Exploring technology’s impact on accessibility, disability inclusion, and the future of workforce innovation.
The National Organization on Disability invites leaders across business, technology, and advocacy to engage in a meaningful exploration of the ways in which emerging technologies (including AI, extended reality, and smart devices) are shaping the accessibility landscape and changing disability inclusion in the workforce.
With an emphasis on actionable solutions, industry standards, and the future of innovation, this event will provide attendees with the tools and insights needed to foster more inclusive and accessible work environments for not only people with disabilities, but all employees.
Plus, NOD Leadership Council members will attend a pre-event learning and networking session, which will provide the opportunity to share insights, personal stories and best practices for advancing disability inclusion in the workforce.
- Partner-Exclusive Pre-Event: 3:30 PM
- Cocktail Hour + Technology Showcase: 5:30 PM
- Main Event (Panel Discussion + Awards): 7-8:30 PM
We believe cost should never be a barrier to entry. Please reach out to discuss alternative ticketing options.
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Times Center
242 West 41st Street New York, NY 10036
Business Professional Attire Encouraged
- 3:30 PM: Invite Only Partner Exclusive Pre-Event: (Check In: 3 PM)
- 5:30 PM: Cocktail Hour + Technology Showcase
- 7-8:30 PM: Main Event (Panel Discussion + Awards)
Inaugural Technology Showcase
NOD is proud to welcome innovative brands as they showcase cutting-edge, tech-driven products designed to support people with disabilities.
Explore groundbreaking solutions, connect with forward-thinking creators, and experience firsthand how technology is shaping a more inclusive world.
Host
Tina Friml is a standup comedian who uses animated optimism to talk about living with cerebral palsy. In 2024, she was named one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch. Her sharp jokes and fearless honesty about the social assumptions that come with living with a disability has earned Tina a dedicated social media following with over 237K followers on Instagram and over 187K on TikTok.
More About Tina
Entertainment and Speakers
Lachi
Musician
Born legally blind, Lachi uses her platform in music, storytelling and fashion to amplify identity pride and Disability Culture. Her U.N.-recognized organization RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) has collaborated on disability-inclusive solutions with the GRAMMYs, Netflix, Live Nation and more.
Indi Robinson
Actress, Performer, and Model
Indi is a Deaf actress, performer, and model. By blending American Sign Language with expressive movement and visual performance, she’s built a space where both Deaf and hearing audiences can feel deeply connected to the work. Indi has performed with the Philly Phresh Crew, Deaf West Theater, and the LA Philharmonic.
Award Recipients & Featured Speakers
Perrin Anto
Perrin Anto (He/Him) is a Senior UX Designer at Google Accessibility, leading a small yet mighty team for accessibility across Android, Pixel, and Google Research (AI/ML). He’s worked on some of the world’s most used assistive tech including Live Transcribe, Sound Notifications, Live Caption, Hearing Aid integrations, Sound Amplifier, and Project Relate while also driving broader UX strategy for TalkBack, Reading Mode, Display/Contrast Settings, Select to Speak, Voice Access, Accessibility Shortcuts, and more. Before jumping into assistive tech UX, he worked on accessibility implementation for Google Workspace and Google Cloud’s design system.
Perrin studied Computer Science at Columbia University and participated in the Summer Venture in Management Program at Harvard Business School – special shoutout to Professors Sarah Morrison-Smith and Harry West for sharing the fields of accessibility and human-centered design. He comes from a low-income, first-generation, and disability-impacted household – his core mission has always been empowering people through emerging technologies.
Perrin Anto
Perrin Anto (He/Him) is a Senior UX Designer at Google Accessibility, leading a small yet mighty team for accessibility across Android, Pixel, and Google Research (AI/ML). He’s worked on some of the world’s most used assistive tech including Live Transcribe, Sound Notifications, Live Caption, Hearing Aid integrations, Sound Amplifier, and Project Relate while also driving broader UX strategy for TalkBack, Reading Mode, Display/Contrast Settings, Select to Speak, Voice Access, Accessibility Shortcuts, and more. Before jumping into assistive tech UX, he worked on accessibility implementation for Google Workspace and Google Cloud’s design system.
Perrin studied Computer Science at Columbia University and participated in the Summer Venture in Management Program at Harvard Business School – special shoutout to Professors Sarah Morrison-Smith and Harry West for sharing the fields of accessibility and human-centered design. He comes from a low-income, first-generation, and disability-impacted household – his core mission has always been empowering people through emerging technologies.
