DISABILITY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
JUNE 2022
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Disability 101 E-Learning Now Available!
Free to Paid DC Metro Members
Purchase Options Available
C5’s Disability Inclusion IQ "Disability 101" module includes:
- Appropriate language: Terminology, Person-First, Identity-First, Neurodivergent
- Disability etiquette: Appropriate Interactions
- Accessible, short, self-paced, and cloud-based.
- Annual license
- Unlimited virtual seats per organization each year.
- Tracking and reporting capabilities for the organization.
- Designed for the entire workforce.
- May be taken in any order at any time and repeated as often as desired.
Within the Module:
- Transcript and Voice Over
- Short Quiz
- Resources
- Glossary of Terms
Additional Modules will be available soon!
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Chair
Jenn Bassett
JBG SMITH
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Vice Chair
Ryan Walters
Deloitte
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Secretary
Sylvia Henri-Wonasue
Lockheed Martin
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Treasurer
Ellen de Bremond
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Wealth of Webinars
Check out our 2022 offerings by signing up at
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JUNE 8
Noon - 1:30 PM
Attracting and Retaining Talent: Blind and Low Vision
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JUNE 9
Noon- 2 PM
The Importance of Chief Accessibility Officers in the
Public and Private Sectors
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Save the Date
JULY 28
3:30-5:30 PM
Returning to The Office Post COVID
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FIRESIDE CHATS in 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!
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July 13, 2022
Featuring
The Hon. Neil Romano and Ryan Walters, Deloitte
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The Hon. Neil Romano
The Romano Group
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July 19, 2022
Featuring
Carol Glazer, NOD and Meghan Cadigan, KPMG
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Carol Glazer
National Organization on Disability
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July 26, 2022
Featuring
Janet Fiore,The SIERRA Group and
Eduardo Meza-Etienne, eSSENTIAL Accessibility
Registration Coming Soon
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Janet Fiore
The SIERRA Group
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Eduardo Meza-Etienne
eSSENTIAL Accessibility
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Upcoming Thought Leaders Reflection Series
The Hon. Kathy Martinez
John Kemp
Alan Muir
LeMondre Pough, 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
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REGISTRATION WILL OPEN SOON |
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OCTOBER
12
Language Matters: The Importance of Disability Inclusion
Fireside Chat: Lori Golden, EY
Katherine McCary, C5
Kia Silver-Hodge
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NOVEMBER
Value of Veterans
DECEMBER
Understanding Non-Apparent Disabilities
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Thank you to all our WOW HOST MEMBERS! |
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IN THE NEWS - ARTICLES OF INTEREST |
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Congratulations to WID Executive Director & CEO, Marcie Roth for the following achievements this month!
- Appointed as Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters Lead by the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services
- Elected as Focal Point for North America along with German Parodi (Co-Executive Director at the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies) for the UN Thematic Group for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Action
- Invited to attend the Seventh Session of the UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction for the fourth time, speaking at a plenary session on “Leave no one behind - Empowering the most at risk through social protection”
- Serving as a juror for the prestigious Sasakawa Awards for Disaster Risk Reduction
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Accessibility Is an Opportunity, Not an Obstacle
by Lisa Boylan
Disability access is a civil right and a human right but talking about it can sometimes be uncomfortable, which stalls progress. Taking small steps to achieve accessibility makes the process less overwhelming and ultimately more achievable.
As with other aspects of DEI, making real and sustainable progress on disability inclusion requires C-suite and peer-to-peer support. It also needs procurement changes to provide equity by choosing products and services that are accessible.
“It takes leadership for organization to make the market change, as well as individual advocates,” said Samantha Evans, CAE, certification manager at the International Association of Accessibility Professionals.
For example, organizations need to stipulate with vendors up front, starting with the RFP process, that their commitment to disability means they will only proceed, renew, or engage going forward with accessible vendors. Then, that market will have an incentive to change to keep their customers and attract new ones.
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New App Will Help Low Vision Riders Navigate D.C.’s Transit System
By Coleen Grablick
A new navigation app designed to help blind and low vision people is launching at three D.C. Metro stations, with more on the way.
