Forum AGENDA
Check back to view updates as we get closer to the event date!
(Note: Times are listed in the Eastern Time Zone)
9:00am: Registration Check-in Opens
10:00am: Welcome and Introductory Remarks
Tom Dawson, President, Strada Collaborative
10:10am: Welcome to the “What’s the Big Idea” Showcase
Regina Kline, Founder & Managing Partner, Enable Ventures, Founder & Chair, SmartJob
10:20am-11:10am: “What’s the Big Idea?” Showcase
This showcase will focus on high impact startups in the disability technology sector that have vied to present from the Disability Innovation Forum’s stage. The Disability Innovation Forum seeks to highlight early stage companies with big, bold ideas, new voices, and fresh takes that will introduce innovative solutions to persistent challenges in the disability sector. We are happy to give our platform and stage to five new companies during this session to present their work and engage in animated Q&A with our audience.
Moderator: Brandon Andrews, Casting, Shark Tank/ Chief Executive Officer, The Inexorable/ Co-founder, Gauge
11:10am-11:55am: “Disability Tech, Entrepreneurship, and Storytelling”
This panel will showcase the makers of a groundbreaking film where they will discuss, alongside a disability tech entrepreneur, the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in improving the process of creating groundbreaking art and telling impactful stories. Another technology entrepreneur will talk about bringing more creative talent from the disability community to creative economy jobs and career pathways. Moreover, the panel will discuss why storytelling is itself a critical skill for all start up founders and innovation leaders.
Moderator: Jevon Whetter, Filmmaker, Producer, Writer, Educator, Disability Inclusion Advocate
Panelists: Keely Cat-Wells, Chief Executive Officer, Making Space; Thibault Duchemin, Chief Executive Officer, Ava; Delbert Whetter, Producer and Film Executive
11:55am-12:20pm: Grab-N-Go Lunch
12:20pm: Keynote Presenter Introductory Remarks
Regina Kline, Founder & Managing Partner, Enable Ventures, Founder & Chair, SmartJob
12:30pm-1:00pm: Keynote Presentation
This presentation will center on the role of HR leaders in establishing cultures that support the hiring, advancement, and leadership of individuals with disabilities to fill urgent talent gaps across industries.
Featured Speaker: Johnny C. Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, SHRM
1:05pm-1:10pm: Big Idea Spotlight - Mary Fernandez-Arias, Cisco
1:10pm-1:55pm: Panel 1 – “AI and the Future of Accessible Education and Workplaces”
This panel will bring together those working to harness AI's power to serve individuals with disabilities and create tools that can support them in the workplace. Panelists will discuss the most successful use cases for AI in disability tech, the solutions that their teams are building, and what innovations they see on the horizon, and what ethical and governance frameworks are appropriate to gauge the appropriate use of AI and impact.
Moderator: Alan Schwarz, Assistant Managing Editor, Forbes Media
Panelists: Ariana Aboulafia, Project Lead, Disability Rights in Technology Policy, Center for Democracy and Technology; Henry Claypool, Consultant, American Association of People with Disabilities; Isabelle Hau, Executive Director, Stanford Accelerator for Learning; Christina Mallon, Inclusive Designer focusing on Ethical AI & Digital Products, Microsoft
1:55pm-2:05pm: Big Idea Spotlight - Jonathan Kaufman, Kaufman Consulting
2:05pm-2:35pm: Sponsor Presentation – “Worth the Risk”
This presentation will convene a funder and two innovative companies to discuss the benefits of upskilling and reskilling workers with disabilities in competitive, new, and emerging industries and the outcomes that can come from promoting skills aligned with the digital economy and new and emerging industries as well as employee ownership models.
Moderator: Preston Fore, Reporter, Fortune
Panelists: Luke Apicella, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Private Equity North America; Charlie Hammerman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Disability Opportunity Fund; Peter Kant, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Enabled Intelligence; Byran Dai, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daivergent
2:35pm-2:45pm: The Big Idea Spotlight - Lindsay Jones, CAST
2:45pm-3:30pm: Panel 2 – “Investing in Disability Tech: Perspective from Investors”
This panel will convene funders to provide their rationale for investing in workforce inclusion tools and technologies. They will offer insight into the successes that their teams have been a part of, their theories of change, and perspectives that entrepreneurs can keep in mind as they look to drive innovation in the space and bring new solutions to market.
Moderator: Nathan Bomey, National Business Reporter, Axios
Panelists: Tyler Blickhan, Associate Director of Investments, Ascension Investment Management; Regina “Gina” Kline, Founder and Managing Partner, Enable Ventures & Founder and Chair, SmartJob; Ommeed Sathe, Managing Director, Global Strategy & Capital Allocation, Liberty Mutual Investments
3:30pm-3:40pm: The Big Idea Spotlight - Diego Mariscal, 2Gether-International
3:40pm-4:25pm: Panel 3 – “Building Solutions, Building Businesses: Lessons from Founders”
This panel will showcase best-in-class examples of technology designed to promote workforce opportunity for disabled workers. Founders will discuss their experiences identifying and meeting a need within the disabled community and their work with employers to scale solutions.
Moderator: Dhaval Patel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lotus
Panelists: Bryan Bashin, Vice Chair, Be My Eyes; Michelle Cho, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gladeo; Jeremiah Robison, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CIONIC; Darren Webb, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mindset
4:25pm-4:35pm: Big Idea Spotlight - Donald Clark, DC Department on Disability Services (DDS)
4:35pm-5:20pm: Panel 4 – “Driving Change & Unlocking Talent: Lessons from Leading Employers”
This panel will convene accessibility leaders from some of the most innovative and recognizable global companies, all committed to advancing disabled talent. Panelists will share insights into their team’s efforts to partner with tech companies that have pioneered cutting-edge solutions to support the full participation of disabled colleagues. They will also discuss why more forward-thinking organizations should follow suit and the tangible benefits their teams have experienced as a result of these initiatives.
Panelists: Nicole Bergstrom, Director of Accessibility, Cisco; Charlotte Dales, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Inclusively; Fred Moltz, Chief Accessibility Officer, Verizon
5:20pm-5:30pm: Closing Remarks
Tom Dawson, President, Strada Collaborative
Regina “Gina” Kline, Founder and Managing Partner, Enable Ventures & Founder and Chair, SmartJob
Reception to follow