Workshops – NCIL Member Center

Workshops are classified by target audience: Front Line Staff & Consumers, Advocates & Project Directors, or Executive Directors & Board Members. Workshops are also classified as Newcomer, Experienced, or Appropriate for all knowledge levels.

Workshop Tracks

Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy: Workshops addressing organizing and advocacy at the grassroots, statewide, and policy levels.
IL Workforce Development & Expansion: Workshops looking into areas related to increasing the size of the workforce within the Independent Living Movement at CILs and SILCs and developing youth into leaders in the IL Workforce.
Core Services Track: Workshops addressing innovation and best practices in the core services of Centers for Independent Living.
Equity in Action: Workshops that explore the different aspects of our movement as they relate to equity. This track offers space to explore best practices and current motifs surrounding anti-racism, gender inclusion, intersectionality, socioeconomic status, and other sectors in the disability movement that need to be discussed.
SILCs in the IL Network: Workshops covering promising practices in SILC and CIL interactions, knowledge on SILC roles in the IL Movement, and discussion about how SILCs can best connect to the IL Community.

Concurrent Workshops 1

Monday, July 24; 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Workshop 1.1: Unifying Systems So People with Disabilities Have Housing Stability

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

Finding and keeping affordable, accessible housing is a frequent and important reason why consumers turn to CILs. This lively session will explore three CIL roles to improve housing stability for people with disabilities. The panel will delve into essential partnerships with housing entities, funding streams, ingredients for success, and strategies to overcome challenges. During the long Q&A period, participants may ask questions so they can apply these models to their local priorities. A Housing and Services Resource Center handout will have technical assistance resources.

Location: Independence A
Presenters: Peter Nye; Chris Riveria; Brian Peters; Jennifer Stonemeier
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 1.2: Using Measure of Community Living to Document Results

Track: Core Services

Alliance of Disability Advocates using a tool based on a measure developed by Temple University called activities of daily living. This tool helps us focus on what activities our consumers want to do in their community. We have found that using this tool results in greater housing retention rates.

Location: Independence BCDE
Presenters: Vicki Smith; Corey McKittrick
Audience: Advocates and Project Directors
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 1.3: Beyond Impact Cultural Awareness Tool: Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity – Finding Common Ground

Track: Equity in Action

Go beyond traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to boldly create a lasting impact in your workforce, team, and community. Make connections with others. Be inspired. Build a playbook of implementable strategies to transform business workplaces and community culture into one of real inclusion. This “Cultural Awareness Tool” is not about asking people to change their values or core beliefs. Instead, the conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion is about holding space for difficult-but-necessary conversations and being open to ideas, perspectives, and experiences, outside of your own.

Location: Lafayette / Farragut
Presenters: Camica Credle
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 1.4: An Insider’s View to Grantmaking: Funding from a Grantmaker’s Perspective

Track: IL Workforce Development & Expansion

To most people, grantmaking is a closed and secretive process; completed by funders sitting in a remote office tower. How do foundations find, fund, and manage their grants? This session provides an insider’s view on the skills and attributes behind successful grant making such as grant selection and review, project management and evaluation. Understanding these basic decision-making principles used by foundations will bolster your working relationship with funding partners.

Location: Independence FGHI
Presenters: Elaine Katz
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Concurrent Workshops 2

Monday, July 24; 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.

Workshop 2.1: Building Successful Collaborative Partnerships

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

Today’s SILCs and CILs are experiencing limited resources and increasing consumer needs. This workshop provides a road map for building successful and long lasting collaborative partnerships to achieve your goals. The Connecticut SILC and CILs will share experiences and outcomes in implementing successful collaborative practices.

Location: Independence A
Presenters: Molly Cole; Rich Luby
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 2.2: Better Together! How to Standardize Home Modification Programming Among CILs and Maximize the Outcomes

Track: Core Services

According to an NCIL survey, 70% of CILs offer home modification services, however each CIL differs in how homes are assessed to determine eligibility and scope of work. Learn how CILs in Florida and North Carolina are unifying efforts in service delivery by standardizing home modification programming utilizing home assessment technology. Understand how client-centric modification solutions based on the consumer’s daily lifestyle link to safety and accessibility in the home and how this assessment process impacts outcome measures and helps to establish consistency amongst various programs.

Location: Independence BCDE
Presenters: Carolyn Sithong; Rosemary Miles
Audience: Advocates and Project Directors
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 2.3: No One Left Behind: Centering Multiply-Marginalized Disabled People in Assisted Suicide Opposition Work

Track: Equity in Action

Participants will learn why assisted suicide is such a crucial issue for multiply-marginalized disabled people. The workshop will explore how race, class, and gender identity contribute to the systemic discrimination that makes assisted suicide a dangerous policy in our profit-driven healthcare system. Participants will also learn best practices for advocating against assisted suicide in ways that center multiply-marginalized disabled people.

