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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2015
U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez Keynotes Disability Inclusion Opportunity
Summit in Chicago
First class of Fellows from newly established Leadership Institute for People with Disabilities
introduced at summit to increase inclusion in education and employment
CHICAGO — More than 300 civic, business and government leaders are gathered at Blue Cross and
Blue Shield in Chicago today to examine progress made since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
was signed into law 25 years ago – and to challenge Chicago-area leaders to advance its promise of
economic self-sufficiency and full participation at the Disability Inclusion Opportunity Summit.
More than one in 10 Illinoisans have a disability – representing a significant consumer market and a
largely untapped talent pool, as only 35 percent of the state’s working-age people with disabilities are
employed, compared to 75 percent of those without disabilities. Gathered by ADA 25 Chicago,
participants are exploring robust strategies to increase inclusion of people with disabilities in education
and employment in order to maximize our region’s economic vitality.
Former U.S. Congressman and original author of the ADA Tony Coelho participated in the Summit,
providing remarks and introducing Secretary Perez. “We wrote the ADA to end the rampant
discrimination, exclusion and stigma faced by millions of Americans with disabilities in all aspects of our
lives,” said Coelho. “We have come a long way, but that work is far from complete. We need business,
political and civic leaders to understand that this is responsibility belongs to all of us. After all, disability
will affect each of us at some point in all of our lives.”
U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez provided the Opportunity Summit’s keynote address, speaking during
the luncheon program. His remarks reflected on the progress made since the ADA was enacted, but also
stressed the importance for, and the advantages of, continued advances in employment for people with
disabilities.
“In many ways, employment is the most important unfinished business of the ADA. We know this
because it’s 2015, and the employment gap between Americans with and without a disability is simply
unacceptable,” said Secretary Perez. “As of last month, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities
is 10.6 percent, more than double the national rate. The story is similar when you look at labor force
participation rate, which is more than 40 percentage points less than people with no disability. We can do
better. We have to do better.”
One of the ADA 25 Chicago Legacy Projects highlighted today is a newly established Leadership
Institute for People with Disabilities designed to expand inclusion in Chicago’s civic life. This
Leadership Institute will be the first of its kind in the nation to directly address two needs: the desire of
public officials, non-profit boards and others for a pipeline of qualified people with disabilities; and the
perception of many people with disabilities that they lack access to the networks that can facilitate entry
to leadership positions.
Financial support for the Leadership Institute comes from founding sponsor Exelon and other sponsors
including The Chicago Community Trust, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and ManpowerGroup in
addition to in-kind support from Deloitte and Hyatt. The Leadership Institute is co-chaired by Karen
Tamley, Commissioner of the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities, and Mark Ishaug,
CEO of Thresholds.
“One of the best ways to ensure that people with disabilities are fully included in all facets of Chicago’s
rich civic and business life is to make sure that we are at the tables, and in conversations, where
strategies are set and decisions are made,” said Commissioner Karen Tamley. “The emerging leaders
that make up the Inaugural Fellows represent and illustrate the diversity of the Chicago region in age,
gender, disability, profession, life experience and vision of future leadership.”
Commissioner Tamley and Steve Solomon, Vice President of Corporate Relations at Exelon and
President of Exelon Foundation announced the Inaugural Class of Leadership Institute Fellows and
Advisors during today’s luncheon address.
Inaugural Leadership Institute Fellows Include:
 Erick Allen – Chief Visionary, The Prospectus Group
 Stephanie Anderson – Diverse Learner Support Leader, Chicago Public Schools
 Linda Bannon – MBA Candidate, Benedictine University
 Becky Brasfield – Director of Recovery, MADO Healthcare
 Gary Beringer – Principal, Beringer & Associates
 Bridget Evans – Patient Safety Analyst, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
 Tanya Friese – Assistant Professor, Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing,
Rush University Medical Center
 Diana Helt – Grants and Program Evaluation Director at Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association
 Kevin Knabe – Requirements Management Engineer, General Electric Company
 Sam Knight – Community Organizer, Will Grundy Center for Independent Living
 Jose Mendez – Founder & Director, Disability Consulting Services, Inc.
