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Speakers
Emcee: Bianca Holman
Bianca Holman is an anchor and reporter for ABC 11 Eyewitness News. Bianca is a former morning anchor and reporter at WAVY-TV 10/ Fox43 in Hampton Roads, Virginia. While at WAVY the morning team won 'Best TV Morning Show' by Virginia Association of Broadcasters. Bianca spent time at KLAS in Las Vegas, Nevada as a weekend morning anchor and reporter. During her time at KLAS, she won a 2020 Pacific Southwest Emmy Award for the News Special Category. Bianca started her on-air career as a general assignment reporter at WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia. Before her career in journalism, she was a 6th grade math teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y. and Washington, D.C. Bianca is a proud graduate of Howard University. She also has graduate degrees from American University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Keynote Speaker: Lauren Howard
Lauren Howard has over 25 years professional experience working to promote the health and well-being of children and adults with disabilities. Lauren currently serves as the Director of the North Carolina Office on Disability and Health, located within the Division of Child and Family Well-Being, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The Office on Disability and Health works to address health disparities and promote health equity, ensuring access and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in public health activities. In this role, Lauren provides training and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act, accessibility, inclusion, and disability awareness; with a focus on supporting local health departments, emergency preparedness and response, access to oral health care, among other issues related to disability and health.
Lauren has a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Psychology and Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a wife and mother of two boys. As a person with a disability, Lauren also brings lived experience to her work.
Awards
Citizen Involvement Award: Dr. Timothy Miles
This award recognizes individuals, facilities, institutions, and agencies that have contributed to advancing opportunities for individuals with disabilities
Dr. Timothy Miles has led The Disability Awareness Council, also known as TDAC, for more than 25 years. While TDAC is based in Orange County, Raleigh residents with disabilities have traveled there for TDAC events, and Dr. Miles has come to Raleigh to lead, support, and participate in even more events. He has developed various events for the disability community to educate and equip them with information and skills to further their abilities and quality of life.
Vielka Gabriel, a Program Specialist for Wake County, has instituted the program called Middle Class Capital Express and led homeless, low-income families interested in in a commitment to improve their life situation to prosperity with life skills, education, work ethics, finances, abilities, family values, and all-around life skills. Ms. Gabriel helped a person with disabilities overcome a barrier of entering public facilities by ensuring a certified service animal was allowed entrance.
Lauren Howard is the Director of the Office on Disability and Health within the NC DHHS Division of Child and Family Well-Being. Ms. Howard works to ensure that children with disabilities have access to healthcare across the state and particularly in rural areas. She also works closely with North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) to analyze and improve emergency preparedness, response, and recovery for North Carolinians with disabilities. Most recently, she worked in the State Emergency Operations Center for the Hurricane Helene response.
James E. Meekins Award: Makayla Haag
This award recognizes an individual with a disability for their outstanding achievements in the workplace and for significant contributions that increase public awareness of individuals with disabilities.
Makayla Haag, Gallery Coordinator for the Arts Access Gallery, is a mixed media artist with a passion for accessibility and disability justice. The Arts Access Gallery showcases the work of disabled North Carolina artists. As the Gallery Coordinator, Makayla is responsible for all aspects of the gallery from sending out calls for art, curating gallery exhibits, and coordinating the Artist Talk series. In the two years that she has worked for Arts Access North Carolina she focused on creating a strong network among disabled artists in Raleigh, making Arts Access proud of the connections she has created in the community and the work she's done to further the careers of disabled artists.
Excellence in Transportation Award: Jed Niffenegger
This award recognizes and honors significant contributions to the quality of life of people with disabilities through creating expanded access to transportation in Raleigh.
Jed Niffenegger began working with the City of Raleigh in 2006 and is currently the City Traffic Engineer. Mr. Niffenegger is recognized for his work to ensure that more pedestrian crossings in Raleigh would be made accessible to people with disabilities. He has actively played a role in this process and has gone above and beyond his job to make sure that accessible pedestrian street crossings are placed at the most critical intersections throughout the city of Raleigh to enhance community accessibility. Mr. Niffenegger works closely with the disability community to identify pedestrian street crossings in need of accessibility improvements.
Excellence in Education Award: The Catalyst Program
This award recognizes Individuals or organizations that have contributed significantly to the quality of life of people with disabilities through creating expanded access to academic enrichment in Raleigh.
The Catalyst Program (NC State University, The Science House) is a year-round program created 8 years ago to help expose high school students with disabilities to the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM. The program includes: 10 Saturday half-day sessions where different professors/graduate students in the STEM field teach about their specific fields through hands on learning, a weeklong summer camp, optional life skills 101 Saturday sessions, a Spring “Reach for the Stars” event, an overnight educational trip, and a 24-hour paid internship. Support continues through college if the student chooses.
Excellence in Recreation Award: ParaCliffHangers – NC Chapter
This award recognizes Individuals, organizations, or municipalities that have contributed significantly to the quality of life of people with disabilities by promoting inclusion and creating expanded access to a variety of recreational and leisure opportunities in the community.
ParaCliffHangers is a nonprofit organization that fosters community, adventure, strength, and equity through adaptive rock climbing. The North Carolina Chapter programming includes recurring indoor climbing meet-ups, occasional outdoor meet-ups, and competition experience. Their vision is that all people with disabilities have access to and can find community in climbing. People with disabilities across skill levels are welcome. The NC Chapter typically meets at the Triangle Rock Club for indoor climbing. The organization coordinates volunteers to assist people with disabilities to achieve their climbing goals.
Supervisor of the Year Award: Tonya Harris
This award recognizes individual who have significantly contributed to empowering people with disabilities in the workplace.
Tonya Harris, of the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind, has given her employees the empowerment to make good decisions when a consumer needs assistance, to be placed in a program, or receive aids to help make their lives easier. This in turn empowers the consumer to add more positive things to their lives as well. Tonya has a heart of gold, she is funny, and she shows that she cares when consumers need someone to assist with life's challenges due to their disabilities.
Employer of the Year Award: Durham Exchange Club Industries
This award recognizes employers who have demonstrated outstanding achievements for the improvement of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Durham Exchange Club Industries (DECI) has provided services to individuals with disabilities since 1966. DECI helps people learn vocational skills so that they can go to work in the community. DECI believes that through meaningful, satisfying work and training programs, people are able to live more independently, successfully, and productively.
Over the last year alone, DECI has partnered closely with Division of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities (EIPD), to employ people with disabilities in Wake County. DECI has received 75 referrals, and so far, and 33 individuals have been placed in competitive employment at DECI and in the community. DECI is working closely to secure placement for another 14 individuals and providing on-the-job training.