October is National Disability Awareness Month and in celebration, Alameda County presents an Annual County-wide Disability Employment Awareness Conference and Training for Supervisors and Managers. In keeping with our proud conference tradition, each year we aspire to bring the latest developments in disability awareness and inclusion as well as cutting edge topics relevant to current workplace needs including development.
In 2017, Haben Girma was a keynote speaker sharing her experience as Harvard Law School’s first deaf-blind graduate and her work advocating for those with disabilities in the tech industry. We celebrated our eleventh (11th) annual conference in 2014 with the theme “DiversAbility: Attracting, Engaging & Advancing Persons with Disabilities” which captured the County’s spirit and the rich contributions individuals with disabilities make to the workplace. We were privileged to be joined by Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, US Department of Labor and Kareem Dale, Former Special Assistant to the President of the United States for Disability Policy, as our keynote speakers.
Conference workshops featured thought leaders, in the field of disability employment, and a cross section of leading experts such as Roberta Etcheverry of Diversified Management Group; Kelly A. Trainer and Traci I Park, Partners at Burke, Williams and Sorensen, LLP; Marlene Dines, National Integrated Disability Management Leader at Kaiser Permanente; just to name a few.
Every year, this event provides a valuable opportunity for conference attendees to increase their knowledge, skills, and abilities to hire, supervise and work with persons with disabilities more effectively. It is also designed to improve the services provided to individuals with disabilities. With these best practices and tools for creating and maintaining an inclusive and productive work environment, conference attendees will be enriched to better engage individuals with disabilities in the workplace.
We aspire to continue to grow each year and hope you will join us as a participant, partner or vendor this October. For more information please contact the Alameda County’s Diversity Programs Office at 510.272.3895.