by Dallas Silva, Maisie Kramer, Erica Mones, Ewidji Vincent, and Sebastien Janelle
Fellow: Dallas Silva
“Imagine a world where individuals with disabilities can thrive alongside industry giants, operating and promoting their businesses on an equal playing field. Understanding how to navigate through Disability Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE) Certification and remote working opportunities makes this vision a reality. By guiding you through the certification process, we unlock new markets and opportunities, empowering businesses owned by individuals with disabilities to reach their full potential. Join me as I educate you on the process of DOBE certification and how remote working helps create a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.”
Fellow: Maisie Kramer
Achieving equal employment for people with disabilities will require us to change hearts and minds, and the way to do that is through storytelling. Maisie’s portion of the project will be a series of video interviews in which people with disabilities share their personal experiences with employment.
Fellow: Erica Mones
The entertainment industry has historically excluded people with disabilities from pieces of media both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Through interviews with those working in the industry and external research, Erica aims to identify how people with disabilities can break into the entertainment industry, some of the obstacles they may face, and how the industry can be made more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.
Fellow: Ewidji Vincent
I have been interviewing people about how employers and workplaces can be more inclusive. I asked NDMC fellows about recommendations that companies and jobs should have to make the workplace more inclusive. Fellows talked about the need to include accommodations as a part of the hiring and onboarding process and shared that it would be helpful to have resource groups and alternative transportation options.
Fellow: Sebastien Janelle
My project is about networking. A few weeks ago I went to Washington DC to attend seminars and network about different careers. In my project, I reflect on my own experiences with networking and how it helped me find my career field. I share some tips about networking for young people exploring careers. Some lessons I have learned about networking include:
- The use of speed networking
- You can use volunteering as networking
- The importance of social media in networking (especially LinkedIn)
- You can use your passions to create networks