One in four adults in the United States has a disability, the majority of which are non-apparent.
How can we make our organizations more inclusive for people with disabilities? How can we design our policies and structures with them in mind?
Join us on March 11 at 12 pm ET for this important and timely discussion!
This session examines disability inclusion through both data and lived experience, surfacing the persistent barriers that keep people with disabilities out of meaningful work. This session will also highlight the unique strengths, superpowers, perspectives, and leadership capacities that employees with disabilities bring to organizations.
This session is a space to examine assumptions, practices, and power dynamics that shape workplace culture. We will also explore policies, governance, and decision-making structures, where lasting change requires intentional structural shifts.
Rather than stopping at theory, the session concludes with concrete, immediately actionable steps. Participants will leave with practical tools they can implement right away to begin reshaping their organizations into environments where employees with disabilities are not merely accommodated, but supported to thrive, lead, and belong.
About the Speaker
Jena Kitchen, M.S. | Founder, Radiate Social Impact
Jena Kitchen partners with social impact organizations and their leaders through strategic change and trauma-responsive program design to promote staff wellbeing and systems change. She focuses on ensuring internal systems, processes, and practices are human-centered and align with mission and values. Staff who are supported throughout the organizational system are better able to serve their communities and contribute toward the overall mission. She has worked with and independently consulted within philanthropic, public health, nonprofit, and higher education sectors. Jena is a person with disabilities and has experienced societal barriers to inclusion for over 20 years both in and outside of the workplace.
FAQs
What is the cost for this class?
The class is FREE for CCDA Members and $25 for non-members. Click here to learn more about CCDA membership.
Are there ways to connect with others with disabilities or those who are supporting those with disabilities?
Check out CCDA’s Disability, Neurodiversity, and Support People Network! This affinity group is a safe place to discuss how the Church can integrate the disabled, neurodiversed, and their families. This group is also a safe place to seek healing from ableism, from both inside the church and from the world. This is a place to figure out how to do life while managing our disabilities and/or supporting those with disabilities.
How is disability defined for this class?
Our class is using the current American Psychological Association’s definition for disability.
Statistics about people with disabilities in the US can be found in the 2022 CDC Newsroom.
