National Council on Disability Announces Speakers for Employment News Conference

Sept. 20, 2007

WASHINGTON—The National Council on Disability (NCD) will highlight National Disability Employment Awareness Month by releasing a report titled, Empowerment for Americans with Disabilities: Breaking Barriers to Careers and Full Employment, at a news conference and panel discussion on October 1 from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. in the House Committee on Administration Hearing Room, 1309 Longworth House Office Building, Independence and New Jersey Avenues, SE, Washington, DC.

This report comprehensively reviews the issues integral to the employment of people with disabilities. It has two broad aims: 1) to summarize the existing knowledge regarding the employment of people with disabilities in a series of short issue briefs; and 2) present new information on the perspectives of employers, people with disabilities, and disability specialists on the key barriers and facilitators of employment.

Speakers include:

Linda Wetters
Member
National Council on Disability
Columbus, OH 

Ted Childs
Principal
Ted Childs, LLC
South Salem, NY 

Bobby Coward
Chairman
Capitol Area ADAPT
Washington, DC

Richard Horne
Supervisory Research Analyst
Research and Evaluation Team
Office of Disability and Employment Policy
U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, DC

Doug Kruse, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Rutgers University
Program for Disability Research
Piscataway, NJ

NCD is an independent federal agency and is composed of 15 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. It provides advice to the President, Congress, and executive branch agencies to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability, and to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.