The COSD 5th Annual National Meeting was held at the corporate headquarters of Motorola, Inc. in Schaumburg, IL on May 10-11, 2004. In attendance were 100 representatives from university Career Services and Disability Services offices, national employers, US Government agencies and private sector agencies, as well as a small number of college students (please see the attendee list on the COSD website at www.cosdonline.org/conferences). The Meeting was sponsored by Motorola, Inc. (as host), NASA, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Microsoft, Nordstrom, Procter & Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Merck & Co., Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), UT Battelle – Oak Ridge National Laboratory, SunTrust Banks, US Business Leadership Network (USBLN), Cintas, Texas Christian University and University of Arkansas. The following is a brief summary of the highlights of events at the Meeting:

Day 1 Monday, May 10, 2004

Dan Maloney, Executive Vice President, President and CEO Motorola Broadband Communications Sector: The Meeting was convened with welcoming remarks from Mr. Maloney. He was gracious in his welcome and discussed many of the exciting initiatives being undertaken by the company in the area of diversity, particularly in the area of disability. He recognized the efforts of Kevin Foster, Senior HR Manager in the Tempe, AZ location in bringing greater awareness and innovative ideas of attracting a more diverse workforce including employees with disabilities.

Kathy Martinez, Deputy Director of the World Institute on Disability (WID): Kathy discussed her own personal experiences in describing the distance we have already traveled toward more career employment opportunities for people with disabilities and how much further we need to go. She also discussed the international aspects of disabilities and the many exciting collaborations between agencies here in the US and abroad through WID.

Slava Kotov, Student and representing Perspektiva, Moscow, Russia: Slava (on his 22nd birthday) presented detailed information on the social, political, education and employment situations for people with disabilities. He discussed the employment practices of companies in Russia, which receive generous incentives to hire people with disabilities, but they are primarily “no show” jobs, resulting in a class of potentially great employees sitting at home. Slava also discussed in some detail the initiatives of Perspektiva to accomplish the needed systems changes. Slava’s presentation can be found on the COSD website at www.cosdonline.org/conferences.

Internship Panel: Gena Smith of Winthrop University facilitated the panel of four individuals with disabilities. Each person was at different stages of this process and each had different perspectives and experiences. The panelists were; Ms. Danielle Bank, currently interning at Advocates for a World of Acceptance, Respect and Equality (AWARE) in Chicago; Mr. Shannon Franks, a graduate student at the University of Maryland and continues to be employed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland; Ms. Kelly Halacka, a Structural Systems Dynamics Engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center in Ohio; and Nadia Ibrahim, Policy Analyst for the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in Washington, DC. Each of the panelists discussed their internship experiences, both positive and negative, whether they used Career Services and / or Disability Services and provided some suggestions. They sought little campus assistance, except for specific accommodations. Some of the suggestions centered around the concept of publicizing the existence of programs that are for all students and the statement of inclusiveness to help students with disabilities feel welcome in attending. Shannon stressed that searching for employment opportunities on the Net does not mean that you use “disability” as the primary key word. He was looking for careers for which he would be qualified, with a disability or not.

Youth to Work Coalition: During our lunch, the Youth to Work Coalition (YWC) hosted two tables for approximately 20 people and discussed the goals and mission of this exciting new group. YWC is made up of representatives of US Government agencies, universities, employers, foundations and other interested parties. The primary thrust of the group is to formulate a resource guide available to high school and college students with disabilities outlining available programs focused on students with disabilities in the areas of internships, experiential education and permanent career placement.

Carol Gill, Associate Professor, University of Illinois-Chicago and Kathleen Prunty, VP Human Resources and Hospital Services, Alexian Brothers Medical Center: Dr. Gill outlined the guiding principles of Disability Studies, which considers disability as a culture, by focusing on the Social Model and how “limitations” do not equate to inferior work or inefficiency. She also discussed the core values of Disability Culture including acceptance of human differences, skills in everyday managing, flexibility and adaptability.

Ms. Prunty discussed the gross under representation of people with disabilities in the executive ranks and the over representation in the unskilled worker population. She discussed the corporate perspective of disability and its desire for reduced turnover of employees, increasing productivity and deepening community relations. Ms. Prunty’s advice to employers was to embrace the concepts of engendering loyalty, non-discriminatory hiring practices and representing the community with its own employees. She pointed out the reality of the shrinking of the labor force in the near future, the increased education and self – advocacy of students with disabilities currently in school or recently graduated and the experiences of peers without disabilities going to school with students with disabilities. These factors will all benefit students with disabilities as they seek careers.

Both Dr. Gill’s and Ms. Prunty’s presentations are available on the COSD website at www.cosdonline.org/conferences.

Jennifer Taransky, Washington Center: “JT” provided a brief overview of the Washington Center’s Internship Program for Students with Disabilities. She discussed deadlines and requirements and answered questions from the group. For program details, please see www.twc.edu/diversityingovernment.htm.

Katherine McCary, USBLN: Katherine provided a brief outline of the Business Leadership Network concept and described how the organization has evolved into a true national entity of employers focused on employment of people with disabilities. Katherine also discussed the many potential partnerships with organizations such as COSD. For more information on the USBLN, please refer to their website at www.usbln.com.

Monday evening – Banquet and Entertainment: We all enjoyed a banquet dinner at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield. Immediately following the main course, COSD recognized all of Meeting sponsors with a sculpted Lucite block that was inscribed with the COSD logo, date of the Meeting and the name of the sponsoring entity.

Anita Hollander: Anita is a Broadway actress, singer, composer and storyteller, who has performed for a number of years both with and without a disability. She is a person with a lower limb amputation due to cancer. She performed her one-woman show, “Still Standing” to a rapt audience that was moved laughter and tears. It was a very hard hitting, poignant and funny story of her life post amputation told through songs about specific incidents or attitudes. Anita received a standing ovation and many positive comments.