Metro has partnered with Waymap, a new UK-based start-up, to bring the technology to the Brookland, Silver Spring, and Braddock Road Metro stations. According to Waymap founder Tom Pey, the app will be available in at least 30 Metro train and nearly 1,000 bus stops by September; the entire system is scheduled to be brought online by early 2023.
“Our goal is to provide our customers with reliable service…it’s not always easy but each day we’re making strides towards that goal,” said Christiaan Blake, WMATA’s managing director of accessibility services, at a press conference announcing the launch on Tuesday. “And this partnership that you’re hearing about today is another step towards that goal.”
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Accessible Data Visualization: Addressing Barriers and Implementing Section 508 Solutions - Webinar Recording
In the Digital Age, data visualizations have become more commonly developed to represent large data sets through graphics, charts, and other visuals. Federal agencies have used them to show patterns, trends, and outliers of data to inform members of the public, policy makers, and first-responders. This session will introduce the concept, development, tools, and benefits of data visualizations, including making them accessible. Presenters from the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for Disease Control, and the U.S. Census will discuss how their respective agencies use data visualizations to meet their missions. Presenters will also review some barriers, solutions, and implications to making accessible data visualizations. This session is intended for entry-level to intermediate audiences, but all are welcome to join.
Multimedia Archives
Note: No credit is available for reviewing the recorded session.
Session Materials
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June is National PTSD Awareness Month
June is National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month, and the CDC says an estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a typical reaction meant to protect a person from harm. Nearly everyone will experience a range of reactions after trauma, yet most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened, even when they are not in danger.
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Introduction to Captioning Article Below
Ron Drach, President, Drach Consulting and chair Disability:IN DC Metro
Military Committee
What follows is an article about the need for quality captioning for those of us with hearing impairments. Shortly after the Global Alliance of Speech-To-Text Captioning (GA) was formed I joined their Board and have been on the Board for more than two years.
Many of you who know me know I have a severe hearing impairment and rely on captioning. I rely on captioning for several aspects of my life that include telephone captioning (land line and smart phone); TV, and meetings both in person and virtual.
Disability:IN DC Metro has been very accommodating in providing captioning.
I joined the Board of GA because as a consumer with a severe hearing impairment I support what they are doing to improve the lives of those of us with hearing issues.
When I was Chair of the Board at Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) they provided me a personal captioner which made chairing and attending meetings much easier and didn’t leave me guessing what was being said. The staff told me that an unintended consequence was they had a transcript which made it extremely easy to write up the meeting minutes with increased accuracy.
In all likelihood you have one or more employees who could benefit from quality captioning. We all need the help and support of you to help make quality captioning in all walks of life a reality.
The following article contains a link to their website and please consider making a donation or joining us as a member.
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Global Alliance of Speech-to-Text Captioning
By Jennifer Schuck, Chair
Kimberly Shea, Treasurer
It has been more than two years since the Global Alliance of Speech-to-Text Captioning was founded for the purpose of bringing together the captioning community to empower consumers who rely on captioning. Together this community is also educating the general public on the importance of quality standards related to captioning.
The Global Alliance makes resources available for policymakers to make informed choices. These decisions require the knowledge and understanding of different captioning methods. Standards must be set in order to provide “equal and effective access,” as defined by the Office for Civil Rights in the United States.
COVID-19 has changed our world in many ways, including bringing to light the magnitude of how inaccessible our world is to communities with disabilities. Quality captioning is equal access. Collectively we can educate every day to show how universal design makes the world inclusive for communities that have been an afterthought or excluded entirely in the past.
Consumer choice should remain top priority for everyone, and that choice should always be accompanied by quality options. Currently, there is no requirement setting a level-playing field for individuals using captioning. Consumers with disabilities are being denied equal and effective access every day. However, creating a quality standard and a way to measure it is a way to resolve this. The Global Alliance new certification of the NER-Certified Speech-to-Text Provider is the standard. This certification is available for all captioning methods, including automatic speech recognition. A quality standard regarding all methods of captioning is critical. With the advancement of technology, all methods of captioning input have a lane for consumer equal access, but all of those lanes should meet a quality standard, which they currently do not. Otherwise, captions are useless.
