Aerial View of Washington DC
DC Metro BLN News - September 2018
Prepare for NDEAM 2018
Celebrating Disability Inclusion for More than 70 Years
Reflecting a commitment to a robust and competitive American labor force, the 2018 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) theme is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All.” Observed each October, NDEAM celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates about the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents. The official 2018 NDEAM  poster  is available for downloading or to  order in hard copy.
2018 Gala: No Limits!
Tom Savard Skiing.
Tom Savard. World Class Skier, Gold Medal Winner
Disabled National Championship
Tom Savard.
October 25, 2018
Tom has been speaking to elementary students about Diversity for the past 15 years and how, although "we are all different, we are all very similar." At last count he has talked to over 6,000 fourth and fifth graders! Tom says, “The interaction and questions I receive from the students are very inquisitive, insightful and show they truly “get it”.

Location: EY - 1775 Tysons Boulevard, Tysons Corner, VA

Become a 2018 Gala Sponsor
Help support our 2019 Internships!

BUY YOUR TICKETS
BECOME A SPONSOR

  • Platinum Sponsor $10,000
  • Diamond Sponsor $5,000
  • Gold Sponsor $2.500
  • Silver Sponsor $1,000
  • Crystal Sponsor $500
  • Tickets $150 

Uniting New and Emerging Business Leaders
Randy Lewis.
John Kemp.
Global Social Enterprise Initiative. Georgetown University McDonough. School of Business.
Best Practices on Employing People with Disabilities

October 29, 2018 - 9:00 am to 3:30 pm EST
Georgetown University
37th and O Streets, NW Rafik B. Hariri Building Washington DC 2005

Are you a business trying to create or improve disability inclusion within your organization? Co-hosted by the Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) within Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and DC Metro Business Leadership Network, the disability employment forum will raise attention to businesses’ ROI in the employment of people with disabilities.

Speakers with first-hand knowledge on creating diverse cultures will share best practices.

Confirmed speakers include:
  • Randy Lewis
  • John Kemp, The Viscardi Center
  • Lori Golden, EY
  • Mary Lynn MacKenzie, Bank of America
  • Aaron Thompson, Jeffrey Danley, Starbucks Retail Inclusion Program

Organizations will have the opportunity to network with others who have been on the journey of disability inclusion and come away with knowledge, connections and resources to improve their own recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion of people with disabilities.
Seating is limited,  reserve your spot today!
IN THE NEWS - Articles of Interest
Leadership Just Became More Disability Inclusive:
Leadership Development Program for Employees with Disabilities

Forward-thinking organizations are taking pro-active measures to identify, train and empower the next generation of diverse business leaders, to open up their pipeline and cultivate more diverse talent. Oftentimes individuals with disabilities are overlooked as the next leaders or not given the opportunities to develop their leadership capabilities. Yet we know that valuing abilities and strengthening inclusion of individuals with disabilities drives innovation, employee engagement and brand leadership. 

Neurodiversity Brief: Building an Accessible Workforce Development System: Recommendations to American Job Centers on Supporting Autistic People and Others with Disabilities to Promote Successful Employment

This brief discusses actions that American Job Center (AJC) staff can take to make their services more accessible to autistic people and others with psychosocial, cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disabilities (DD); this supports the creation of a neurodiverse, skilled workforce. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) emphasizes the role of America’s One- Stop Centers (otherwise known as AJCs) to promote equal opportunity and increase access for job seekers with barriers to employment, including people with disabilities (PWD). According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), AJCs are “the go-to destinations for people in search of career counseling, job connections, and similar employment-related services.”
Applicant Accommodation Call Center Support Service
A commitment to recruiting a diverse pool of talent with disabilities begins with the application process. Companies that provide equal access build a stronger brand, capture a wider range of talent and are competitive in recruiting top talent with disabilities. HirePotential® created the Applicant Accommodation Call Center Support Service to help ensure the success of businesses capturing individuals with disabilities through a worry-free, fully operational accommodation process. Download HirePotential Flyer for more information.
The Orioles will be first team to don Braille uniforms

The Orioles are set to make history on September 18, when they become the first team in American professional sports to wear Braille lettering on their gameday uniforms.
The traditional "Orioles" script on Baltimore's home uniforms will be replaced with Braille when the team takes the field for its 7:05 p.m. ET matchup against the Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The themed jerseys will be part of the Orioles' National Federation of the Blind Night promotion that will recognize the 40th anniversary of the Federation moving its national headquarters to Baltimore. Read more about this awareness initiative about blindness .
Sephora: Enabling a Workforce with Disabilities

Sephora is proud to support our community and our employees by promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion. It’s common knowledge at Sephora that our purpose is to "Inspire Fearlessness." But this commitment goes way beyond our stores and the world of beauty – it also means supporting people to make bold choices in their everyday lives.

To make this goal a reality for our people and communities, Sephora's Distribution Center in Olive Branch, MS, is marching toward its objective to staff 30% of its workforce with people with disabilities.

Take a look at video below on how this program has made an impact.
Events
Careers in Cybersecurity
Gallaudet University.


Employers! - Are You looking for Future Cybersecurity Talent?
Join us on October 6, 2018
9:00-3:30


Sponsored by Ernst & Young, Fidelity Investments,
 Procter and Gamble, and Gallaudet University Career Center
Six Employer openings available!
$50 pp (limit 2 per employer)
18 th  Annual NTID Career Fair
NTID Career Fair.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Rochester, New York
Come and meet excellent deaf and hard-of-hearing candidates for full-time and co-op/intern positions in: Business, Computing, Engineering & Science,Graphic Arts, and Liberal Arts.  For more information, call 585-475-6219 or check out our website:
About Us
The DC Metro Business Leadership Network is an employer led non-profit that uses a business-to business model offering education, training programs and resources to change attitudes and address concerns of businesses so that they learn how to proactively include people with disabilities in the workforce, marketplace and supplier diversity.