Pasternack and Badillo to Address August Conference on Connecting Latinos with Disabilities to Employment

Dr. Robert Pasternack, President Bush’s choice as Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, will be a keynote speaker at the Bridges to Employment conference designed to connect Latinos with disabilities to job opportunities. Former New York Congressman Herman Badillo, a pioneer in developing Latino leadership in the U.S., has also accepted to address the event.

The conference and training, focusing on removing barriers to the labor market, is taking place August 6-9 at the New Yorker Hotel in midtown Manhattan. The event is sponsored by Proyecto Visión, the National Technical Assistance Center for Latinos with Disabilities, administered by the World Institute on Disability; the National Business & Disability Council, a division of the National Center for Disability Services; the Harlem Independent Living Center; and Rehabilitation International.

Unique Conference Brings Job Seekers, Employment Specialists and Employers Together

Throughout the country, Latinos with disabilities have lower levels of education than other Latinos or disabled persons and fewer opportunities for employment, training and networking to find jobs. The Bridges to Employment conference will bring leaders from the Latino and disability communities together with specialists in education, employment and disability services, as well as those in search of jobs and advancing their careers. Approximately 200 participants are expected.

Unique features of the conference include a variety of Latino success stories, presentations by leading governmental and private employers who are working with Latinos with disabilities, reports from Independent Living centers which have established Latino outreach programs and a confidence-building talent show open to all, held on the concluding evening.

Additionally, a variety of informative workshops and roundtables have been organized on practical topics including transition from benefits to work, learning how to use the Internet to find employment, opportunities to try out adaptive technology, utilizing the services of a job coach, and shaping careers through international experience.

Showcase of Employment Initiatives

A major emphasis will be placed on the experiences and recommendations of both private and governmental employers and an array of speakers have been lined up, representing: IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton, Sprint, OSI Pharmaceuticals, the Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. The National Hispanic Leadership Caucus is also participating.

Conference Scholarships

A limited number of scholarships, consisting of free registration for the event, are available to low income Latinos with disabilities.

The National Technical Assistance Center for Latinos with Disabilities has a bilingual website with news and resources that can be viewed at www.proyectovision.net. For details about the conference, please contact the project director, Kathy Martinez via phone (510) 251-4326, fax (510) 763-4109 or email Kathy@wid.org.