DISABILITY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
AUGUST 2023
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Not a Member?
Don't have an Affiliate Near You?
You don't have to live in the National Capital Region to engage and enjoy DC Metro's Professional Development Courses and topical Hybrid Programming!
Membership is open to all individuals, corporate partners, universities, non-profits and government agencies. All our programs are offered virtually with access to Disability IQ e-Professional Development Courses.
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In honor of the
50th Anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
Disability:IN DC Metro is offering for
50% discount
for New Members!
- Select your membership level and benefits
- Join us for our upcoming webinars!
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Welcome to our new members! |
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NEW!
Would you like to be recognized in the
National Capital Region as a DEIA leader?
Showcase your Commitment to DEIA
and become a DC Metro Sponsor Partner!
What's the Brand Benefit?
As a DEIA leader, branding plays an important part in your work. As a Disability:IN DC Metro Sponsor Partner you can grow customer loyalty, compete in the Washington DC Metro market and attract talent.
Sponsor Partners are featured prominently on our website, in our monthly newsletter and on our Disability IQ Professional Development Center and can sponsor a program. The Titanium and Platinum options offer the opportunity to keynote a program. You can also become a Keynote Sponsor regardless of your employee count for $5,000.
$850- $10,000
Members can be Sponsor Partners too!
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Thank You to Our New Sponsors! |
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In September, Disability:IN DC Metro is partnering with SonicCloud on a new hearing wellness campaign "September Sound Check" to encourage everyone to take a hearing test. We will send more details to members about how they can easily get involved and spread awareness amongst their employees. Stay tuned!
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Don't Miss our 8th Annual Accessibility Forum
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August 30 DC Metro A11y Forum |
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Learn how to address change and
work change into your process!
August 30, 2023
10 am to 12 pm
Join us to learn from our expert panel the “shift left approach” of moving from a break and fix model to an agile approach when looking at accessibility; including cost and resource savings, minimizing legal risk and gaining a competitive advantage. Learn about upcoming changes to WCAG (2.2 and 3.0) and its impact in government contracting.
An interactive discussion not to be missed!
Who Should Attend
· Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)
· Procurement and Supply Chain
· Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) and Talent Management
· Risk and Compliance
· Policymakers
· Government Contractors and Subcontractors
· Higher Education, Academia, Associations
· Disability Organizations and Ecosystems
· Everyone!!
Panelists:
- Jonathan Avila, Chief Accessibility Officer at Level Access
- Kate Sweeney, Section 508 Program Director at U.S. Department of Health and Human Service
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Stephen Framil, Director & Corporate Global Head of Accessibility at Merck and MSD (invited)
Moderated by Eduardo Meza-Etienne, DC Metro Chief Accessibility Officer
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Take a look at these articles about accessibility! |
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DID YOU MISS THIS?
What's Going On With DEIA and
Affirmative Action?
"Addressing Current Concerns and Future Considerations"
Ask former OFCCP Directors!
Presented by Disability:IN DC Metro
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DRIVING CHANGE- CREATING OPPORTUNITY
The Latest News
The Office of Disability Employment Policy
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NDEAM 2023: "Advancing Access and Equity: Then, Now and Next” |
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Examining 50 Years of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – Section 504
To honor the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act, ODEP recently posted a blog featuring four diverse young people about the importance of both laws in advancing access and equity for people with disabilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by any program or activity that is federally funded or conducted, and it helped lay the foundation for the ADA, which was signed into law July 26, 1990.
Watch the interview below:
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Women with Disabilities and the Labor Market
A recent report published by ODEP explores the state of women with disabilities in the labor market through analysis of data on a range of topics impacting employment and workforce participation, among them:
- Telework and the COVID-19 pandemic,
- Labor market trends,
- Educational attainment,
- Earnings and poverty rates,
- Representation in trade professions,
- Barriers to employment and
- Mental health
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PEAT Podcast:
Spotlight on Neurodiversity &
ADHD in the Workplace
On the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology’s Future of Work Podcast, Margaux Joffe, Global Neurodiversity Advocate and Founder of Kaleidoscope Society, discusses attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), neurodiversity, and what workers can do to empower themselves in their jobs and beyond. Margaux also shares ways workplaces can enhance inclusion for all employees and lists digital tools she finds useful as an entrepreneur.
