USBLN, Biz2Biz Report
A Monthly Publication of the
USBLN®
VOLUME THREE, ISSUE NUMBER SIX, JUNE 30,
2010
Message from John D. Kemp USBLN®
Executive Director & General Counsel
Be sure to join us in Chicago, Illinois on September 19-22, 2010 for the US Business Leadership Network’s 13th Annual Conference at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago Hotel. Conference registration is now open with an early-bird rate for the four-day conference including over 40 educational sessions, Expo, special events and many meals for $325.00. After July 15, 2010 the rate increases to $395.00. For more information about the conference or to register, please visit www.usblnannualconference.org.
Entitled, “Aligning Disability with the Bottom Line: Talent, Market Share, and Supplier Diversity” this conference is the preeminent national employer-to-employer event that taps into the vast economic potential of people with disabilities. The conference brings corporate, government, disability-owned businesses and BLN affiliates together to create workplaces, marketplaces, and supply chains where people with disabilities are fully included as professionals, customers and entrepreneurs.
The USBLN® Annual Conference &; Expo will also feature:
Sincerely,
John D. Kemp
WELCOME 2nd QUARTER 2010 CORPORATE MEMBERS:
New York City Business Leadership Network Announces 2010 Board of Directors; Newest BLN Affiliate Seeks to Engage Employers to Promote Disability Employment
NEW YORK, NY (June 10, 2010) – The New York City Business Leadership Network (NYCBLN) today announced that it has named its Board of Directors for 2010-2011. As the newest affiliate to the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®), NYCBLN’s diverse representation includes Lisa Hancock, Director for Manpower New York City, Tammie McNaughton, Vice President, Diversity Talent Acquisition Solutions for GettingHired, Lori Golden, Inclusiveness Consultant and Lead of AccessAbilities, Ernst & Young, Lynn Broder, Director of Workplace Wellness at Mount Sinai Hospital Queens and Joan McGovern, Product Control Manager within JPMorgan Chase’s Treasury Services Commercial Card. The NYCBLN leadership now spans from the financial services industry to technology services and the banking industry to employment services.
The mission of the NYCBLN is to provide organizational support, awareness, education and other resources to area businesses to assist employers with hiring and retaining people with disabilities. The end result of the NYCBLN will be an increased level of employment of people with disabilities in the New York City area. The NYCBLN is one of over 60 affiliates of the USBLN® which is the national disability organization, representing over 5,000 employers across North America.
The full NYCBLN Board of Directors elected Lisa Hancock to serve as Chair, Lori Golden to serve as Vice-Chair, Tammie McNaughton to serve as 2nd Vice-Chair and Lynn Broder to serve as Secretary/Treasurer. Joan McGovern was selected to serve as the Executive Director.
“We’re excited about engaging employers of choice throughout New York City to ensure our city’s workforce is among the most diverse in the state,” said Joan McGovern, Executive Director of the NYCBLN. “It is also incumbent upon us to reach out to every segment of our local economy as we strive to promote the business imperative to include people with disabilities in the workforce.”
Learn more about the NYCBLN online at http://www.nycbln.org.
ABOUT LISA HANCOCK: Lisa Hancock is a degreed Elementary Teacher for the Hearing Impaired, K-6. After teaching and Florida School for the Deaf, she moved to the north and began her career with Manpower. After 27 years in the Philadelphia market, Lisa now is the Director for Manpower New York City. Lisa oversees a high performance sales team, service delivery team and is responsible for building Client relationships and being a Thought Leader in the Metro Market. Lisa is a member of SHRM, NYCBLN Chair, YAI Business Advisory Council, and NYU Rusk Business Advisory Council.
ABOUT LORI GOLDEN: Lori Golden leads AccessAbilities, Ernst & Young’s efforts to build an inclusive work environment for people with disabilities. AccessAbilities is a firm-sponsored inclusiveness initiative with a network made up of several hundred people from across the firm's organization's geographies, ranks and functional groups. There is also a leaders network of Abilities Champions who advocate for disabilities inclusiveness within their respective geographies and functional groups, and networks to support the parents of children with disabilities and to support Ernst & Young professionals who act as caregivers for adults with disabilities. Lori facilitates AccessAbilities' networks and drives a variety of initiatives within the firm to enhance accessibility in Ernst & Young offices, make internal communications, meetings, trainings and technology more accessible and user-friendly and build a global accessibility strategy for the web and online applications. Lori is also charged with educating Ernst & Young people on disabilities etiquette, language and work habits, and raising awareness of disability-related issues. Lori also serves on the USBLN Board of Directors.
