Ciara Ladroma is a Senior Associate with Griffin-Hammis Associates. Ciara provides training and technical assistance around customized employment, supported employment, self-Employment and building social capital. Before joining Griffin-Hammis Associates, Ciara served as the Director of the Iowa Women’s Business Center. She is a former career coach with Des Moines Area Community College. Ciara also served as an employment specialist and employment coordinator for a community-based rehabilitation agency. She is skilled in training others in negotiation, networking and relationship building.

Hib Doe is a Field Services Manager with HireAbility Vermont, Vermont’s vocational rehabilitation (VR) program. His primary role is to provide supervisory support for all six of the state’s regional managers. Hib worked for several years as a VR Counselor in a small VR district office on the Canadian border and always had a strong interest in assisting participants achieve self-employment outcomes. He has been very involved with the development and implementation of Vermont’s Self Employment Program which holds great promise to improve services to individuals with disabilities who desire to be self-employed. Hib is very excited to be part of this project because it is  important that VR continues to advance the abilities of individuals in ways that work best for them. Hib has a master’s  in counseling and has enjoyed working on many successful projects for HireAbility Vermont in the past 25 years.

Jamie Blondin is a seasoned vocational rehabilitation professional, educator, and entrepreneur with a passion for helping people find success through self-employment. She holds a B.S. in health education with a minor in psychology from Bridgewater State College and an M.Ed. in community education from Goddard College. Jamie began her career with HireAbility Vermont as a vocational counselor, where she supported individuals with disabilities in identifying and pursuing meaningful career paths. She later advanced to manage the state’s self-employment program, leading program development, staff training, and business planning support. She has proudly followed her family’s entrepreneurial roots and she has owned both a retail and wholesale food business and a registered home daycare. Today, as founder of Mind Hive Consulting, LLC, she partners with agencies and organizations nationwide to strengthen self-employment services and empower individuals with disabilities to build meaningful careers through self-employment.

Stacey Bragg serves as the Deputy Director for the Delaware Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and has over 28 years of experience in supporting individuals with disabilities. DVR offers tailored services to both employers and individuals with disabilities, promoting greater independence and fostering a more inclusive workplace. Stacey started her career in vocational rehabilitation with Delaware’s blind agency, the Division for the Visually Impaired (DVI) before transitioning to DVR, where she has held various positions during her tenure. She is an active member of the Delaware Developmental Disabilities Council, where she stives to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Her efforts are focused on transforming systems, laws, and policies so that everyone is included, respected, and afforded equal opportunities. Additionally, Stacey is an Adjunct Instructor for Delaware Technical Community College, teaching in both the Human Services and Social Sciences programs. Stacey holds a master’s degree in administration of human services and a bachelor’s degree in human resource management, both from Wilmington University. Motivated by her personal experience as a parent of a child with disabilities, Stacey is deeply passionate about her work. She is also a dedicated supporter of Special Olympics of Delaware.

Brent Anderson is a recognized role model for individuals with disabilities. His humorous explanation of life on the autism spectrum is enlightening, engaging and inspiring. Brent’s popular Unintentional Humor books provide valuable information and are a must have resource for teachers, therapists and families. After struggling to find traditional employment, Brent launched his first business, Unintentional Humor, along with his mother, Linda, in 2010. Together, they wrote two books and Brent shared his story at schools, conferences and professional events. He has spoken at more than 100 events across the country. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a stop to in-person gatherings so Brent turned that challenge into an opportunity to start another business. Embracing his love of animals, Brent began making products for cats and dogs and Pets Pizzazz launched in 2022. Brent also serves on the advisory board of Celebrate EDU, a nonprofit organization that provides entrepreneurial education to individuals with developmental disabilities. His experiences as a self-advocate entrepreneur are helping to shape the future for millions living with disabilities.

