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"Promoting best practices in hiring, retaining, and marketing to people with disabilities in the
District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Suburban Maryland."
A BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER JUNE 2010
Greetings to all of you! As we kick off the summer with our June Newsletter,
we want to wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer!
In This Issue
Save the Date! July 29, 2010 - Legal Update
Advisory Counciels - Employer Participants Needed!
Sucess Stories: Hiring Persons with Disabilities
Welcoming New Board Members
Increased Membership Count by 47
DC Metro BLN Events!
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Save the Date! July 29th - ADA Legal Update
Thursday, July 29, 2010 - ADA Legal Update Breakfast
Marvin Center at George Washington University
In conjunction with the month-long celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the
passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the DC Metro Business
Leadership Network will host a breakfast event featuring a presentation by one
of the key architects of that landmark ADA legislation. Distinguished attorney
Robert "Bobby" Silverstein will address our members on such key and timely
topics as:
· ADA Amendments Act (ADAA)
· Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (affirmative action by government
contractors)
· Health care reform from a disability perspective.
Mr. Silverstein is a principal in the law firm of Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville,
P.C. where his practice focuses in the areas of disability, health care,
rehabilitation, employment, education, social security, and civil rights. He also
serves as director of the Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability
Policy where he directs actions research and analysis of disability-related policy
issues. For over a decade, Mr. Silverstein served in various capacities on Capitol
Hill, including staff director and chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee
on Disability Policy where he was the behind-the-scenes architect of 20 bills
enacted into law including the Americans with Disabilities Act and several
reauthorizations of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. Mr. Silverstein received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law
Center, 1974 and his B.S. Economics from The Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania (cum laude), 1971. Mr. Silverstein is the recipient of more than 10
national awards, including the Distinguished Services Award of the President of
the United States.
Our event will be held at the Marvin Center on the campus of The George
Washington University from 8:00 am until 9:30 am. Please block July 29 for
this vitally important seminar. Invitation to follow within the week.
Advisory Councils - Employer Participants Needed
The DC Metro BLN will conduct to two Advisory Council Panel Sessions in late
summer and early fall. This will be an excellent opportunity to network and
share knowledge with your fellow employers across the region, thus allowing all
our members to benefit from the experiences (pro and con) of your marketplace
colleagues. These sessions will be an on-going part of our yearly program which
will allow us to benchmark and report progress on the best practices in the DC
area.
The information we gather will be summarized and disseminated to all members
and to interested disability organizations throughout the area. These sessions
will be no longer than two hours in duration and will be held at METRO
accessible locations. Our plans are to convene the first in DC and the second in
suburban Virginia. Dates and locations of the sessions will be forthcoming
before the end of June. Our goal is to have 8-10 panelists at each session.
Discussion topics will include:
-Current trends in hiring PWD's in a difficult employment market
-Challenges to overcome
-ADA at age 20
-Successful programs now in place
-How best to market, in both the private and public sectors, the significant
advantages that will accrue to organizations that have or will adopt active
outreaches to the PWD community.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
If you or a colleague is interested in participating as a panel member, please
contact DC BLN Executive Director, Chris Shead at
Christophers@dcmetrobln.org.
Sucess Stories: Hiring Persons with Disabilities
We have recently launched a new "Success Stories" feature on our website
www.dcmetrobln.org.
Here we share the stories of both the individual employees who have overcome
challenges to become assets to their companies, but also detail the tangible
advantages that have accrued to the organizations that hired and trained them.
We would love to feature your company and employee here. To this end we
have developed an outline for your reference as you prepare to share your story.
If you have a success story to share and would like it to appear on our site,
please contact our Executive Director at Christophers@dcmetrobln.org.
USBLN Welcomes Newest Board Members!
We are delighted to announce the May election of Ms. Christine Neigh of the
Lockheed Martin Corporation and Mr. Gary Goosman of the US Business
Leadership Network to our Board of Directors. Both Christine and Gary have
extensive experience in working in the disability community and both work with
organizations with proven long-term commitments to hiring the disabled.
Christine A Neigh
Christine is the director of corporate Equal Opportunity Programs where she is
responsible for Lockheed Martin's affirmative action and equal employment
opportunity mission and strategy. "Hiring and retaining people with disabilities
is good for business and the community," Christine said. "I am delighted to be a
part of the DC Metro BLN Board and look forward to working on programs
focusing on veterans with disabilities, as they are a great source of talent and
often face significant barriers to employment. As members of the DC Metro
BLN, we will work together to break down those barriers and actively recruit,
develop and retain veterans and other people with disabilities to fully contribute
to business success."
Gary Goosman
Gary will assume a leadership role in developing our initiatives with regards to
Youth in Transition . Gary Goosman is Director of the TOWER Initiative at the
US Business Leadership Network (USBLN). In his capacity as Director, he is
responsible for the implementation and development of the TOWER Initiative.
The USBLN's Tools on Work and Employment Readiness (TOWER) Initiative
provides businesses, as well as students with disabilities, the tools necessary to
meet the demands of the competitive marketplace. These tools are designed to
expand internship, mentoring, and career opportunities for students with
disabilities within USBLN affiliates and employer members. Through the
TOWER Initiative, USBLN provides affiliates with resources and programming
to assist them in moving forward with their strategic pursuit of the inclusion of
people with disabilities, including young adults with disabilities, in the
workforce.
