Event Summary:
To celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Melwood will be hosting our new webinar series The Policy and Regulatory Innovation Symposium by Melwood (PRISM). PRISM will consist of hour and a half long sessions starting October 1st followed by sessions every Wednesday for the rest of October. PRISM is an evolution of previous policy conferences with the same goal: to educate, inform, and advance changes in government contracting to foster and grow employment for people with disabilities, particularly within the AbilityOne Program. This important webinar series will bring together AbilityOne federal contractors, government procurement officials, and legal experts to discuss the changes within the AbilityOne Program and understand the impact it is having on AbilityOne federal contractor businesses and the people they serve.
Agenda:
October 1st Panel: PRISM Kick-Off Fireside Chat with Larysa Kautz and Anastasia Samoza
Description: The fireside chat with Anastasia will be moderated by Melwood President & CEO Larysa Kautz. During the session they will cover a wide range of topics related to the current state of disability employment in the United States and cover emerging topics such as how AI and new technologies are helping make work and communities more inclusive.
October 8th Panel: Designing Workforce Development and Apprenticeship Programs
Description: With the new policies from the AbilityOne Commission around career planning, AbilityOne federal contractors will be expected to provide opportunities for upward and outward mobility for employees. At the same time, federal contractors will need to ensure that their workforce is qualified to provide superior services to the federal customer. This panel will provide actionable examples for AbilityOne federal contractors to establish credentialing and apprenticeship programs.
October 15th Panel: Reshaping of Federal Procurement and What it Means for AbilityOne
Description: President Trump has released several executive orders directing to modernization and streamlining of the federal procurement process focusing on transparency, best value for money and maximizing public benefit. It is important for federal contractors to under how these executive orders, which are addressing the policies and procedures for how the government buys goods and services, will change federal procurement going forward. This panel will discuss some of the changes being proposed and what impact they could have on the AbilityOne Program.
October 22nd Panel: Disability and the Labor Movement
Description: This panel will discuss the intersection of disability rights and the labor movement. It will provide AbilityOne Federal Contractors with information around collective bargaining agreements and disability policy, particularly on AbilityOne contracts. Panelists will provide insight into best practices, common challenges, and thoughtful solutions.
October 29th Panel: Contract and Employment Opportunities in Information Technology
Description: This panel will explore federal contract opportunities for AbilityOne Federal Contractors in the information technology sector. Panelists will discuss the current and emerging needs for the federal government in this area whether around data annotation, data analytics, IT help desk, network engineering, systems administration, cybersecurity, and more. Panelists will provide insight into how to gain entry into these lines of business, develop past performance, collaborate with other federal contractors for new opportunities.
