Events

You are invited to join RespectAbility on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 at San Francisco’s One Up Restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Hotel for three back-to-back key conversations on disability inclusion. Our conveners and facilitators:

Tatiana Lee is an Inclusionist at RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for and with people with disabilities. Lee also is the voice behind “Accessible Hollywood,” where she highlights her journey as an actress, model and lifestyle influencer born with Spina Bifida. Today she is on the front lines of creating access and opportunities for people with disabilities.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, is a champion of the 1-in-5 people who have a physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health or other disability. Mizrahi has published more than a hundred articles on disability, met 1-1 with 46 of America’s governors and is especially passionate about people of color and English language learners with disabilities who face double discrimination. Dyslexic herself, she also knows what it means to parent a child with multiple disabilities. [continue reading…]

Featuring Special Guests James Emmett, Lead Strategist, Workplace Initiative, Poses Family Foundation and Meg O’Connell, PHR, CEO & Founder, Global Disability Inclusion

Read the webinar transcript
Download the accessible PowerPoint
Watch the webinar on YouTube with live embedded captions

Our speakers are two innovators, thought leaders and subject matter experts when it comes to jobs for people with disabilities. Their topic? Expanding careers in philanthropy for professionals with disabilities.

Philanthropists have a tremendous opportunity to fight implicit bias and failed systems, as well as to enable millions of people with disabilities to have a better future. However, the professionals working in the field often lack the lived experience necessary to be fully inclusive and empower marginalized people.

This webinar reflected on key practices needed to empower people with disabilities to revolutionize the field of philanthropy.

As a “Nothing About Us, Without Us” organization, RespectAbility is deeply committed to seeing the disability lens added to all philanthropic work. That is why we have created a toolkit with practical resources to help philanthropists, non-profits and non-profit boards to embrace people with disabilities.

That process must begin with getting more professionals with disabilities working in philanthropy. [continue reading…]

DATE: December 5, 2018
TIME: 4:00-6:00 PM ET
LOCATION: 11333 Woodglen Drive, #102, Rockville, MD 20852

Please join us for our holiday & thank you party for our supporters, partners and team! On behalf of our board, staff and Fellows, we hope you will celebrate with us during our open house on December 5th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. It will be at our fully accessible office, 11133 Woodglen Drive, suite 102, Rockville, MD. This is near the White Flint metro (red line) and parking is available. Hors d’œuvres, desserts and drinks will be kosher and are on us! Amazing baked goods will be from Sunflower Bakery, which trains and employs people with disabilities.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by filling out the form below.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with RespectAbility. We have several volunteer areas of interest available. Please let us know by completing the form below. You may choose as many as you would like.

• Education & Skills Building Team works on projects to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for students with disabilities at the local, state and federal level. Given that only 65 percent of students with disabilities graduate high school, and only seven percent complete college, this is a high priority.
• Jobs for People with Disabilities Team advances our ongoing efforts to promote disability employment through best practices. This work includes meeting with governors, workforce boards, agencies, employers and other leaders to expand best practices at the state level.
• Stigma Reduction / Disability in Hollywood Team includes entertainment professionals who wish to ensure they and their colleagues are as inclusive of people with disabilities as possible while promoting positive, accurate, diverse and inclusive media portrayals in film, TV and theater. This team is largely made up by people working professionally in media or entertainment.
• Intersection of Politics & Disability Team supports our respectful nonpartisan engagement with political candidates in key governor and other races during their respective elections. We reach out to candidates and campaigns to educate them on how to make their campaigns accessible, what policies are important to people with disabilities as well as ask them to complete candidate questionnaires. We distribute those answers in a nonpartisan way, largely in press releases and voter guides prior to the election. This work can only be done by people who are willing to be nonpartisan for the purpose of this project.
• Inclusive Philanthropy/Nonprofits Team consists of disability inclusion experts and employees of foundations, philanthropic associations, individual philanthropists, and others involved in the nonprofit sector to advocate for full inclusion of people with disabilities in both the programs philanthropists and nonprofits support and within their organizations.
• National Leadership Program Team recruits diverse talented young adults with and without disabilities who want to go into careers in public policy, advocacy and media while making a positive difference for people with disabilities.
• Spanish-Language Resources Team helps RespectAbility develop, translate and distribute Spanish-language resources and materials for diverse families in communities across the country. It also works to build partnerships with organizations serving the Latino/Hispanic population in the United States.
• Jewish Inclusion Team works to ensure that Jews with disabilities are able to fully gain access to agencies and synagogues so they can fully participate in their communities. Volunteers for this team should already be involved in the Jewish community at some level and have some disability and inclusion experience.