Kimberly Hill Ridley, CDO, New York State | Judy Heumann Award
Named in honor the Mother of the Disability Rights Movement, the Judy Heumann Award for Excellence in Disability Rights Advocacy celebrates an individual who not only carries Judy’s spirit forward but amplifies it.
Kimberly Hill Ridley serves as New York State’s first-ever Chief Disability Officer (CDO), appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul in February 2022. In this groundbreaking role, she advises the Governor and executive staff on policy and budgetary matters concerning disability issues, acts as the state’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator, and chairs New York’s Most Integrated Services Coordinating Council (MISCC), which is vital for the state’s Olmstead compliance.
A passionate and effective advocate, Ms. Ridley champions accessibility and inclusion within New York State’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. She is also instrumental in the execution of Executive Order 31 (signed July 2023), focused on making New York a model employer for people with disabilities, and Executive Order 40 (signed September 2024), committing New York to become an Employment First State. Her work as CDO involves extensive engagement with advocates, people with disabilities, and their families, addressing critical areas such as homecare, employment, housing, accessibility, and transportation, while working to reduce silos among state agencies.
Prior to her appointment as CDO, Ms. Ridley dedicated 28 years to various disability-focused roles within the New York State Assembly. She served as Principal Analyst for the Assembly Standing Committee on People with Disabilities and as Director of the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities, contributing significantly to the passage of key legislation, including the establishment of the MISCC, the Nursing Facility Transition and Diversion Waiver, and New York State’s Medicaid Buy-In Program. She also coordinated 24 Legislative Disabilities Awareness Days.
Ms. Ridley holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Utica College of Syracuse University (now Utica University). Her lived experience as an individual with a C5-C6 cervical incomplete spinal cord injury from a high school accident profoundly informs her work, underscoring her commitment to the “nothing about us without us” mantra within the disability community. She recently took the oath of office as a member of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency advising the President and Congress on disability policy. Kimberly Ridley resides in Latham, NY, with her husband, Michael, and their children, Michaela and Alex.
Perrin Anto, Google | Alan A. Reich Award
Named after disability rights pioneer and National Organization on Disability founder, the Alan A. Reich Award for Innovation award recognizes a person who is also creating a world where people with disabilities can achieve dignity through equitable opportunity.
Perrin Anto (He/Him) is a Senior UX Designer at Google Accessibility, leading a small yet mighty team for accessibility across Android, Pixel, and Google Research (AI/ML). He’s worked on some of the world’s most used assistive tech including Live Transcribe, Sound Notifications, Live Caption, Hearing Aid integrations, Sound Amplifier, and Project Relate while also driving broader UX strategy for TalkBack, Reading Mode, Display/Contrast Settings, Select to Speak, Voice Access, Accessibility Shortcuts, and more. Before jumping into assistive tech UX, he worked on accessibility implementation for Google Workspace and Google Cloud’s design system.
Perrin studied Computer Science at Columbia University and participated in the Summer Venture in Management Program at Harvard Business School – special shoutout to Professors Sarah Morrison-Smith and Harry West for sharing the fields of accessibility and human-centered design. He comes from a low-income, first-generation, and disability-impacted household – his core mission has always been empowering people through emerging technologies.
Erica Thein, Target | Robert David Hall Award for Disability Representation in Media
Named after actor, disability rights advocate, and National Organization on Disability board member Robert David Hall, this award recognizes a company that demonstrates excellence in authentic, inclusive, and impactful portrayals of people with disabilities in order to challenge stereotypes, expand visibility, and contribute to a more accurate and empowering representation of disability in popular culture.
Luci Workman & Daniel Lamb, KeyBank | Employee Resource Group Award
The Employee Resource Group (ERG) Excellence Award for Making a Difference celebrates an ERG leader(s) successfully creating a culture of awareness, understanding, and advancement of people with disabilities in the workplace.
KeyBank’s purpose is to help clients, colleagues, and communities thrive, and are committed to inclusion and belonging for all. One important dimension of their commitment is via their employee resource groups known as KeyBank Business Impact and Networking Groups, or KBINGs. With over 70 million Americans identifying as a person with a disability, the mission of our Champions of People with Disabilities (CPD) is to foster and enhance professional development, business development, recruitment and retention for all stakeholders and in support of creating a welcoming environment for employees and clients with disabilities or those caring for people with disabilities. To learn more about KeyBank, visit www.key.com or Inclusion & Belonging | KeyBank.
