Talented Young Leaders Looking for Job Opportunities During Pandemic
Rockville, Maryland, May 17 – Ten talented young adults, many of whom have disabilities and all of whom arepassionate about people with disabilities, have just completed RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. The group came together at RespectAbility, a national nonprofit fighting stigma and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate all aspects of community, where they learned about disability advocacy and gained relevant career experience.
Fellows gained the real-world skills required to become highly employable and impactful once they enter the workforce. Each specialized within areas of the organization that aligned with their career goals, including: public policy, nonprofit management, communications and community outreach. Throughout the semester, they gained hands-on career experience, such as policy briefing, grant writing, social media content curation and media outreach, as well as soft skills including networking, public speaking and issue advocacy.
With the ongoing COVID crisis, Fellows had to adjust quickly to working productively from home, which meant taking a crash course in becoming accountable for their own productivity in an less structured environment. Fellows joined daily meetings via Zoom that included all staff and Fellows. They were involved in organizing and participating in numerous grassroots town halls where they were able to find out how the pandemic was impacting people with disabilities, what solutions worked, and to fight for of solutions that work. [continue reading…]
