The Summit
Join us online January 23-24, 2024, to be part of a learning-and-doing network of disabled professionals working in industry and public service.
Register today!
Over two mornings, you'll build your network, further your leadership journey, and help brainstorm how to increase the visibility and influence of people with disabilities in workplaces nationwide.
What you’ll experience
The Disability Leadership Summit will pair meaningful connections with practical learning. You’ll experience:
- Inspiring keynotes who are themselves disabled leaders in their organizations
- Practical suggestions for developing your direction as a leader
- Interactive discussions on such topics as Employee Resource Groups (ERG)/Business Resource Groups (BRG), leadership pathways, and creating inclusive work environments
- Networking with other emerging and established leaders with disabilities, along with allies in senior corporate and public service roles
Who is it for?
Leaders and emerging leaders with disabilities, along with their employers and allies.
The Disability Leadership Summit is by, for, and about people with disabilities. A minimum of 50% of the attendees are disabled.
Meet our keynotes
Kareem Dale, Director and Senior Counsel at Discover Financial Services
Kareem Dale is a proven executive leader with 20 years of executive legal experience, as well as over four years of government policy experience serving as the Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy for President Obama – the highest-ranking position on disability ever created by a President.
Jessica Rafuse, Director of Strategic Partnerships& Policy for Accessibility at Microsoft
Jessica Rafuse is a leader in Accessibility and Disability Inclusion. As the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Policy for Accessibility at Microsoft, Jessica works with customers, partners, and policymakers to accelerate accessibility globally. Jessica is an attorney, who prior to joining the Microsoft team, promoted the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action within multi-national corporations. Jessica began her legal career in government, including her work as an Administrative Judge for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Jessica has muscular dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair.
Why should you attend?
- Grow your professional network; connect with a dynamic, underrepresented market of professional leaders during and beyond the Summit
- Learn fresh ideas and best practices for embedding and enhancing inclusion practices in your organization
- Receive and share practical advice for building your organization’s pipeline of diverse leadership.
Our Goals
- Enable participants to build meaningful and authentic connections that continue beyond the scope of the event
- Generate new ideas and insights about reshaping organizational cultures
- Provide practical tools and best practices for leveraging ERGs/BRGs and other organizational structures for greater visibility and inclusion
- Assess priorities for what leaders and emerging leaders with disabilities need to achieve their professional goals
- Create reusable content and insights to advance knowledge, visibility and inclusion of people with disabilities
- Lay the foundation for a signature annual event attracting marquee sponsors and keynotes and becomes a “must attend” in the field.
Agenda
Sponsorship opportunities are available
Featured Story
The Untapped Potential of Disability ERG/BRGs
A familiar resource may offer untapped potential for professional development opportunities for disabled leaders in the private sector. Employee or Business Resource Groups (ERG/BRGs) are voluntary, employee-led affinity groups that can play an important role in leadership development as well as have a greater cultural impact. While about 88 percent of companies have these affinity groups for diversity in general, only 70 percent of companies offer ERG/BRGs that are disability specific. Companies looking for strong disabled leaders should invest in disability-focused ERB/BRGs.
Read Story
