employers should know to create inclusive and supportive workplaces.
|
|
Workplace Mental Health:
Effective Practices
Wednesday, July 27 | 12:30-1:30 PM ET
Learn the most effective practices to foster a corporate culture that is inclusive of individuals with mental health disabilities.
Senior leaders from corporate America will share how they've put inclusive policies and practices into action to support mental health at work.
|
|
Workplace Mental Health:
Employer Perspective
Thursday, August 11 | 12:30-1:30 PM ET
Learn from the companies leading the way in addressing mental health in the workplace.
This panel discussion will focus on mental health disabilities from the employer's perspective, offering insight to other leaders on how to support mental illness in the workplace and work together to eliminate stigma.
|
|
2022 National Conferences |
|
Disabilty:IN Conference Registration Now Open!
The Global Corporate Disability Inclusion Event of the Year
- Engage with industry peers, experts and companies to learn how they are gaining the disability advantage, through tools like the Disability Equality Index.
- Meet and discuss opportunities with disability-owned business enterprises (DOBEs), including disabled veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned.
- Celebrate leaders in disability inclusion at the Inclusion Awards and top-scoring companies of the Disability Equality Index as the “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion.”
- Connect with Disability:IN Affiliates and learn how to engage locally.
- Learn how including people with disabilities is playing a role in the future of ESG and sustainability.
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
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
Follow us on
Our Board
Board Members:
- John Annand, Marriott International
- Jennifer Bassett, Secretary, JBG SMITH Companies
- Tashi Carper, Leidos
- Michelle Crabtree, Town of Vienna
- Ellen de Bremond, Treasurer
- Anjali Desai-Margolin, Gallaudet University
- Tom Downs, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Andrea Hall, Past Chair, General Dynamics Mission Systems
- Sylvia Henri-Wonasue, Lockheed Martin
- Sophie Howard, Chair, General Dynamics IT
- Eduardo Meza-Etienne, eSSENTIAL Accessibility
- Mary Sauder, Northrop Grumman
- Ryan Walters, Deloitte
- Myra Wilder, BAE Systems
Advisory Board Members:
- Jessica Lee Aiello, iYellow Group
- Meghan Cadigan, KPMG
- Crosby Cromwell, The Valuable 500
- Lori Daly, Diversifi Consulting Group and Chair, Community Outreach
- Ron Drach, Drach Consulting, LLC
- Rikki Epstein, The Arc of Northern VA
- Melody Goodspeed, The American Foundation for the Blind
- Karen Herson, Concepts, Inc.
- Carolyn Jeppsen, BroadFutures
- Craig Leen, K&L Gates, Former OFCCP Director
- Carrie Martin, MAXAR Technologies
- Rick Rodgers, The Resource Network and Chair, Disability Supplier Diversity
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, now a DC Metro chapter member benefit!
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