Elisha Jenkins is the Director of the Delaware Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. She was appointed to lead the agency in July of 2022. With over 20 years of experience with serving individuals with disabilities, Elisha has an extensive career with the State of Delaware including the Division for the Visually Impaired , Division of Substance Use and Mental Health and her current role. Elisha holds a master’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in human resources from Wilmington College, a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Norfolk State University, and an Assistive Technology Certificate from North Carolina Central University. Fueled by her passion from lived experience to navigate services for a family member who was deaf, Elisha is most proud of the relationships and network to continue systems change. Her primary focus has been to expand opportunities for vulnerable populations through education, employment, and technology. Elisha is a Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and Girl Scouts of America and loves singing in her church choir. One favorite quote is Maya Angelou’s “My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style. If you don’t like something change it. If you can’t change it change your attitude.”

Jonathan is an independent accessibility consultant and the founder of Opossum House Accessibility. He has decades of experience in ensuring compliance with accessibility regulations and helping public and private organizations include and support people with disabilities. In his prior role at the Department of Labor, he developed a Department-wide policy on accessible virtual events, directed accessibility initiatives reaching thousands of employers, produced award-winning materials supporting compliance for thousands of small businesses, and trained nearly 2,000 people across the country on various aspects of accessibility. In prior roles, Jonathan helped draft regulations for digital and physical accessibility in health care facilities across the country, built a training program and protocol for accessibility in a New York City government agency, developed accessibility guidance on supporting residents with dementia for thousands of urban planners across the United States, and supported accessibility in small organizations across the country. Jonathan holds degrees from the University of Chicago;  the University of Oxford; and the University of Maryland  College Park. Jonathan is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC).

Tiffany Meehan is a disabled Latina professional with expertise in accessibility, strategic marketing, and universal design. She is the Founder of Full Circle Access, the first platform that personalizes live event experiences, helping venues better understand and serve their guests. Her career spans government, technology startups, and nonprofit sectors, where she creates partnerships and initiatives that advance workplace inclusion, including her role as Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. Based in Sterling, Virginia, Tiffany graduated from The George Washington University with a BA in English and Religion. In her free time, she enjoys road-tripping with her golden retriever and going to concerts.

Suzanne is the Accessibility Standards Lead at Airbnb, where she sets the company’s overall vision and strategy for accessibility and works with teams to execute it. Suzanne is a full-time wheelchair user after sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2011; she is extremely passionate about helping make travel more accessible. She joined Airbnb in 2017 as part of the acquisition of accessible travel startup Accomable. Recent updates to Airbnb have included ways for guests with mobility needs to more easily find and book listings that meet their needs and the introduction of the Adapted Category and Accessibility Review, a process to review and confirm accessibility features added to Airbnb listings. Outside of work, Suzanne is a very active member of the disability community and is an advocate for employment opportunities for members of the disability community and inclusive sports. She is a member of the English Adaptive Surf team.

Lorinda Gonzalez-Santana, owner of Remy's Consulting specializes in grant writing and nonprofit consulting. She holds degrees in English Writing, Business and Communication, along with certifications as an AGWA Certified Grant Writer and Grant Writing Specialist. With over a decade of experience, Lorinda has taught grant acquisition workshops to more than 10,000 students. She is dedicated to helping nonprofits succeed and excels in managing diverse, collaborative online teams.

Ruth E. Chavez, Small Business Specialist at National Disability Institute, specializes in supporting small businesses owned by individuals with disabilities across the nation. In her current role, Ruth provides expert guidance on feasibility studies, business plans and personal budgets, helping clients apply for start-up funding through vocational rehabilitation. Her support is tailored to the unique preferences and capacities of individuals with disabilities. Ruth’s prior experience includes a role as a bilingual Business Consultant and Training Coordinator at the University of Maryland’s Small Business Development Center, where she provided business counseling and organized numerous training programs for small business owners. Ruth’s background in entrepreneurship, combined with her bilingual skills in English and Spanish, equips her with a unique perspective and set of skills for supporting the success of small businesses.

