Kessler Foundation's Elaine Katz presents at national summit on disability employment

Elaine Katz, MS, CCC-SLP, of Kessler Foundation will speak at "Building a More Inclusive Workforce: A National Summit to Boost Education and Employment Outcomes for Americans with Disabilities." The Summit, which is being held on Friday, May 31, 2013, 8:25 am – 3:00 pm at Bank of America, Wilmington, Delaware, is hosted by Delaware Governor Jack Markell, the Council on Foundations and the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN). Katz, vice president of Grant Programs and Special Initiatives, will share her expertise on successful employment initiatives in a presentation titled, Building on the Momentum: Igniting Public-Private Partnerships.

Summit participants are national leaders in disability employment, including Senators Harkin and Chris Coon, Brigadier General Marianne Watson, Congresswoman Cathy M. Rodgers (R-WA), Seth Harris, acting Secretary of Labor, Kathy Krepcio, executive director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, Keith Wiedenkeller, chair of the USBLN, Randy Lewis of Walgreen's, Terry Mazany of The Chicago Community Trust, Lt. Col Daniel Gade, US Army, Chip Rossi of the Bank of America, and Governor Markell, chair of the National Governors' Association (NGA).

"Kessler Foundation is pleased to be a supporter of this National Summit," said Rodger DeRose, the Foundation's president and CEO. "Joining with our counterparts in businesses and government is the most effective way to advance our common goal−to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities."

About the Summit

The Summit's goal is to engage members of the philanthropic and business sectors, in partnership with federal and state governments, to address the chronic under-participation of adults and youth with disabilities in the American workforce. More than two-thirds of working-age Americans with disabilities are outside the labor force, meaning that more than 10 million adults with disabilities are neither working nor actively looking for work. The Summit is part of a concerted effort to increase the size of the disability labor force from 4.9 million to over 6 million by 2015 – the goal established by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Senator Tom Harkin, author of the ADA and chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

The National Summit Planning Committee comprised representatives from the Office of Delaware Governor Jack Markell; the NGA; the Council on Foundations; USBLN; the Chicago Community Trust; the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and the University of Delaware's Institute for Public Administration.

Provided by Kessler Foundation