It is vital for the public to understand what method is appropriate for their need along with the importance of consumer choice. Poor-quality, unusable captions cannot be an option as a way to check off accessibility requirements.
What do employers need to know about realtime captioning? With 48 million hard of hearing Americans (www.hearingloss.org), chances are good that some of your employees have some level of hearing loss. In order to make the employee the most effective at their job, they may need realtime captioning for meetings as an accommodation. With many jobs now being remote, or a hybrid setting, understanding in meetings is crucial to getting any job done. It is possible to use a human-generated captioning service or some automatic speech recognition apps. Each employee has different needs, and setting them up for success is beneficial to both the company and the employee.
Many companies have a disability resource/accommodations departments. However, not all managers of such departments are aware of the ability to have human-generated captions. The Global Alliance is a nonprofit organization that represents the service of captioning, regardless of the method used. Anyone using captions is entitled to equal access and accurate information.
Employers may also be able to use payment for such services as a tax deduction. It is always recommended to check with your tax professional before doing so.
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Events In The DC Metro Area and Beyond |
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nTIDE Lunch & Learn
JUNE 3, 2022
nTIDE COVID-19 Updates
JUNE 17, 2022
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (ET) | Online | Free
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Professor of Economics / Research Director
Institute on Disability & Paul College of Business and Economics
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Director of Policy Innovation
Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD)
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Director of Employment and Disability Research
Kessler Foundation
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A Trauma-Informed Approach to the Workplace: Best Practices for Supporting Employees Recovering from Trauma
June 8, 2022 9:00 to 10:30 am EST
Join Disability:IN Minnesota and North Hennepin Community College as we collaborate on an event for PTSD Awareness Month.
About this event
Disability:IN Minnesota is pleased to partner with North Hennepin Community College to host its June event.
Objectives:
- Provide overview of trauma-related conditions, including PTSD and moral injury, and the trauma recovery process
- Discuss available literature on trauma responses, co-occurring conditions, and recovery
- Introduce a trauma-informed approach to the workplace
- Explore workplace factors that can impact trauma recovery
- Discuss best practices for supporting trauma-exposed employees
Presenter: Dr. Allison Battles, PhD, LP
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Transforming the Workplace for Individuals with Disabilities
Promoting the Employment, Retention, and Career Advancement of People with Disabilities through the Development, Adoption, and Promotion of Accessible Technology
June 8, 2022 - 12:00 - 1:00 pm EST
OFCCP Nashville District Office will collaborate with the National Organization of Disability (NOD) and Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) to host the eighth Individuals with Disabilities event educating federal contractors, community-based organizations, and the public at large on available resources for the protected group.
Capacity-building innovative approaches to ensuring Individuals with Disabilities connect with fruitful resources to increase the representation of qualified individuals with disabilities in entry-level and career-level positions utilizing available resources.
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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.
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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.
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2022 National Conferences |
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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.
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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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Early Cerebral Palsy Health Summit - Hybrid Event
Atlanta, GA and Virtual
August 12 - 17, 2022
This year, we are excited to be offering a hybrid program that will include a basic pre-conference e-course, completely virtual program, optional in-person implementation workshops, and limited selections of in-person HINE, HNNE, and GMA training at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
July 1- Pre-conference Basic Core E-Course-Early Detection
August 12 - In-person HINE and HNNE Training Courses (FREE with registration to the Health Summit)
August 13-14 -Early Cerebral Palsy Health Summit. In-person workshops and virtual e-courses
August 15-17 - In-person BASIC and ADVANCED GMA Training Course
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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.
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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
Follow us on
Our Board
Board Members:
- John Annand, Marriott International
- Jennifer Bassett, Chair, 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, Secretary, Lockheed Martin
- Sophie Howard, Immediate Past Chair, General Dynamics IT
- Eduardo Meza-Etienne, eSSENTIAL Accessibility
- Mary Sauder, Northrop Grumman
- Ryan Walters, Vice-Chair, 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!
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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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