ABOUT TAMMIE MCNAUGHTON: As Vice President, Diversity Talent Acquisition Solutions for GettingHired, Tammie helps companies enhance their diversity, inclusion and talent strategies to include qualified individuals with disabilities. As the leading diversity disability job portal in the USA, GettingHired bridges the gap between employers seeking diverse talent and the nearly 23 million skilled individuals with disabilities who are looking for work. This unique solution helps its employer members realize the many benefits of including the talented disability community which is the largest minority market in the US encompassing every aspect of diversity. Job seekers have access, at no charge, to career management tools, social networking and most importantly, career opportunities with employers who wish to hire them. Prior to this role, Tammie was Director, Corporate Diversity and Work Life at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pittsburgh, PA and led Highmark's Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives. This included key strategies for Disability Employment, Accessibility, Work Life, Culture and Affirmative Action Compliance. Tammie is a member of the USBLN Corporate Advisory Board and has been active with the BLN since 2000. She served as Chair of the Pennsylvania Business Leadership Network for five years and has also done start-up initiatives with the Florida and Hawaii BLN’s.
ABOUT LYNN BRODER: Lynn Broder is Director of Workplace Wellness at Mount Sinai Hospital Queens which provides health services and wellness programs to the business community. Prior to this undertaking, Lynn worked for the National Business & Disability Council assisting Fortune 500 companies with their diversity/disability needs in marketing, retaining, recruiting, and hiring initiatives through NBDC’s member services. She played a vital role in engaging their efforts and involvement in staff trainings, career events, and various programs such as the Emerging Leaders Summer Internship Program. Lynn received her Masters Degree in Social Work from Adelphi University and trained at NYU Psychoanalytic Institute.
ABOUT JOAN MCGOVERN: Currently the Product Control Manager, within JPMorgan Chase’s Treasury Services Commercial Card, Joan partners with Sales, Product, Operations and Technology colleagues to minimize risk exposure while increasing revenue growth. Prior to joining Treasury Services, Joan was the Founder and Director of the Access Ability Resource Center, within Corporate Human Resources. For five years Joan McGovern served as a catalyst and an advocate for change on disability issues affecting employees and customers. Joan has been quoted in the New York Times and on Career Builder.com, profiled in Diversity Inc., and seen at the NY Stock Exchange Opening Bell Ceremony for National Disability Awareness Month. Reaching outside the footprint of NYC, Ms. McGovern advises organizations through her membership on regional and national business advisory boards, offers insight to academic institutions for their consumers seeking jobs in the corporate sector, and searches for new collaborative partnerships such as with veterans groups.
Source: New York City Business Leadership Network (NYCBLN)
Manpower Launches Project Ability to Find Employment for People with Disabilities
Milwaukee (June 15, 2010) – Manpower announced it has launched a national program called Project Ability to transition people with disabilities into sustainable employment with leading employers nationwide. Initially launched in San Jose, Calif., the program works together in partnership with community organizations TransAccess, Project HIRED and the California State Department of Rehabilitation. Manpower’s Project Ability program has already enlisted several companies to commit to hiring individuals with disabilities, including Abbott and SVTC Technologies.
“Bringing people into the workplace and connecting them to careers is Manpower’s core mission. This is also true for people with disabilities, it’s about talent,” said Priscilla Azcueta, Manpower regional director. “Project Ability helps our partnering companies focus on workers’ talents, rather than their disabilities. This is a great example of our contribution to the workforce of the future and the impact our company and our partners have in the communities we serve.”
Project Ability is a national program that was created to find a solution to the impending talent shortage that will cause employers to look at talent pools that have traditionally gone untapped. People with disabilities represent the largest minority in the U.S., and have recently experienced an unemployment rate of 14.7 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition, U.S. disability employment statistics for May 2010 revealed that the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 22.3 percent, compared with 70.1 percent for persons with no disability.
