Our second annual Disability Leadership Summit took place on February 25 and 26, 2025. This year, attendance grew 25% from our 2024 convening, representing disabled leaders and allies from across sectors and geographies. The Summit was designed by disabled professionals to support the advancement of disabled professionals in the workplace. We featured two days filled with diverse perspectives and areas of expertise, all centered on empowering disabled leaders and cultivating inclusive environments for disabled leaders to thrive. Each day focused on a different theme, day one centering on “Empowering Disabled Leaders” and day two focusing on “Strengthening Inclusive Workplaces.”
Here are some highlights from the sessions.
Day One Keynote featuring Rachel Arfa
“Nobody who does anything significant, does it alone.” – Rachel Arfa
Day one of the Summit opened with welcome remarks from our Executive Director, Emily Blum introducing the day’s theme: “Empowering Disabled Leaders.” Following Emily’s remarks, Rachel Arfa, Commissioner of the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD), gave a keynote presentation on her leadership journey. Commissioner Arfa’s presentation started with defining moments from her childhood, then she talked about how college was where she began to advocate for herself, and she ended with her influence and impact with the MOPD. Commissioner Arfa shared with attendees that she is often asked, “What can I do? Where can I start?” This is when she reminds people that the answer is simple and she learned it on the playground, we all need support or accommodations, and when we remember that we can create an accessible world. Following her keynote presentation, Commissioner Arfa joined us for an intimate meet and greet with questions facilitated by Emily.
Building Your Personal Brand with Emily Voorde
The speaker of the first of our breakout sessions on Day one, Emily Voorde, Founder and CEO of INTO Strategies, joined us as a speaker for the second year. Emily, who has led communications strategies for The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), presented an impactful session on personal branding. Emily anchored her presentation using an article from the Harvard Business Review, "A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand". Emily guided the attendees through the seven-step process for brand-building. The steps are as follows:
1. Define Your Purpose
2. Audit Your Personal Brand Equity
3. Construct Your Personal Narrative
4. Embody Your Brand
5. Communicate Your Brand Story
6. Socialize Your Brand
7. Reevaluate and Adjust Your Brand
Emily ended her session with opening up time for attendees to practice step two and a question-and-answer portion.
Lessons in Leadership (Panel)
Education and Learning Services Manager Clare Killy welcomed Summit attendees back together for a midday panel exploring the leadership journeys of midcareer professionals. Emily Voorde moderated a thoughtful discussion with Eric Harris, Director of Public Policy at Disability Rights California and Zane Landin, Associate Product Marketing Manager at Google. During this engaging hour-long panel, they discussed how self-advocacy and mentorship manifested throughout various points in their career. They shared personal stories of the highs and lows of navigating the workplace with a disability. The panel concluded with each speaker sharing their sources of hope and advice for navigating particularly challenging times.
Disability Rights at Work with Rebecca Williford
Following the panel, we started the later half of the day with a breakout session hosted by Rebecca Williford, an attorney and CEO of Disability Rights Advocates. Rebecca, also a Disability Lead board member, returned for the second year as a Summit speaker. Rebecca gave attendees a brief history of disability rights and an overview on key aspects of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). During the presentation, Rebecca shared insights to broaden attendees’ knowledge of rights as a person with a disability in the workplace. Attendees left the session with self-advocacy tools for getting a job, requesting accommodations, and keeping a job.
Authentic Storytelling with Amanda Delheimer
“What’s said stays, what’s learned leaves.” - Amanda Delheimer
Closing out day one, Amanda Delheimer, Artistic Director of 2nd Story Theater, led a session on authentic storytelling inviting attendees to explore the power of storytelling, particularly through the lens of disability. Before starting her presentation, Amanda established community agreements including, “What’s said stays, what’s learned leaves.” With the group agreements in place, Amanda led an interactive session. She offered an in-depth exploration of storytelling — why it matters, how to craft compelling narratives, and how to use storytelling effectively, particularly when it comes to sharing experiences around disability. The session concluded with a powerful reminder from Amanda that leadership sometimes requires vulnerability — leading by example, sharing personal stories, and “going first.” Her message inspired attendees to embrace the transformative power of storytelling and to step forward, unafraid of being vulnerable.
