Disability Lead: Stories

Blog Posts

Institute

Announcing Our 2025 Institute Fellows

Congratulations and welcome to our incoming class of Institute Fellows! This is our 10th Institute cohort since 2015.

Disability Lead

Dec 10, 2024

Member Story

October Storytelling Event Recap

October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month. We know that sharing stories about our experiences as disabled people is critical to creating workplaces that support us and our growth as professionals. We created a forum to share and uplift the stories of disabled leaders in hopes of disrupting myths and stereotypes on how we live, operate, and thrive.

Black woman with dark, coily hair is smiling at the camera with medium to dark skin tone wearing a black and white striped dress, clear framed glasses, and a red lip.

April McFadden

Nov 29, 2024

Announcement

Disability Lead is a 2024 Chicago Innovation Awards Winner

Chicago Innovation recognized Disability Lead at their 23rd annual Chicago Innovation Awards. The Chicago Innovation Awards is the region’s foremost recognition of the most innovative new products or services. Of the 350 nominees, Disability Lead was among the two winners in the Social Innovator Award category.

April McFadden

Nov 15, 2024

Five fall leaves in various shades of yellow and orange are falling from the sky. In the background is a bright blue sky with one cluster of white clouds towards the bottom of the image.

Announcement

2024 Organizational Update

Disability Lead is buzzing with updates! We’ve recently brought on April McFadden as our Marketing and Communications Manager and made some changes to our team roles. These shifts are set to enhance our community engagement and strengthen our support for disability leadership. Read more in our latest blog!

Disability Lead

Sep 13, 2024

Event Recap

Celebrating Our Members During Disability Pride Month

Executive Director Emily Blum recaps Disability Lead's Annual Membership Celebration event on July 9th and on the 34th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act. [This needs a little work]

Emily is smiling in a leafy outdoor setting. She is a white, disabled woman with brown wavy shoulder-length hair, and is wearing a pink and purple top with blue accents.

Emily Blum

Three photos of disabled leaders in the background with a white, rectangular banner in the center with text. Bolded, capitalized, and purple at the top are the words “THE INSTITUTE”. Below “THE INSTITUTE” is the text “A Leadership Program by Disability Lead. Now Accepting 2025 applications! disabili

Institute

The 2025 Institute Application Closes October 4

The Early Bird deadline ends this Friday, September 20th. However, two weeks remain before the application period closes to apply to The 2025 Institute. Need reasons to apply? Use this blog as your overview guide to why you should apply to the 2025 Institute before October 4, 2024.

Disability Lead

Sep 17, 2024

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Stories

Blog Posts

Announcing Our 2025 Institute Fellows

October Storytelling Event Recap

Disability Lead is a 2024 Chicago Innovation Awards Winner

2024 Organizational Update

Celebrating Our Members During Disability Pride Month

The 2025 Institute Application Closes October 4

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