2026 Disability Leadership Summit

DAY 1 - PEOPLE: Empowering Disabled Leaders

Keynote Address featuring Claudia Gordon, Senior Accessibility Strategist & Policy Leader

Claudia L. Gordon is a highly accomplished advocate for people with disabilities, leveraging over 30 years of professional expertise to ensure equitable opportunities for all. She currently serves as the Senior Accessibility Strategist with T-Mobile US, Inc., where she drives strategies for a disability-inclusive culture and an accessible work environment

Ms. Gordo has held pivotal senior leadership roles across the corporate and public sectors. She was a key appointee in both the Obama-Biden and Biden Administrations. During the Obama-Biden Administration, she served as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and as Associate Director for the White House Office of Public Engagement.

As a Biden administration appointee, she served on the National Council on Disability (NCD), where she notably held the position of Chair. Her distinguished public service record also includes senior roles at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Association of the Deaf Law and Advocacy Center

Her work is profoundly shaped by her personal experience as an immigrant at the intersections of race, disability, and gender, with a strong focus on individuals with multiple marginalized identities. Gordon is dedicated to civic engagement, mentoring, and advancing compliance. She currently serves on the ACLU-DC Affiliate Board. A native of Jamaica, Ms. Gordon is a graduate of Howard University and American University’s Washington College of Law.

Session 1A – OWN It: Embrace, Elevate, Empower

Blending lived experience with actionable strategies, Alycia Anderson introduces her three-part framework, Embrace who you are, Elevate what you do, Empower where you’re going to turn barriers into breakthroughs. Audiences leave with clear steps to amplify impact, lift others, and confidently own their path forward.

Panel 1 - Lessons in Leadership

Attendees will join Emily Voorde (INTO Strategies), Leah Katz-Hernandez (LinkedIn), Chaz Kellem (Highmark Health), and Shannon Fitzpatrick (Microsoft) for a conversation about how Disabled self-advocacy manifests itself throughout one’s career. Panelists will discuss the power of building and maintaining strong networks, navigating ableism in the workplace, and how to leverage technology to drive personal leadership development.

Session 1B - How to Tell Your Story: Centering Disability in Your Narrative and Leadership

This session helps participants explore how disability identity can shape an authentic and powerful personal story. Led by Keidra Chaney, this session guides attendees in aligning their lived experience with their purpose and professional brand while setting healthy boundaries for sustainable storytelling.  

Networking 1 – Cultivating Connections: Professional Networking with Purpose

Join us for an engaging virtual networking session designed to bring professionals together to foster valuable connections and community. This is your opportunity to expand your network, share perspectives, and explore potential collaborations. Cultivate connections that can fuel your passions and lead to new opportunities!

You’ll have the option to discuss a topic that is most relevant to your professional journey in a collaborative space facilitated by Leadership and Life Coach, Alexis J. Steals.

DAY 2 - CULTURE: Strengthening Inclusive Workplaces

Keynote Address featuring Keely Cat-Wells, Founder and CEO

Keely Cat-Wells is the Founder and CEO of Making Space is a platform that has supported over 10,000 Disabled professionals in building meaningful careers. Under her leadership, Making Space made history by training and placing the first-ever Disabled hosts on NBC Sports’ Paralympics broadcast. Other partners include Indeed, Netflix, and Visa. Keely also co-founded Making Space Media, a division producing film and TV content centering Disabled voices, securing a first-look deal with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Notably, their documentary “Fight To Fly” exposed the inequalities that Disabled travelers face, triggering policy reform.

Before Making Space, Keely founded C Talent, an agency that reshaped disability representation in media and grew a roster reaching more than 50 million people. Acquired in 2022, C Talent became the largest acquisition of a company specializing in Disabled talent. Keely is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Diana Award recipient, and has served on the advisory board of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. She currently sits on the Los Angeles City Major Event Advisory Council, Human Rights Watch LA Committee and holds the distinction of being the youngest-ever Presidential Leadership Scholar. Additionally, she is an Obama Leader USA and inaugural Gloria Steinem Fellow.

Session 2A – Building and Sustaining Neuro-Inclusive Workspaces

In this workshop, participants will learn some of the critical areas of focus, strengths, and challenges per recent research for building and maintaining neuro-inclusive workspaces. Additionally, ways to support and engage with neuro-inclusion efforts as both neurodivergent and neurotypical staff will be highlighted and discussed."

Networking 2 – Cultivating Connections: Professional Networking with Purpose

Join us for an engaging virtual networking session designed to bring professionals together to foster valuable connections and community. This is your opportunity to expand your network, share perspectives, and explore potential collaborations. Cultivate connections that can fuel your passions and lead to new opportunities!

You’ll have the option to discuss a topic that is most relevant to your professional journey in a collaborative space facilitated by Leadership and Life Coach, Alexis J. Steals.

Panel 2 – Digital Accessibility at Work

Attendees will join Greg Gulledge, Crystal Preston Watson, and Nandita Gupta for a conversation about digital accessibility as a cornerstone of inclusive workplaces. Panelists will discuss the importance of inclusive technology while addressing critical topics impacting the future of accessibility.

Session 2B - Future of Work, Powered by Leaders with Disabilities  

AI will have a transformative impact on the future of the workplace and society at large. Ana Monga will discuss why this revolutionary era needs empowered leaders with disabilities who can be architects in building and collaborating on an accessible AI agenda, driving inclusive products, responsible policy, and human-centered best practices.

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