June 12, 2020 \ Rachel Jellinek
Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Credit: Partners for Youth with Disabilities

Back in mid-February I attended an event, “Building Inclusive Work Cultures for People with Disabilities”.  I wanted to go not only because I am a fan of Yolanda Coentro and the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP), who co-hosted the event with State Street.

I also knew I had a lot to learn.  I had the chance to speak with Catherine Hyde Townsend, Disability Inclusion Expert, and Regina Snowden, the Executive Director of Partners for Youth with Disabilities (PYD), which was really helpful in ways that they didn’t know.

I realized that I was actually nervous to talk with them, because I was afraid that I didn’t have the right vocabulary to carry a conversation.  But I’ve learned that fear and discomfort should not be barriers to learning and taking action!

After attending the INP event, I decided to enroll in PYD’s online self-paced training on inclusion of people with disabilities.  And it has been a fantastic educational opportunity!  I highly recommend it.

Using both text and video, the courses cover a variety of topics, including but not limited to:

  • An Introduction to Disability & Inclusion
  • Tips for Inclusive Communication
  • Creating Inclusive Programs, Activities & Events
  • Principles of Inclusive Marketing
  • Developing an Inclusion Statement

For each learning module, you begin by assessing your base level of knowledge.  After reading educational content and watching videos, you are prompted to respond to questions that test your understanding by considering different scenarios and how you would shape them to be more inclusive.  I’ve found the activities to be challenging and therefore helpful.

Because of this course, I am now creating a list of ways that Reflection Films can be more inclusive of people with disabilities in our work, and I look forward to putting them into practice.

I would like to extend an invitation for you to join Women in Development of Greater Boston (WID) on Monday, June 22nd, for the webinar, “Building Inclusion of People with Disabilities into Your Organization’s Mindset” from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.  Please click here to learn more!