The winds of change have come early for Disability Lead! Last month, we welcomed April McFadden as our seventh team member and new Marketing and Communications Manager. April will lead our efforts to engage our communities in content and opportunities that will propel disability leadership forward. In her role, she will develop communications and marketing initiatives that will establish a culture of opportunity and change and create a more equitable and inclusive society for individuals with disabilities. While April will work collaboratively with all team members at Disability Lead, she will work closely with Brittney Grant, our Programs Coordinator, to fulfill all marketing and communication needs. April will report to Risa Jaz Rifkind, our Senior Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives.
You may have noticed that Risa's title is different. Her new title represents how her role now oversees our marketing initiatives — led by April — and education programs — led by Clare Killy — as well as continuing to focus on Connections and expansion efforts, namely in Southwest Pennsylvania (SWPA).
Since 2023, we have added Clare as the Education & Learning Services Manager and Jenn Jones as our Operations Manager, marking the first time we've had dedicated leadership for marketing, education, and operations. In addition to supporting Clare with communicating with our Network and Jenn to our staff and board, April will support Anne Renna's fundraising capabilities. With these additions to our team, we have improved our internal processes so we can better support our Network, improve the quality and increase the frequency of our programming, engage new funders, and continue to build on our successes.
One of our big successes since Brittney joined Disability Lead last year is that our LinkedIn page has gained nearly 2,500 followers! We are now considered a “micro-influencer” with a total of 6,600 followers interested in our mission and learning more about our incredible Network!
Every one of these organizational shifts indicates that Disability Lead is continuing to prioritize and elevate disabled leaders. This is a credit to our Executive Director Emily Blum's continued leadership and vision to build a disabled-led organization. All of these changes improve our ability to effectively support our dynamic and growing Network of positive disruptors.