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Intersectionality: Leveraging Disability as Diversity, and Diversity within Disability
Today, more and more businesses understand that a diverse workforce is a stronger workforce—because it means more perspectives to draw on when solving complex problems and making important decisions. As employers, business leaders increasingly recognize that workforce diversity encompasses a wide range of backgrounds and experiences—including disability.
But, just like all people, disabled people may have many ways they identify themselves, including by their race, gender, sexual orientation and other “social identities.” The intersection of these identities truly shape who they are. For people with disabilities from historically marginalized groups, such intersectionality also often means experience with bias, prejudice and discrimination based on more than one factor, sometimes referred to as multiple marginalization. Examples may include Black and Hispanic people with disabilities, disabled transgender people and immigrants with disabilities.
To foster a truly inclusive workplace, employers should ensure their policies and practices consider not only disability as a component of diversity, but also take account of the considerable diversity within the disability community. To help, the ODEP-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) offers resources businesses can use to consider their diversity and inclusion efforts through an intersectional lens. These include:
Disability and Diversity at Work, which provides an introduction to the concept of intersectionality in the workplace and tips for supporting employees with disabilities who are multiply marginalized.
Intersectionality in the Workplace, which explores how factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation and others can impact an employee’s point of view and workplace experience and steps businesses can take to ensure all feel respected and welcomed.
Indeed, respect and a sense of belonging are at the heart of an inclusive workplace culture. By understanding that employees often have multiple, intersecting identities, businesses can help communicate a commitment to such a culture—and in turn benefit from a wider pool of knowledge, skills and talents.
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IN THE NEWS - ARTICLES OF INTEREST |
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Wellbeing as Workplace Culture
A Brief Examination of One Firm's Approach
to Changing its Landscape of Wellbeing
Available now! Discover what makes an effective workplace wellbeing program. Backed by rigorous research, Rutgers’ Employer Disability Practices Center and NOD teamed up to produce this new brief spotlighting impactful practices to transform your workplace culture. Through qualitative and quantitative data, this brief examines key programs and strategies within the Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) wellbeing program, including:
- Universal design
- Leadership accountability
- Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Employee assistance programs (EAPs)
- Wellbeing-focused metrics
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“July Marks the 33rd Anniversary of the ADA”
This interview on WUSA9 features Ann Deschamps, Director of the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center.
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Employment among people with disabilities hits post-pandemic high
While the remote work boom helped some workers find additional flexibility, it has also eliminated longstanding obstacles for this vulnerable community. People with disabilities have been among the greatest beneficiaries of the strong post-pandemic rebound in the labor market.
Among that group, the number of employed individuals climbed by approximately 175,000 in June to 7.6 million, the BLS said, higher than at any point since June 2008, the earliest year for which data is available.
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Americans with Disabilities Act 33rd Anniversary |
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Virginia Ability Takes to the Highway
Thanks to the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities
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Check out the billboards from now until September 2023. The billboards are located in the following areas: Richmond, Williamsburg/Newport News, Hampton Roads Tunnel, Falmouth, Garrisonville, Manassas, 1-81 Harrisonburg and Timberville, and 1-81 Raphine.
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Revised Voluntary Self-Identification Disability Form
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has revised the Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form (CC-305) to update the preferred language for disabilities and to include additional examples of disabilities. Federal contractors and subcontractors have until July 25, 2023, to implement the new form into their applicant and employee systems and processes. For more information on Section 503 requirements, visit OFCCP’s Section 503 information page, or contact the OFCCP Help Desk at 1-800-397-6251 or online.
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Events In The DC Metro Area and Beyond |
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Save the date!
