Stories

A woman wears a thoughtful expression while writing in a notebook. She has a pink yellow and pink turban, dark-toned skin, silver hoop earrings and is an upper limb amputee.

Blog Posts

A woman walks down a hallway next to another woman using a wheelchair. They are in an office building and are moving away from the camera.

We Need To Do More To Include Disabled Employees

In an op-ed for Crain's Chicago Business, Disability Lead Executive Director Emily Blum urges companies to move beyond compliance with the minimum, and to commit to more disability-inclusive workplaces.

Emily is smiling in a leafy outdoor setting. She is a white, disabled woman with brown wavy shoulder-length hair, and is wearing a pink and purple top with blue accents.

Emily Blum

Oct 17, 2023

From left to right: Angel Miles, Zhen Heinemann, Noa Fields, and Andrés Gallegos.

Connections

Connections Update: July-September 2023

In 2023, Disability Lead has identified and made connections to more than 130 opportunities for our Members with 44 successful connections. Here's our Q3 update.

Disability Lead

Oct 13, 2023

Top to bottom and left to right: Jess Westbrook, Safiya Eshe Gyasi James, Amanda Walsh, Tina Lowry, Rebecca Williford and Carly Englander.

Member Story

Get To Know Our Newest Members

We're highlighting our newest Members from this past year so you can welcome and get to know them. Please give it up for:‍ Jess Westbrook, Associate Professor, DePaul University; Safiya Eshe Gyasi James, Founder and CEO, Blaq Gurl Fya; Tina Lowry, Director of Quality, Aspire; Rebecca Williford, President and CEO, Disability Rights Advocates; Amanda Walsh, Director, Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership; and Carly Englander, Career Placement Counselor, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities.

Disability Lead

Sep 29, 2023

Collab

We're Sunsetting the Collab

In November 2021, Disability Lead launched the Collab, community of practice to learn with and from one another and support a collective vision toward racial equity and disability justice. We worked hard to attract and support Collab members and our deepest hope was that practitioners of racial equity and disability justice would find ways to partner together and find fellowship as we fight for our collective liberation. We hoped that the Collab, ultimately, would be self-sustaining, as its members would drive these conversations, connections and events. Now, nearly a year and half later, we have made the tough decision to sunset the Collab.

Emily Blum

Aug 14, 2023

From left to right: Corryn Antonizio, LaShon Gurrola, Kevin Irvine, Kareem Dale, Whitney Hill

Connections

Disability Lead Members Recognized as Crain's Notable Leaders

Last year, Disability Lead began nominating our Members for Crain’s Notable Leaders, which recognizes best-in-class executives who make a difference in Chicago. Since then, 20 of our Members have already been recognized as Notable Leaders across a variety of industries, from community development to sustainability.

Disability Lead

Jul 28, 2023

From left to right: Kevin Irvine, Candace Coleman, Kennedy Healy, Frank Lally.

Connections

Connections Update: April-June 2023

Because the world continues to threaten our civil rights, we work to ensure there are strong disability perspectives in leadership spaces. By connecting our leaders to civic engagement opportunities, we believe they can and will create solutions for our most intractable social problems—ultimately, all social justice issues are also disability issues. Here's our Q2 update.

Disability Lead

Jul 14, 2023

Stories

Blog Posts

We Need To Do More To Include Disabled Employees

Connections Update: July-September 2023

Get To Know Our Newest Members

We're Sunsetting the Collab

Disability Lead Members Recognized as Crain's Notable Leaders

Connections Update: April-June 2023

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