DSW PC Andrea Rutherford, as Panelist on Alumni’s Webinar

Tags: February 2023, Vol. 3, Issue 2

On March 1, 2023, Andrea Rutherford, Program Co-ordinator in the Developmental Services Worker (DSW) program, was invited to participate as a panelist for a webinar hosted by DSW graduate, and current Program Advisory Committee (PAC) member, Donald Guse Salah.

Donald graduated from the DSW Program in 2013 with honours. As an outstanding student, Donald also received the following awards:

• President’s Letter x2 – Presented to the student with the highest average; received for semesters one and four of the DSW Program
• The REENA Award – Presented to a student who has made outstanding contributions to field placement in working with individuals with complex physical/mental health needs, as recommended by faculty to the Dean
• The Tyler Williamson Memorial Award – Presented for outstanding achievement in the DSW Program
• Pharmacology/Health and Wellness Award – Awarded for outstanding academic achievement, as well as active participation in Pharmacology and Health and Wellness courses

The webinar, hosted by Donald in his role at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Discover Ability Network program, featured subject matter experts to address issues and spark conversation about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Titled ‘There is No DEI Without Disability’ the DEI movement is firing on all cylinders, full speed ahead… or is it after?

The webinar addressed the fact that the largest minority group in the population, which continues to be dramatically under-represented in the workforce and intersects at an equal percentage with all population demographics, is frequently absent: people with disabilities. The webinar was intended for any organization with a DEI policy or working in the DEI space and this webinar was a focused discussion about how DEI cannot be accomplished without including people with disabilities as a core component of the movement, and why employment is the area of greatest return.

Panelists also included Neil Belanger (Maluu’m Amxsiwaa) - Chief Executive Officer of the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, and Bob Vansickle - Former Manager of Employment Services at Community Living Sarnia-Lambton.

By the end of this well-attended webinar, participants were able to:

• List different types of disability, and state the inseparability of disability with other demographics
• Identify the importance of workforce participation to the success of DEI efforts, and commonly cited barriers to workforce inclusion
• Identify practices to support successful hiring and retention of PwDs

DSW program faculty and students, and the entire Humber College community are so proud of the work and ongoing accomplishments and contributions that Donald makes to the field of developmental services and his advocacy work towards equity for access to employment for all people with developmental and intellectual disabilities!