Luci Workman is a Vice President and Category Manager in KeyBank’s Procurement organization where she manages a team responsible for growing critical relationships with business partners, conducting third party negotiations, leading RFPs/RFIs and executing contracts which mitigate risk and drive value for the bank.
Since joining KeyBank in 2003, Luci has held several roles across Talent Acquisition and Procurement, including Executive Recruiter and Recruiting Manager. Luci was instrumental in launching KeyBank’s neurodiversity initiatives in 2019.
Luci is a co-National Leader of KeyBank’s Champions of Persons with Disabilities KBING (ERG) and was part of the team that achieved designations of several Leading Disability Employer Seal awards (NOD) and the Fair360 Top Company for People with Disabilities award in 2024. Additional career highlights include: Chairman’s Award Winner (KeyBank, 2024), Achieving Excellence Award (KeyBank, 2019), Woman of Professional Excellence Award (YWCA, 2017), Leadership in Diversity Award (Crain’s, 2016), and the Diversity Leadership Award (KeyBank, 2015).
Luci is an active member of her church where she serves as a volunteer job coach to assist members who are in employment transition.
Luci earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kent State University. She and her family reside in Northeast Ohio.
As Third Party Management (TPM) Director, Dan Lamb leads a team of 25 risk management professionals in providing KeyBank with a Third Party Risk Management framework and operational oversight to ensure Key’s Third Parties are performing in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Dan has served Key for 28 years in various risk management, procurement, and banking operations leadership roles.
Dan has served as the co-National Leader of KeyBank’s Champions of Persons with Disabilities ERG and was part of the team that achieved designations of several Leading Disability Employer Seal awards (NOD) and the Fair360 Top Company for People with Disabilities award in 2024. Dan serves on the Board of Directors for the Achievement Centers Children and Concord Youth Baseball League, two non-profit organizations in Northeast Ohio that assist children with achieving their greatest potential.
Dan earned his BBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management from Cleveland State University and lives just outside of Cleveland, OH.
Ariana Aboulafia, Center for Democracy & Technology | Moderator
Ariana Aboulafia leads the Disability Rights in Technology Policy Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology. This project focuses on the ways in which certain technologies — including automated employment decision systems used in hiring, as well as algorithmic tools used in benefits determinations, healthcare, and more — impact disabled people. Above all, CDT’s Disability Rights Project aims to advance policy that protects the digital and civil rights of people with disabilities.
An attorney with a strong background in public interest advocacy, and with particular expertise in disability, technology, criminal law, and the First Amendment, Aboulafia was first introduced to technology policy while serving as a fellow to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. Later, she worked as an assistant public defender in Miami-Dade County, providing direct representation to clients facing both misdemeanor and felony criminal charges; she has also served as an officer to the Journalism program at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Ariana holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and law, history and culture from the University of Southern California, as well as a J.D. with a concentration in social justice and public interest from the University of Miami School of Law. Her work has been published in Teen Vogue, Slate and Tech Policy Press, as well as several academic journals.
Want to Learn More?
Watch the highlights from our 2024 event, Identity and the Disability Experience. Scroll down for additional information on sponsorship and ticketing.
Sponsorship Packages
The event offers a unique opportunity to publicly commit to disability inclusion, connect with leaders in human resources, policymakers, and advocates, and build genuine connections with the nation’s leading employers.
Your contribution is more than a philanthropic gift; it is an investment in building professional opportunities, inclusive spaces, and a bright future for the United States’ largest marginalized community.
| Features | Innovator 150,000 | Trailblazer 100,000 | Champion 75,000 | Changemaker 50,000 | Advocate 25,000 |
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| Tickets to main event | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Ticket to Partner-Exclusive Pre-Event | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Full Screen Digital Ads | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1/2 |
| Ad in Printed Program | full back cover | full page | full page | half page | quarter page |
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| Opportunity to Showcase Tech Product during Innovation Showcase |
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| Complementary Lunch & Learn |
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Host Sponsor:
Expanding Sponsor:
All partnerships include a dedicated social media acknowledgment, logo placement on invitation, access to the event media archive, and more! Download sponsorship proposals here
Interested in getting involved?
Click here to connect with NOD to discuss sponsorship opportunities.