“Project Ability presents a wonderful opportunity for Abbott to hire people with disabilities through collaboration with Manpower and local community-based organizations,” said Sandra McNeal, human resource director for Abbott Diagnostics. “Through Project Ability we can match our employment needs with valuable job skills of those who happen to have a disability.”
A key component of Project Ability is the partnership with local community-based organizations that have the access to candidates with required skill sets. Through local recruitment strategies, Manpower can work with local employers to identify and place candidates with disabilities. The San Jose-area community-based organizations aligned with Project Ability are the Department of Rehabilitation, Project HIRED and TransAccess.
Manpower looks to expand the reach of Project Ability by continually adding participating employers to the team. Companies looking to participate in the Project Ability program should contact Martha Artiles, Manpower’s Global Chief Diversity Officer at (408) 269-4019. More information about Manpower is available at us.manpower.com or press.manpower.com.
Manpower Inc. is a world leader in innovative workforce solutions; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. In the United States, Manpower offers a range of services including temporary and contract recruitment, employee assessment and selection, and training. Under the Manpower Professional brand, the company creates ideal employment matches between job seekers and employers in information technology, engineering, finance, healthcare and other business professional arenas. Manpower leverages its expertise in staffing and consulting for the U.S. federal government through Manpower Public Sector, and provides clients with managed service programs, business and recruitment process outsourcing offerings, and other integrated workforce management solutions through Manpower Business Solutions.
Source: Manpower Inc.
JAN Recognized with Edward M. Kennedy
Community Service Award
On July 1 in Raleigh, North Carolina, John Beverly, ODEP's Deputy Assistant Secretary, will be representing DOL/ODEP, at the annual conference of the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA). In addition to providing remarks, he will be on hand for the presentation of their prestigious Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award to the Job Accommodation Network.
This award is presented to an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding community service in the area of disability.
JAN was evaluated based on four criteria:
In this, the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the AAAA is recognizing the outstanding service that the Job Accommodation Network has provided over the years.
For more information about JAN, please visit: http://askjan.org/
Source: Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
Call for Disability-Owned Businesses
The USBLN® is pleased to announce the launch of the Disability Supplier Diversity ProgramSM! This program offers businesses that are owned by an individual(s) with a disability, including service disabled veterans, an exciting opportunity to increase their access to potential contracting opportunities with major corporations, government agencies, and one another. If you or someone you know is a business owner with a disability, and would like to learn more about how to get Disability- Owned Business Enterprise Certification through this program, please contact Aditi Dussault, Director of Affiliate Relations and the Disability Supplier Diversity Program, at aditi@usbln.org or 202.487.5868.
Source: US Business Leadership Network
White House Launches Celebration of 20th Anniversary of Americans With Disabilities Act
By Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy on June 8, 2010
Sunday night, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama, kicked off the President’s and White House’s celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act while delivering remarks to over 2,000 people from around the World at the VSA International Festival at the Kennedy Center. Valerie’s remarks, which you can find below, noted the significance of this historic landmark civil rights legislation, highlighted some of the President’s initiatives thus far related to people with disabilities and previewed that senior administration officials will be commemorating this historic anniversary in the weeks to come with new policies and events. So, stay tuned for more announcements and information in the upcoming weeks.
2010 International VSA Festival Opening Ceremony June 6, 2010 - Valerie Jarrett Remarks
Thank you, David for that very kind and generous introduction and for your new chairmanship of this extraordinary Center. We know your tenure will be marked with many accomplishments, and the support of you and your wonderful wife Alice as the principal underwriters for this evening is a wonderful start. We thank you, David. Let's please give him a round of applause.
What an exciting night. I am having so much fun already, and it's just beginning. It's always an honor for me to be able to represent the President and First Lady of the United States who bring you greetings and wish they could be here with you this evening, and I can't wait to report what a treat this has been. David recognized Soula Antoniou who-and I know she is up in the box, and I want to say just your passionate advocacy for people with disabilities and all that this conference stands for is just tremendous. So, one more round of applause for Soula, please.
David also mentioned Vicky, you grace us with your presence, and of course we want to recognize the contribution of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and the critical role that he played in the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. And throughout the course of his long career was a steadfast champion for people with disabilities, and we miss him dearly, and his impressive legacy and good works and service certainly continue, and he is here with us tonight.