Ashley Geiman is a jewelry designer based in Portland, Oregon, creating one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. With a focus on organic shapes with ethically sourced, reclaimed, and vintage materials, her work is both artisan-crafted and deeply mindful. Each piece reflects timeless elegance while carrying a touch of personal narrative for the wearer’s journey. Through her brand, Moonlit Studio, Ashley brings these values to life, offering nature-inspired designs that blend bohemian spirit with minimalist sophistication. Every piece is thoughtfully made and designed to be cherished every day. 

Syretta Martin, LMSW, is the founder and CEO of Collective Healing, a public health practitioner, social worker and liberatory wellness strategist with over two decades of experience advancing health equity. Her work centers on the intersections of race, gender, disability, and complex chronic illness. Grounded in trauma-informed practices, community-based research, and cultural humility, she integrates reflective tools, storytelling, and liberatory approaches to elevate lived experience as essential to systems change.

Dr. Felicia Kelso has a Doctorate in Business in Quality System Management and is a U.S. Army (Retired) Veteran. She is the author of Employer Practices When Approving and Denying Reasonable Accommodations in the Federal Executive Department. After completing her dissertation and publishing it in 2022, Dr. Kelso has dedicated her passion to training and coaching federal and private sector employers, frontline managers and Service-Disabled Veterans to navigate the complex landscape of reasonable accommodation (RA) and Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Dr. Kelso has 30+ years of RA and DEI lived experience and 35+ years of Administrative and IG, EEOC Compliance Experience. Dr. Kelso has a unique combination of expertise that she brings to bear on the problem of RA and DEI. She has developed holistic, practical, employer specific RA & DEI compliance solutions to increase awareness and competency, employee retention and productivity when assessing and implementing accommodations in the workplace. Dr. Kelso has also put her expertise and lived experience into her books: Coming Soon: The Dirty Dozen: Reasonable Accommodation Mistakes Frustrated Employers Make and How to Avoid Them and The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion B4 Leadership Series.

https://idiveb4.com/

Neena Massey is the f>ounder and artistic director of Neena Expressions With respect to the greater community, Neena utilizes her skills as a multidisciplinary artist and educator towards addressing unhealed wounds that manifest into autoimmunity. As a first generation Pakistani American, her performance art engages traditional South Indian ritual and ceremony with poetry, mantra and meditation that draws on diverse languages and cultures. Through integrative work, Neena creates spaces of individual and collective healing in order to amplify the potential for trauma recovery, thus unlocking genuine self-awareness and potent self-transformation based on her belief that we heal better together. She has hosted a community gathering in Denver, CO for three consecutive years. The gathering has created space for healing and transformation of displaced and gentrified communities and has a strong future trajectory.

Ron Brooks is a graduate of Indiana University and a 32-year veteran of the public transit industry where he is focused on making bus, rail, paratransit and other services accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities. In 2020, Ron founded Accessible Avenue, a company that provides accessibility-focused consulting and training services to the public transit industry. Ron is also the Senior Director of Policy and Stakeholder Engagement for UZURV, a transportation and technology provider, helping individuals, families, agencies, organizations, and communities ensure everyone, regardless of their mobility needs, has access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation. Ron is a frequent presenter and author on topics related to public transit accessibility, including accessible public involvement, wayfinding to, from and within transit networks, autonomous vehicle accessibility, and strategies for modernizing paratransit and other on-demand transportation services designed to meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities. He is a co-author of the book, “All Aboard – Conducting Accessible Community Involvement for Public Transit.” In his off time, Ron is a committed advocate within the blind/low-vision and disability communities where he serves on a number of Boards and committees for several non-profit community-based organizations.

Kevin Dalin is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and founder of Tech4Impact, an assistive technology (AT) company dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities through personalized, tech driven solutions. With more than a decade of experience, he delivers innovative tools and strategies that promote independence in education, employment, and daily life. Building on this entrepreneurial foundation, he also applies his expertise in a leadership role at Easterseals Iowa, where he serves as Assistant Director of Rural Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology. In this capacity, Kevin leads a team providing AT evaluations, training, and accessibility guidance. An advocate and lifelong learner, he has contributed to multiple boards and advisory councils reflecting his commitment to advancing equity and inclusion through technology.