11:05 - 11:30 a.m.: "DEI Advocacy Ambassadors: Self-Advocates Leading the Way""
Coleen Mackin, Statewide Advisor, Immediate Past President, SANYS
Michelle Rudoff, Quality Assurance Trainer, AHRC Nassau
Colleen Tapia, DEI Advocacy Ambassadors Advisor, QI Administrator, AHRC Nassau
Jerri Walker, Volunteer Coordinator, AHRC Nassau

At AHRC Nassau, we are grounded in person-centered philosophy and dedicated to putting people first. This workshop will highlight the many ways that AHRC Nassau partnered to learn from self-advocate leadership and increase DEI both internally and system wide with Human Services.

This session will also present the varied pathways that self-advocate teams have taken to share information, experiences, and methods that not only strengthen the ambassador cohort but the agency and beyond.

Objectives:

How self-advocate leaders at AHRC Nassau are sharing information on respectful interactions with self-advocacy councils, board members and staff.
Leading organizational initiatives to increase DEI at AHRC Nassau.
Empowering a team of DEI Advocacy Ambassadors to develop an interest survey, advisory, and with “A Self-advocates Guide to DEI,” handbook and an accompanying video.
The sharing of these tools with other self-advocates as a resource for creating more inclusive self-advocacy groups.

11:30 - 11:55 a.m.: "TechKowledgeMe: Learning How Technology Can Help You Find Your Voice"
Michael Rogers, Regional Organizer, SANYS
Sophia Roberts, Regional Coordinator, Senior Management, SANYS

Throughout the past couple of years, video conferencing has become a major part of our society. People with developmental disabilities in particular have benefited from virtual meetings. Meeting in this way there is no need to worry about transportation, planning a trip, or getting ready to leave: people just click a link and start to communicate. We have seen people gather on a daily basis to discuss topics like racial equity, social justice, the meaning of disability itself, and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, just to name a few. For this reason we were very excited to be involved in a groundbreaking project.

In this presentation, we will share an innovative new series of videos entitled TechKnowledgeMe: Learning How Technology Can Help You Find Your Voice. The main purpose of the videos are to help those who have never connected through Video Conferencing get comfortable with the idea of virtual meetings and use the various platforms to express their advocacy. Conference attendees will get a brief overview of the project and view the videos. Since we want the videos to be used by Direct Support Professionals, Self-Advocacy Leaders and anyone who knows a person with a developmental disability that wants to connect, we will show participants how they might access the material and encourage using the videos as a permanent resource for their group or organization.

Objectives:

What is videoconferencing?
How to join a video conference.
Videoconferencing etiquette.
Managing your links.
Virtual self-advocacy.

11:55 - 12:05 p.m.: Q & A

Sophia Roberts

Regional Coordinator, Senior Management, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State

Appearances