Gary Goosman also works as the Director of Communications, Events and
Membership Relations for ACCSES, a trade association of disability service
providers. Previously, Mr. Goosman worked at the Institute for Educational
Leadership and at the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP). As a result of Mr. Goosman's work at ODEP, he
received two Secretary of Labor Exceptional Achievement Awards.
In Gary's words: "I am thrilled to join the board of the DC Metro Business
Leadership Network. The attention of our employer-members to the positive
returns of a diverse workforce, including people with disabilities, to a company's
bottom line as well as to the need to reach out and facilitate the growth of the
next generation of American workers with disabilities is extremely exciting."
Welcome Christine and Gary and thanks!!
Increasing Our Membership... One Member At A Time!
News from DC Metro Business Leadership Network https://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.jsp?age...
We are thrilled to increase our membership roster by 47!!
It is wonderful to report that 47 new individuals and their companies/
organizations have become members of the DC Metro BLN in the last three
months. We thank them all for their interest in our cause.
If you know of a colleague who might like to join us please encourage them to
visit our website and/or contact Christophers@dcmetrobln.org
DC Metro BLN Events!
UPCOMING EVENTS
JUNE 28, 2010
The HSC Foundation's ground break for the National Youth
Transition's Center.
For details contact:
groundbreaking@natalieshear.com
JULY 26, 2010
ADA
20th Anniversary. Don't miss out on the 20th Anniversary ADA Gala
Celebration on July 26, 2010 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.!
Tickets are available now at www.mypowerandpride.com. For more information
about Disability Power & Pride, visit www.mypowerandpride.org
SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2010
Annual USBLN Concerence. On behalf of our nearly 700 members, the DC
Metro BLN will be represented at the USBLN's Annual Conference by Chair,
Vinece Pastor, Board member, Gary Goosman and the Executive Director. This
year's conference, which follows last year's highly successful meeting in
Washington, DC will be held in Chicago in September.
500-600 senior business executives, government and community leaders are
expected to attend.
Who should attend?
-Professionals with disabilities
-Employee-Resource Groups (ERG's)
-Entrepreneurs with disabilities
-Diversity Professionals
-Hiring Managers and Corporate Decision Makers
-Procurement professionals using the disability-owned businesses
in their supply chain
- Marketing representatives interested in targeting people with disabilities
- Youth with disabilities - community affairs, mentoring
- Government - Procurement and HR professionals
- Universal Design and Technology professionals
-Job Accommodation professionals
We urge all our members to consider attending. It will be an exceptional
learning opportunity. We will share the highlights with you all upon return.
www.usblnannualconference.org
OCTOBER 21, 2010
National Disabilities Mentoring Day-October 21, 2010. To learn more
about NDMD on a national level, visit http://www.dmd-aapd.org/.
RECENTLY
ATTENDED EVENTS
Accessibility
Summit 2010 -April 23 & 24
The DC Metro BLN was proud to be a Premier Sponsor, advertiser and exhibitor
of the recently held Accessibility Summit 2010 held in McLean, Va. This
international conference for the Disability Community is an annual event; and
we plan to have a consistent presence there in the years to come.
The Summit had more than 300 attendees from around the globe, with the vast
majority from the DC metro area.. More than 70 exhibitors participated in the
two day conference, which featured high profile speakers and dozens of valuable
and informative workshops.
DC BLN Chair, Vinece Pastor and Executive Director, Chris Shead attended and
participated throughout the conference.
To learn more please go to www.accessibilitysummit.org.
ADAP Advocacy Association Wine Tasting-March 28
Your DC Metro BLN was delighted to be an active sponsor of the ADAP Advocacy
Association's Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser in Washington DC on March 28.
ADAP supports the cause of those disabled with HIV/AIDS in the employment
market.
US Congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana and DC Metro BLN Executive
Director, Chris Shead were invited to speak at this event attended by 100
disability leaders in the area. As a result of our participation we added 14 new
members to our ever growing roster of partners.
Please visit: www.adapadvocacyassociation.org),
AAPD 15th Annual Gala-March 10
Board members Cynthia Richardson-Crooks, Ellen de Bremond, Christine Neigh
and Gary Goosman along with Executive Director, Chris Shead attended the 15 th
annual American Association of Persons with Disabilities on March 10. The
event also kicked off a summer long celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the
July 1990 passage of The Americans with Disabilities Act.
More than 750 people attended, including many of the most prominent and
influential lawmakers and employers in the region. Legendary rock superstar,
Stevie Wonder was amongst the honorees that evening. The event was a
fabulous success raising more than $1,500,000 to support the cause of Persons
with Disabilities. Visit www.aapd.com to learn more.
DC Metro Business Leadership Network Board of Directors
Vinece Pastor, Board Chair Cynthia Richardson-Crooks, Vice Chair
Chevy Chase Bank The George Washington University
Ellen de Bremond, Treasurer John Kemp
Diversity Services of DC Inc. US Business Leadership Network
Katherine McCary Eduardo Meza-Etienne
SunTrust Bank, Inc. TecAccess, LLC
David Remick
Alexandria/Arlington Workforce Investment Board
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