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Event Image
We are back with “Thoughtful Tuesdays” – our monthly virtual event with guest speakers, facilitated discussions, case studies, podcast and Ted Talk reviews, stories, and inclusion/best practice shares for the VA AWWA community that allows us to increase awareness and education, engage our membership and have courageous conversations on DEI topics.
This Thoughtful Tuesday event is in honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 19, 2022) featuring the topic “Disability Inclusion Matters”. Join us on Tuesday, June 7th, at 1 pm ET for a thought-provoking session that will get everyone talking, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion, and why disability inclusion matters.
 
There are more than One Billion people worldwide living with disabilities/impairments. From both a civil rights and a business perspective, people with disabilities are underserved by today’s digital products. Every user deserves a first-rate digital experience on the web. Someone with a disability must be able to experience web-based services, content, and other digital products with the same successful outcome as those without disabilities. This awareness and commitment to inclusion is the goal of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a global event that shines a light on digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities.
 
So, what can we do NOW to start being inclusive and accessible?
 
Meet our guest speaker:  Emeline Lakrout  
 
Emeline is an Associate Customer Channel Development Manager at Unilever and the Disability Marketing Consultant for DegreeShe draws from five years of activism, leadership, and content creation in the disability community, alongside her lived experience of blindness since childhood. Her work includes speaking at the European Investment Bank and the UK’s National Health Service and passing state legislation supporting sports programs for disabled students.
 
On top of joining the US para rock climbing team, she continues to lobby for disability legislation at all levels of government, organize disability awareness campaigns, and publish pieces focusing on disability and blindness on her blog and Instagram @EmelineClimbs.
 
In this Thoughtful Tuesday session, Emeline will share her personal journey, discuss how accessibility removes barriers while unlocking the possible, and will provide some thought and action prompts to organizations on disability advocacy, and inclusion via accessibility.
 
 
 
About Thoughtful Tuesdays
The VA AWWA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee launches “Thoughtful Tuesdays” – our monthly virtual event with guest speakers, facilitated discussions, case studies, podcast and Ted Talk reviews, stories, and inclusion/best practice shares for the VA AWWA community that allows us to increase awareness and education, engage our membership and have courageous conversations on DEI topics.
 
Organizers
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Geneva Hudgins
geneva.hudgins@vaawwa.org
434.386.3190

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Supriya Murthy
supriya.murthy@arcadis.com

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Jerry Griffin, Jr.
gerald.griffin@lynchburgva.gov