Eliana, Zavala, Office of Federal Procurement Policy

Federal procurement agencies are exploring new ways to incentivize the hiring of people with disabilities through the bid proposal process. During this session federal procurement experts will provide examples of how federal procurement could be used to advance the hiring of people with disabilities. Gain a competitive advantage in the bidding process by hearing from agencies themselves talk about efforts to utilize tools at their disposal to encourage greater employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Moderator: Larysa Kautz

Panelists:

• Jeff Koses, GSA
• Julia Wise, NASA

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act directs employers to take action to hire, promote and retain individuals with disabilities. When seeking talent to satisfy this hiring goal, many employers don’t know where to start and struggle to find partners to help them fulfil their hiring needs. AbilityOne nonprofit agency are an ideal partner for federal contractors to engage to meet their Section 503 hiring goals. This session will feature a case study of the partnership between Melwood and Enabled Intelligence. Panelists will discuss some of the challenges faced and how those challenges were overcome as a result of the partnership.

Moderator:  Suzanne Heckenberg, President, INSA/INSA Foundation

Panelists:

• Elizabeth Foster, Melwood
• Lauren Bacon Smith, Enabled Intelligence
• Scott Nycum, GDIT

The federal government uses subcontracting to motivate prime contracts to engage disadvantaged groups in the federal contracting sphere. While this has traditionally been applied to providing opportunities to small business, veteran-owned business, women-owned business, etc. there are many advantages to developing similar relationships with AbilityOne Non-Profit Agencies. This session will present a case study operationalization of a prime-subcontractor relationship between a private sector federal contractor and an AbilityOne Nonprofit Agency. The panelists cover how the relationship developed, challenges or issues that arose throughout the course of the contract and how they were overcome, as well as benefits each party realized as a result of the relationship. Panelists will also discuss lines of business where they might be more opportunities for private sector federal contractors to subcontract to an AbilityOne Nonprofit.

Moderator: Jayna Rust

Panelists:

• Mark Kessler, GCE
• Art Spring, Cherokee Federal-Defense Health

A dedicated effort to hire people with disabilities can demonstrate a company’s commitment to developing a fully inclusive workforce and fulfill critical compliance requirements. Yet employers can struggle with finding the right candidates and the right recruitment partners to fill positions. This panel will introduce you to experts on where to find talent and how to make those relationships last. Our panelists will share best practices around outreach and hiring, address legal questions around accommodations and help attendees enrich their understanding of the recruitment ecosystem for people with disabilities.

Moderator:  Charles-Edouard Catherine, NOD

Panelists:

• Raja Kushalnagar, Gallaudet University
• Rachel Payne, Didlake
• Daniel Blouin, Professional Recruiter, NGA

Moderator – Elizabeth Foster

Featured Panelist:

• Teresa Thomas, MITRE
• Hala Annabi

Recruiting the right people is only the first step towards creating an inclusive workforce. Employers also need to ensure that the employees recruited receive the right training and support to thrive and grow. Employee turnover is an issue that every company struggles with, but the Department of Labor found that employers who supported those with disabilities saw a 90% increase in employee retention, both among people with and without disabilities. This panel will examine how companies can create the right environment to help people with disabilities succeed at work, what resources employers can offer and how their management training can help retain and promote the right people.

Moderator: KayAnn Schoeneman

Panelists:

• Kay Sargent, HOK
• Sean Hoffman, KPMG
• Jason Carr, NFP
• Lori Golden, EY

People with disabilities are a vastly untapped talent throughout the United States. This session will feature panelists who are federal employees and federal contract employees with disabilities to spotlight the type of talent federal contractors are missing out on if they are not tapping into this population. Panelists will discuss what their lives were like before getting their employment opportunity, some of the struggles during the application/hiring process, how their employer has fostered an inclusive work environment and what it means to have the opportunity to work.

Moderator: Teresa Thomas, MITRE

Panelists:

• • • Chad Brown, Service Desk Technician, CodePlus
    • Brian Callahan, KPMG
    • Raymond Montgomery, Outreach Coordinator, Bosma