Integrating Disability-Owned
Business Enterprises (DOBE®s) into your
Supply Chain
Friday
September 22, 2023
11:30 am - 1:00 pm CT
Join us for our second annual networking session with certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBE®s). Learn how you can increase your supplier diversity by connecting with certified DOBE®s in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Chicago, and the DC Metro area and their corporate partners, for a virtual session to build relationships and create connections to integrate disability into your supplier diversity programs.
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AI and Digital Transformation: New Paradigms for Accessibility and Inclusion Strategies
October 10-12, Washington, DC
Join disability advocates, corporations, government agencies, academia, and accessibility executives at the 11th M-Enabling Summit, the leading all-inclusive conference and showcase dedicated to fostering innovations, solutions, and strategies for digital inclusion.
Participants will benefit from rich and unique networking opportunities with thought leaders, technology providers, innovators and developers of assistive technologies that serve more than one-billion Persons with Disabilities and an expanding aging population globally.
The 2023 M-Enabling Summit will examine how AI drives innovation and automation in multiple areas allowing to scale up digital accessibility in unprecedented ways and review risks for persons with disabilities that organizations need to mitigate.
Practitioners will be sharing how they manage their product lifecycles and digital transformations to support their accessibility journeys and help achieve their organizations’ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) objective. Case studies will illustrate how accessibility features of products and services are leveraged to better serve persons with disabilities and older persons in work environments, for digital products and services, urban and transportation environments, e-commerce, leisure, social or educational activities.
A unique venue for dialogue and cooperation, the 2023 M-Enabling Summit will feature panel discussions, open conversations with innovators and disrupters in digital inclusion, instant polls, networking meetups, brainstorming and live debates among disability advocacy leaders, business executives, accessibility experts, and information technology and assistive technology providers.
On day three of the Summit, the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) will host a thought leadership Expert Forum on integrating accessibility in organizational maturity.
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BIT Announces October 2023 Gala
Salesforce proudly presents the Blind Institute of Technology’s
Blind Institute of Technology is excited to bring its Dining In The Dark Annual Fundraiser to Philadelphia to help significantly reduce the severe unemployment and underemployment rates of people with disabilities on both a local and national level. Please join us at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco to learn more about The Greatest Equalizer and for a night of fun!
Corporate Sponsorships
Why partner? Join other corporate partners and sponsors to make a positive impact on current and future professionals that have a visual impairment or other disability by assisting them in gaining the skills they need for a meaningful, prosperous career.
Please contact Natalie to secure your sponsorship, make payments and give guest information. She can be reached at natalie@blindit.org or 303-995-1006.
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Celebrating Our 10th Anniversary
October 21, 2023
Saturday from 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
Join BroadFutures for a night on the water Cocktails & Light Fare The District Wharf Rooftop Penthouse and Terrace 1000 Maine Avenue SW Washington, DC 20024
BroadFutures' mission is to celebrate neurodiversity by creating access, cultivating skills and revolutionizing the workplace for all through an innovative training, mentoring and paid internship program.
Since our incorporation in 2013, we have served over 300 young people directly and hundreds more through our community outreach. We have partnered with over 60 employers, working side by side with them to ensure successful internships. We have recently expanded our programs outside of the DC Metropolitan area to include several nationwide employer partnerships.
As we celebrate our 10 years of service, we are committed to expanding our capacity to meet the growing needs of our community, reaching an ever diverse group of young people and employers, and ensuring our programs are accessible for ALL.
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UPCOMING FALL EVENTS
OCT 4, 2023 1PM - 2PM
Explore ways to expand employment options for neurodivergent job candidates and how to effectively support and engage with neurodivergent job seekers and staff.
NOV 9, 2023 1PM - 2PM
DiversityInc’s Founder will lead a discussion on how businesses can create a welcoming and supportive environment where veterans with disabilities can thrive.
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DON'T MISS THESE
NATIONAL CONFERENCES
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Get Ready for The Arc’s 2023 National Convention!