Location: Lafayette / Farragut
Presenters: Anita Cameron; Jules Good
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 2.4: Workforce Innovation: Building the CILs of Tomorrow

Track: IL Workforce Development & Expansion

Dedicated and engaged staff are the foundation of an impactful CIL. This workshop will share tips, tools, and lessons learned on how to grow a CIL workforce that mirrors the IL philosophy. Participants will learn how one CIL has implemented new approaches to attract the next generation of leaders while also increasing employee retention by building a culture of respect, responsibility, trust, and autonomy.

Location: Independence FGHI
Presenters: Autumn Kubatzke; Deanna Robbins
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Concurrent Workshops 3

Tuesday, July 25; 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Workshop 3.1: Raising Our Voices: Empowering IL Communities to Engage in Legislative Advocacy

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

Every forward stride in IL has occurred because people with disabilities raised our voices. One of the most effective ways to advance our mission is to urge policymakers to change laws and add protections that allow our people to thrive. Join members of the Legislative Committee of the Maryland Statewide Independent Living Council, who will share effective strategies and projects they have implemented to mobilize their state’s independent living network to advocate on the state level. There will be opportunities for hearing ideas from workshop participants. Only by coming together and sharing ideas are we truly indivisible.

Location: Independence A
Presenters: Hindley Williams; Sarah Basehart; Lorna-Mae Silcott
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 3.2: Is Your Center REALLY Disability Led?

Track: Core Services

The Rehabilitation Act is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It’s time to review and recalibrate what Independent Living should and can look like. From the beginning we have been a movement that is led by people with significant disabilities. We have been led through disability pride and the benefits of running an organization when you have lived experience with disability. But have some centers drifted from this philosophy? Have we become “service providers” instead of movers and shakers in the world around us? Are there things that CILs should not do? Can we afford to be truly disability focused, disability led, and centered on changing our society to be fully accessible for all of us? Join us in a discussion of our roots and our future. What should Independent Living really look like?

Location: Independence BCDE
Presenters: Kimberly Tissot; Wednesday Jones; Paula L. McElwee
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 3.3: A Few Things You Need to Know About Racism and Ableism

Track: Equity in Action

Attendees will better understand what factors contribute to their worldview on racism and ableism. This workshop will explore some real-life examples of racism and ableism and present some action steps to assist attendees with better managing their prejudices and biases. Finally, attendees will participate in an interactive exercise demonstrating how easily our unconscious biases exist when encountering folks from marginalized groups. Pictures are necessary with this exercise. A descriptive caption will be provided for each image.

Location: Lafayette / Farragut
Presenters: Theo W. Braddy
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 3.4: Writing a Complete SPIL

Track: SILCs in the IL Network

States are preparing their next three-year State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). Developing a strong timeline and state examples of best practices to create a complete SPIL. This session will focus how the SILC can take an organized and effective approach to completing the next SPIL that will discuss the writing process, outreach for public input, and planning for effective monitoring.

Location: Independence FGHI
Presenters: Jeremy Morris
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Concurrent Workshops 4

Thursday, July 27; 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Workshop 4.1: Advocate and Community Engagement with the HCBS Final Settings Rule

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

Join the conversation about the power of community input on the implementation of the Final HCBS Settings Rule. Ensure disabled people, advocates, and people with lived experience have access to truly community-based supports funded by Medicaid Waivers in the way the rule intends. Hear how the national disability network is having an impact.

Location: Independence A
Presenters: Kate Brady
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 4.2: Elevating Lived Experience for Independent Living

Track: Core Services

The speakers believe that the key to equity, diversity and inclusion is in how we relate to one another. This workshop will explore how peer support values can and should be at the heart of everything we do.

Location: Independence BCDE
Presenters: Nicole Ravens; Lakisha “Kish” Hudson
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 4.3: Advocacy through SILC Collaborations

Track: SILCs in the IL Network

Many SILCs want to become more engaged in advocacy efforts in their state but may not have the capacity to fully engage in all areas of advocacy. In this session, panelist will discuss how they were able to build advocacy efforts by working with other organizations that are actively involved in advocacy efforts in their state.

Location: Lafayette / Farragut
Presenters: Beth Meyer; Shelly Richardson
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 4.4: Building and Activating A CIL Race Equity Plan

Track: Equity in Action

Following on Trish and Amber’s closing plenary speech for the 2022 NCIL conference, they will facilitate a workshop to further our community’s dialogue on the importance of equity in CIL hiring practices, programmatic endeavors, and best practices to put the words into action. They will review the process of creating Access Living’s current Race Equity Plan, with a presentation of the key principles and steps to put equity into action. They will discuss external equity building, again with the example of principles and steps from Access Living’s Race Equity Plan. Presenters encourage participants to consider how to apply these ideas to your own work and problem solve barriers that may present themselves. They hope to help you jumpstart your CIL’s efforts to put equity into action.

Location: Independence FGHI
Presenters: Latricia Seye; Amber Smock
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Experienced

Concurrent Workshops 5

Thursday, July 27; 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Workshop 5.1: Living Green, Healthy and Mindful: Education and Sensitivity Awareness and Accommodation Suggestions for the Fragrance Sensitive, Chemically Sensitive and Allergic Disabled Populations

Track: Equity in Action

Through Education and Sensitivity Awareness, learn what types of Accommodations can keep buildings, public places, workplaces, medical facilities, schools and beyond more Green, Healthier, and Less Toxic. These Mindful Green and Healthy Living strategies will provide the greatly needed Accommodations for those disabled with Chemical Sensitivities, Fragrance Sensitivities, Asthma, Migraines, Learning Disabilities and more that are adversely affected by neurological-toxic chemical exposures and fragrances.