I am honored to represent the White House and the President who is so deeply committed to honoring and enforcing the rights of all people with disabilities. But disability rights are human rights, and to be recognized and promoted from both here at home and certainly around the world and we should lead by example.
That's why the President was so proud to add America to the list of 140 countries that signed onto the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This was the first new human rights treaty of the 21st Century. It's also why president Obama lifted the ban on stem cell research. It's why he provided more than $12 billion in funding in the Recovery Act for individuals with disabilities education act.
Read the full article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/06/08/white-house-launches-celebration-20thanniversary-americans-with-disabilities-act.
Source: Office of Public Engagement (OPE)
ODEP Assistant Secretary Martinez Profiled in
DiversityInc’s Annual
“Women We Love” Feature
By Barbara Frankel on June 8, 2010
For the third year in a row, DiversityInc has selected several extraordinary women to profile in their Women We Love feature. The six women whose stories you'll read have two things in common: They overcame obstacles or cultural assumptions to become leaders in their fields, and they have continued, throughout their lives, to give back to others.
Kathy Martinez is one of those women. Here is her story:
My dad worked for a number of defense contractors, including Rockwell Collins and Northrop Grumman, and my mom cleaned houses and ultimately became a driver for Braille Institute. I was born in New Mexico and grew up in Southern California.
I was one of six kids. I’m blind and my sister is blind, and we are in the middle. Where we came from in New Mexico, it was very rural and very poor and most of the disabled kids were sent away. There was no example for my parents of kids being disabled and being integrated into the school system.
But my mother had a deep commitment that I would not go to a school for the blind. I’m two years older than my sister who’s blind, so I went first. My mother had to fight very hard. I was tested and tested and tested and I finally made it into the public kindergarten. For the first time there, I realized I was different. I would hear other kids on the playground, rush toward them and crash into other people or toys.
Read the Full Article: http://www.diversityinc.com/article/7755/Blind-Since-Birth-Kathy-Martinez-Fights-for- Disability-Community/
Source: DiversityInc
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Actionable Advice from the Campaign for Disability Employment - What Can YOU Do?
The Campaign’s messages and products are framed around the theme of “What Can YOU Do?” In that spirit, here are a few things YOU can do to help promote its messages among people with disabilities:
Source: The Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE)
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Improve your Supplier Diversity Program with Certified Disability-Owned Businesses
The new USBLN® Disability Supplier Diversity ProgramSM (DSDP) offers major corporations and government entities a reliable source for identifying potential suppliers that are disability-owned businesses, including businesses owned by service disabled veterans. Through the DSDP, your organization can connect with a growing pool of qualified suppliers while meeting objectives for inclusion of entrepreneurs with a disability. Six major corporations have already made the commitment to include certified disability-owned businesses in their supply chain, and have joined as USBLN® DSDP - Founding Partners. If you would like your company to join Ernst & Young LLP, SunTrust Bank, KPMG, IBM Corporation, Merck & Co. Inc., and Freddie Mac as a Founding Partner, please contact Aditi Dussault, Director of Affiliate Relations and the Disability Supplier Diversity Program, at aditi@usbln.org or 202.487.5868.
Source: US Business Leadership Network
Disability Community News Corner - Upcoming Events
Source: Submissions provided to the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®)
Registration now open! Visit: www.usblnannualconference.org
USBLN® Annual Conference Partners
The USBLN® is pleased to recognize its partners and their generous support. To learn more about our Annual Conference Partnership Opportunities, please contact Jill Houghton, Deputy Executive Director at Jilldh@bellsouth.net or 954.461.4726.
Presenting Partner
Lead Media Partner
Topaz Partners
Exhibit Hall Host
Inclusion Partners
Disability Supplier Diversity Program
TOWER Initiative
Press Room
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USBLN Lead Media Member
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Become a BLN Affiliate
The BLN is an educational organization. Members engage in networking discussions to increase their knowledge of community outreach, recruiting and interviewing, the accommodation process and barriers to employment. By participating in a business to business dialog, employers learn how to leverage their organizations for success. Being a part of the BLN sends a message to the community that the business is committed to including people with disabilities in the workforce. For more information on becoming a BLN Affiliate, please contact Aditi Dussault, Director, Affiliate Relations & Disability Supplier Diversity Program aditi@usbln.org or 202.487.5868.
Source: US Business Leadership Network
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