Day Two Keynote featuring Catarina Rivera
“I finally realized, it’s okay to be disabled. There’s nothing wrong with me. There is something wrong with our world. And then I entered my final phase where I’m at now, public advocacy and this is the phase that’s right for me. My purpose became clear. To create a more inclusive world.” - Catarina Rivera
Day two of the Summit commenced with our second keynote address from Catarina Rivera, disability advocate, DEIA consultant, and founder of Blindish Latina. She was introduced by our Executive Director Emily Blum. The theme for the day was “Strengthening Inclusive Workplaces,” and Catarina’s powerful presentation set the tone the day’s sessions. Catarina shared her deeply personal journey of growing up with hearing loss and being diagnosed with Usher Syndrome at one7. She opened up about the emotional stages of navigating her disability — denial, grief, acceptance, and ultimately, self-advocacy. In addition to sharing her personal journey, Catarina provided a primer on ableism, specifically internalized ableism, and the importance of understanding intersectionality in supporting disabled individuals. She also provided practical tips for allies on how to foster inclusive workplaces, debunked common myths about disability and accessibility, and shared actionable strategies for creating more inclusive environments. Following her keynote presentation, Catarina joined us for an intimate meet and greet with questions facilitated by Emily.
Neurodiversity (At Work) with JP Price and Johnny Walker
Our second session on Day two was led by Disability Lead Member JP Price and Johnny Walker, both employees at EY. JP and Johnny, who both identify as neurodivergent, led an insightful overview of neuroinclusion — what it is, why it matters, and how to support neurodivergent employees in the workplace. They discussed the value of neurodistinct perspectives, highlighting their personal experiences navigating the professional environment. One of the highlights during this discussion was when JP and Johnny introduced a new meeting facilitation technique by inviting attendees to make annotations and doodle on the Zoom whiteboard as they spoke. "Be at peace with your artwork and doodle as you listen. It is the way that we listen, as well," said JP Price. This playful yet thoughtful approach emphasized the importance of embracing diverse ways of engaging with information and learning. At the end of the session, JP and Johnny took questions from attendees around identifying as neurodivergent and how to self- advocate that really left attendees motivated to accommodate for neurodivergent perspectives in the workplace.
Leveraging Executive Buy-In (Panel)
Our midday panel on day two, introduced by Education and Learning Services Manager Clare Killy, centered on purposefully leveraging executive leadership in establishing equitable workplaces for employees with disabilities. In a conversation moderated by Kim Knackstedt, principal consultant of Unlock Access,LLC, panelists Katie Young, SVP of Store Operations at Starbucks, Rylin Rodgers, Disability Policy Director at Microsoft, and Sumeet Seam, Chief Legal Officer at the National Geographic Society, discussed the critical role senior and c-suite leaders have in establishing driving change in the workplace. The panel centered on the following ideas:
• The “how” over the “why” when creating inclusive workplaces.
• How to make the case to other stakeholders who aren’t bought into establishing an inclusive workplace.
• Examples of specific initiatives or strategies that companies can implement/explore.
This panel of executive leaders shared their rationale for centering disability inclusion, strategies for prioritizing and maximizing inclusive initiatives, and revealed some of their learnings as an executive leader. Attendees left with strategies that they can use when hitting roadblocks when making the case to senior leaders.
Lightning Talk on Disability and Technology with Ariana Aboulafia
Key Takeaways: 1. Sometimes technology is imbued with the assumptions of the designers about potential users. 2. The necessity of assessments in evaluating technology to understand different user experiences. 3. According to the American Bar Association, the best way to foster an inclusive environment for disabled workers is to utilize principles of inclusive design.
Following the midday panel, Ariana Aboulafia, an attorney who leads the Disability Rights in Technology Policy Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, led an enlightening session on how technology can both help and harm people with disabilities in the workplace. During the breakout session, Ariana gave a brief overview on disability rights in technology policy and provided insights on digital hiring tools and on-the-job “bossware” tools. These tools can be helpful, but those tools can pose accessibility and discrimination risks to workers with disabilities. Ariana left attendees with strategies on how they can engage technology to create inclusive workplaces.
Strong E/BRGs with Kim Holmes
Key Takeaways: 1. B/ERGs can contribute to organizational culture, innovation, and retention. 2. In order to be sustained, B/ERGs need organizational commitment, executive sponsorship, and resources.
Disability Lead board member, inclusion strategist, and change management consultant, Kim Holmes, returned to speak at the Summit for a second year about creating and maintaining effective Business/Employee Resource Groups (B/ERGs). B/ERGs are employee-led groups that bring together workers with shared identities or experiences that promote inclusion, advocacy, and support, while driving organizational change and cultural awareness. While these groups are not exclusive to those with that shared identity or experience, the groups’ activities are focused on inclusion and celebration of that group. During the session, Kim addressed the current landscape of corporate B/ERGs and the current administration’s position on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Kim also provided attendees with a foundational framework for B/ERG sustainability and some key considerations for leveraging these critical groups for organizational success.