Past Events

RespectAbility hosted a Holiday Party for our supporters, partners and team! Check back soon for photos from the event.

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Speakers:
Emily Harris, Principal, Harris Strategies
Risa Jaz Rifkind, Director, Civic Engagement and Marketing, ADA 25 Advancing Leadership
Moderated by Randall Duchesneau, Board of Advisors, RespectAbility

More than 1 in 5 people in the US report having a disability. Yet, people with disabilities are underrepresented in key civic leadership positions. For example, only one percent of the Chicago region’s nonprofit board seats are filled by people with disabilities. A large percentage of nonprofits RespectAbility surveyed agree that the best way to ensure inclusion of all identities in programming, people with lived experiences must have a seat at the table. As a natural part of the human experience, disability is part of any diversity commitment. This session is for nonprofit professionals engaged with both board and volunteer relations and HR management to start the journey from recruiting to promoting people with disabilities starting with volunteer positions of leadership including board members.

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Speakers:
Emily Harris, Principal, Harris Strategies
Victor Pineda, President, World Enabled and Senior Advisor, RespectAbility
Moderator: Franklin Anderson, Manager of Inclusive Philanthropy and Development, RespectAbility

Organizational representatives will be given an accessibility checklist and be taught how to use it. Although 72 percent of nonprofit organizations say they have a policy of nondiscrimination against people with disabilities, too few take simple steps to make their programming truly accessible. For example, fewer than 60 percent of their events are always held in physically accessible spaces. Fewer than one-third (30 percent) offer opportunities for participants at public events to request accommodations like sign language interpreters, live captioning or food allergy alternatives. This session trained organizations to ensure that their practices match their principles so that their organizations can benefit from the talents and perspectives of people with disabilities, just like anyone else.

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Speakers:
Donna Meltzer, CEO, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)
Candace Cable, California Workforce Program Manager, RespectAbility
Moderated by Anthony Brown, Communications Fellow, RespectAbility

How has disability been defined in different historical eras? What has it meant to be disabled in the 20th century? How and why did disability movements for social and political change develop? Who have been the major national and local leaders? What are the major acts of legislation that have defined the rights of disabled Americans? What are equal access and universal design? How do these concepts depart from previous American ideas about civil rights and equality?

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Speakers:
Hon. Steve Bartlett, Chair, RespectAbility
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, President, RespectAbility
Tatiana Lee, Hollywood Inclusionist, RespectAbility

Get an overview of who makes up the more than 60 million people who live with some form of physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health or other disability in America. Gain a basic understanding of how disability intersects with multiple content areas, from employment and poverty to criminal justice reform and education. You also will receive 10 key tips on how you can welcome, respect and include people with disabilities in your important work.

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Building a culture of inclusion at any business, organization or agency can be an incredible challenge. Hiring talented employees with disabilities and securing their return on investment requires any organization to build towards the goals of attitude, accessibility, accommodations and assimilation. This webinar, based a presentation recently given at the Starkloff 2019 Workforce, Workplace Disability Summit, discussed how to leverage internal, external and new communications strategies to promote disability inclusion. This presentation reflected on best practices pioneered by public sector entities like the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), private sector companies like JP Morgan Chase and Coca-Cola as well as non-profit efforts like the National Organization on Disability and the Poses Workplace Initiative. [continue reading…]

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Employer engagement is a critical part of a robust and effective workforce development system. Crossing the cultural and communications divide between the worlds of work and disability is critical for expanding job opportunities for people with disabilities. The great state of Iowa has been at the forefront of outreach work to educate business partners on the bottom-line benefits of hiring more and more people with disabilities.

Watch this webinar to learn how Iowa’s Vocational Rehabilitation system has built up a robust network of business partnerships with Kwik-Trip and other diverse firms. Our guests also spoke about the unique challenges of meeting the workforce training needs of youth with disabilities in rural Iowa.

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Every company wants to hire the right talent that will contribute to their bottom line. Increasing, leaders in corporate America recognize that boosting diversity and inclusion impacts more than just workplace culture and brings with it a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Companies in a variety of industries are working hard to hire more and more people with disabilities. As such, companies need to better understand how to make disability a key part of their diversity and inclusion strategies. We invite you to watch this special conversation with some of the nation’s leading experts on disability, inclusion and success. Jim Sinocchi spoke about his efforts to launch a “new era of disability inclusion” at JP Morgan Chase, by “hiring professionals with disabilities into the robust culture of the firm.” He shared key lessons he has learned about how to identify, training and promote professional with disabilities.

Likewise, Vincenzo Piscopo spoke about the key work that Coca-Cola has done to bring greater diversity to their team, their culture and their brand. From the new Unlabeled ad campaign to his personal experiences as a leader in the firm, Vincenzo offered insights from a globe-trotting careers as a successful inclusion leader.

Learn all about Coca-Cola’s new campaign that puts disability, mental health and all aspects of diversity front and center here: https://www.campaignlive.com/article/ad-week-diet-cokes-unlabeled-pushes-powerful-message/1589226

You can learn more about JP Morgan Chase’s disability hiring efforts here: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/news/insights/jsinocchi-a-new-dawn-for-disability-inclusion.htm

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