 Kathleen Dillon Narko – Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School
of Law
 Ron Otto – Director of Recovery, Thresholds Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centers
 Kaney O’Neill – President and Founder of O’Neill Contractors, Inc.
 Randall Owen – Research Assistant Professor, Department of Disability and Human Development
(DHD), University of Illinois at Chicago
 Mary Rosenberg – Staff Attorney, Access Living
Inaugural Leadership Institute Advisors Include:
 Francine Bell – Founder and Executive Director of The Hilliard Foundation
 Bill Bogdan – Disability Liaison to Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White
 Clark Craig – Community Organizer, Progress Center for Independent Living
 Justine Fedak – Senior Vice President and Head of Brand, Advertising and Sponsorships, BMO
Financial Group, North America
 Stephanie Kanter – Business Support Manager, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
 Linda Mastandrea – Fund Manager, Americans with Disabilities Fund, Foundation for Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation
 Margaret McDonnell – Director, Learning Center and Disability Services, Saint Xavier University
 Kelly Pierce – Disability Specialist, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
 Joseph Russo – Deputy Commissioner of Compliance, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
Other Legacy Projects include the newly reinvigorated Chicagoland Business Leadership Network
(CBLN), a business-to-business organization focused on employment of people with disabilities; the
City’s first Mayoral Literacy Task Force to address the reading achievement gap between the 60,000
CPS students with Individualized Education Plans and those without; and the 25 for 25 Cultural Access
Project which enlisted more than 30 organizations to increase access in Chicago’s cultural institutions.
Tomorrow’s Summit session, entitled “Best Practices and Strategies for Recruiting, Employing &
Retaining People with Disabilities,” will focus on hands-on strategies and tactics around employment
of people with disabilities with an audience of employers and human resources, talent acquisition,
diversity and inclusion professionals. This session is presented by the CBLN, an affiliate of the U.S.
Business Leadership Network driven by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
To view the Opportunity Summit agenda, visit: www.ADAOpportunitySummit.EventBrite.com.
Join the Opportunity Summit conversations on social media using #OpportunitySummit and follow ADA
25 Chicago @ADA25Chicago and Facebook.com/ADA25Chicago.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the Opportunity Summit’s signature sponsor and host. ADA 25
Chicago sponsors include The Chicago Community Trust, Exelon, Walgreens Boots Alliance and
Motorola Mobility.
CBLN charter partners include AT&T, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Comcast, McDonald’s
Corporation and University of Phoenix. CBLN Sustaining Partners include Baxalta, Baxter, BMO Harris,
Deloitte, Discover Financial Services, EY, Grainger, Hyatt, inQUEST, KPMG, ManpowerGroup, Northern
Trust and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
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ADA 25 Chicago is a network of nearly 200 civic partners who have come together to commemorate and
advance a civil rights milestone – the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Despite 25 years of progress, people with disabilities still have higher poverty rates, lower employment
and poorer educational outcomes than those without disabilities. The vision of ADA 25 Chicago is to help
make Metropolitan Chicago the most inclusive region in the nation. The Chicago Community Trust is the
lead supporter of ADA 25 Chicago. For more information, visit www.ADA25Chicago.org. #ADA25Chicago
Chicagoland Business Leadership Network (CBLN), an affiliate of the U.S. Business Leadership
Network driven by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation, looks to advance the
employment of individuals with disabilities. CBLN will facilitate the creation of workplaces, marketplaces
and supply chains where people with disabilities are included by convening solution-focused forums that
will help employers overcome traditional barriers to hiring people with disabilities. As a legacy project of
ADA 25 Chicago, CBLN seeks 25 business members to create a vibrant business-to-business network
with the long-term goal of reducing the unemployment rate for people with disabilities.
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