November 6 – 8 | New Orleans, LA
The Arc’s National Convention is an unmatched opportunity to connect and learn with advocates, professionals, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families.
No matter what your connection is to the disability community, we have sessions sure to challenge, inspire, and motivate! We’re preparing an exciting lineup of thought leaders from across the disability community, including policy experts, self-advocates, and innovators at the forefront of disability services and supports.
You will learn about employment, education, advocacy, housing, technology, criminal justice, and more.
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Chris Ulmer, Founder
Special Books by Special Kids
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Don’t miss our opening keynote!
The Power of Acceptance and Positivity
Explore the concept of normalizing the diversity of the human condition through understanding, positivity, and acceptance.
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FULL EVENT AND ONE-DAY PASSES AVAILABLE
For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
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The Institute for Workplace Equality is excited to announce the
Artificial Intelligence and Employment Compliance Conference
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November 14-16
Early Bird Pricing ends October 2!
This hybrid conference is comprised of two parts, giving attendees the option to register for Day 1 only or the full two-and-a-half day conference. Day 1 (November 14) will cover one of HR’s hottest topics: everything you need to know about artificial intelligence and employment. Days 2 and 3 (November 15-16) will feature sessions led by industry experts, including The Institute's nationally renowned Leadership, Faculty, and Advisory Board.
Sessions will cover today’s most pressing HR and compliance topics, including:
- What to expect from the Biden Administration leading up to 2024 Elections
- When DOL will issue long-awaited wage & hour, independent contractor and Davis-Bacon regulations
- OFCCP regulatory agenda and when to expect the new scheduling letter/itemized listing
- EEOC agenda for the remainder of 2023
- State pay transparency laws
- Impact of Harvard/UNC Supreme Court decisions on DEI programs
- What employers need to know about religious accommodation under Title VII
- And more!
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Learn More About DC Metro |
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2023 Disability:IN DC Metro Programs
Theme: Intersectionality
Join us as we hold Hybrid and Virtual Events!
- Intersectionality: June LGBTQ Pride Month
- Intersectionality: July Disability Pride Month, ADA Anniversary
- Intersectionality: August Supplier Diversity including Disability Owned Businesses
- Intersectionality: September LatinX Heritage Month and Disability
- Celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)
- November Celebrating Veterans with Disabilities in the Workplace and as Entrepreneurs
- Intersectionality: November Native American Heritage Month and Disability
- Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- The Growing Role of the Chief Accessibility Officer
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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
- Professional Development courses
- 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:
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Jennifer Bassett, Immediate Past Chair, JBG SMITH Companies
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Meghan Cadigan, Vice Chair and Secretary, KPMG
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Tashi Carper, Leidos
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Rahsaan Coefield, Lockheed Martin
- Ellen de Bremond, Treasurer
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Anjali Desai-Margolin, Gallaudet University
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Tom Downs, Booz Allen Hamilton
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Andrea Hall, General Dynamics Mission Systems
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Sophie Howard, General Dynamics IT
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Eduardo Meza-Etienne, Level Access and DC Metro Chief Accessibility Officer
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Mary Sauder, Northrop Grumman
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Ryan Walters, Chair, Deloitte
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Myra Wilder, BAE Systems
Advisory Board Members:
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Jessica Lee Aiello, iYellow Group
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Michelle Crabtree, Town of Vienna
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Crosby Cromwell, The Valuable 500
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Lori Daly, Diversifi Consulting Group and Chair, Community Outreach
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Ron Drach, Drach Consulting, LLC
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Diane Monnig, The Arc of Northern VA
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Melody Goodspeed, The American Foundation for the Blind
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Karen Herson, Concepts, Inc.
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Carolyn Jeppsen, BroadFutures
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Craig Leen, K&L Gates, Former OFCCP Director
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Carrie Martin, MAXAR Technologies
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Rick Rodgers,The Resource Network and Chair, Disability Supplier Diversity
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Kia SIlver-Hodge, Enterprise Community Partners
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 Professional Development Courses 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 for 2023
Please Donate!
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!
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