The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc., Monthly Career Webinar: this webinar is for job seekers who are blind, low vision, DeafBlind, and blind with other disabilities.

Community organizations have a wealth of information to help aspiring business owners gain the information and needed skills to launch a successful business. Join the webinar to learn about these resources that help individuals thrive in self-employment.

Speakers will include Nikkie Powis, Cheryl Cumings, Diego Mariscal, and Aarti Sahgal.

Nikki Powis is a Training and Technical Assistance Manager for the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) and Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center (WINTAC) projects at NDI. She has worked in the Workforce Development arena for over 25 years, 15 of which have been overseeing and leading WIA/WIOA and Wagner Peyser funded programs within the AJCs throughout several regions of Alaska. Nikki has also worked within the University of Alaska system as an educator and coordinator of the Workforce Development Program for the Fairbanks campus. Since 2012, Nikki has served as the DEI statewide lead for Alaska working extensively on expanding employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities through implementing an effective statewide Employment Network and expanding partnerships with Vocational Rehabilitation and other disability agencies and stakeholders.

Cheryl Cumings is The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc.’s Workforce Development Manager. Cheryl works with Lighthouse employees who are blind, DeafBlind, blind with other disabilities to facilitate their exploration of career growth. Cheryl brings her background in community outreach, health care policy and blindness services to her current role. Cheryl is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and the founder of a nonprofit that provided blind students with recreational and career exploration programs.

Diego Mariscal, Founder and CEO, 2Gether-International: Incubator for Entrepreneurs with disabilities https://www.2gether-international.org/ which supports disabled founders by connecting them with the resources they need to create thriving high growth, high impact startups. Challenging the entrepreneurial ecosystem at large to flip the narrative and see disability as a competitive advantage for businesses.

Diego Mariscal grew up in Monterrey, Mexico. Born two and a half weeks early with cerebral palsy, while his family was on a trip to Louisiana.

Diego came to the US to study International Relations and began working on policy issues affecting the lives of people with disabilities. In 2012 he founded 2Gether-International to change the narrative about individuals with disabilities. https://www.aspendailynews.com/news/diego-mariscal-flipping-the-script-on-disabilities/article_b0393cea-1981-11ee-a3ae-4328df71bf12.html

Aarti Sahgal, Founder and CEO of Synergies Work which unleashes the power of entrepreneurship among persons with disabilities by providing opportunities and leveling the playing field for equal talent and closing the network gaps. https://synergieswork.org/

Aarti Sahgal’s personal journey, inspired by her son with Down Syndrome, led to the creation of Synergies Work. The organization focuses on bridging the gap between people with disabilities and the business community, emphasizing their entrepreneurial potential.

This is the third and final workshop session of a 3-part series.