Location: Independence A
Presenters: Susan Hurd, MA, CAGS, LMHC
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Newcomer

Workshop 5.2: New Disabled South: How Regional Disability Justice Strategy is key to Collective Power Building

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

Our community suffers from a lack of data as well as the lack of an aligned organizing strategy across states. Changemakers in our space mainly work in silos and unfortunately our impact is limited by this structure. New Disabled South’s unique solution, a unified and targeted organizing, advocacy, and research operation across a wide range of stakeholders in our region, is crucial for creating change and achieving a vision of justice and liberation for disabled people. The speakers believe this will be the beginning of regional disability justice work in the United States.

Location: Independence BCDE
Presenters: Dom Kelly; e.k. hoffman (they/them or ze/hir pronouns)
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 5.3: State Plan Evaluation: Using a Three-Pronged Approach to Assess Effectiveness

Track: SILCs in the IL Network

It’s important for you to continually ask yourself how well you’re doing on three critical aspects of your State Plan for Independent Living: Implementation of your SPIL objectives; progress toward achieving those SPIL objectives; and consumer satisfaction. When you evaluate your outcomes-focused SPIL, do you have a solid approach as you work to make your SPIL as effective as possible? Your State has a unique IL program, information needs, interests, and resources which should be reflected in your evaluation plans. Join this panel for an overview of some of the overall guiding principles for your evaluation that will help keep you on a productive path.

Location: Lafayette / Farragut
Presenters: Sandra Breitengross Bitter; Carrie England; Jeremy Morris
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 5.4: Persistent Barriers for People with Mobility Disabilities in Air Travel; Public Rights of Way; Recreation Facilities

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

The National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency, and the Federal voice of people with disabilities, is embarking on the development of a report highlighting three areas that continue to pose significant barriers to societal inclusion for people with mobility disabilities, specifically: air travel, public rights-of-way, and recreational facilities. In this session, NCD presenters will describe continuing problems in air travel; the pervasive limitations in accessing and participating in community-life; and exclusion from fitness opportunities at federally funded recreation facilities; and the federal requirements governing these areas. In the second part of the session, NCD will gather feedback from individuals with mobility disabilities on their experiences in these three areas to help inform the upcoming NCD report.

Location: Independence FGHI
Presenters: Andrés Gallegos; Ana Torres-Davis; Amy Nicholas.
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Concurrent Workshops 6

Thursday, July 27; 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Workshop 6.1: Employment and Financial Empowerment: Tools and Resources to support DEAI CIL Core Services

Track: Core Services

The LEAD Center will share resources to increase the independence and self-determination of people with disabilities. Learn about a financial toolkit, tax-advantaged savings accounts, bank partnerships that can provide financial education, and job development strategies, all through the lens of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI). Participants will walk through tools designed to assist people in securing their financial future, establishing bank partnerships, and how customized employment can assist in identifying employment that would be a good fit for the jobseeker and potential employers.

Location: Independence A
Presenters: Rebecca Salon; Nancy Boutot
Audience: Front Line Staff and Consumers
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 6.2: Staying Engaged in a National & Global Movement

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

From local grassroots organizing to national and global activism, it can be intimidating to find your place in a movement. This workshop will help you find simple ways to engage and stay involved in meaningful and impactful ways. All of us can be heard if we know where to make the most noise. You are in this Movement. You are important and your ongoing engagement is needed. Join us to… Get Engaged. Stay Engaged. And Make This Movement Strong!

Location: Independence BCDE
Presenters: Aaron Baier; Kimberly Meck; Marty Musser; Samantha Moreno
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 6.3: Guardianship 101: Is this a New Frontier for CILs?

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

With the revealing of the circumstances of the situation with Brittany Spears the issue of guardianship became national news. The reality is that abusive guardianship cases are very commonplace, particularly for people being served by CILs. During this presentation the panel will discuss how guardianship interferes with the principles of the Independent Living. Understanding the guardianship system and the less restrictive alternatives are crucial for CILs. The panel will highlight how the CILs are working to influence policy, educate legislators and divert / restore the rights of those at risk.

Location: Lafayette / Farragut
Presenters: Michael Grier; Misty Dion; Thomas Olin; Thomas Earle
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels

Workshop 6.4: Disability-led Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery

Track: Community Organizing & Systems Advocacy

Learn from The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies (The Partnership), the only U.S. Disability-Led Disaster Hub about what disability-led preparedness, response, and recovery means and looks like. How can CILs, SILCs, and other stakeholders work together to ensure they are incorporating inclusive emergency management throughout regular organization operations and during disasters, and how The Partnership can help.

Location: Independence FGHI
Presenters: Shari Myers
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
Knowledge Level: Appropriate for all knowledge levels