ABOUT US – Disability:IN North Carolina

Disability:IN North Carolina joins employers across the state to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October during our Fall Conference. We also hold Thought Leader Luncheons, to recognize National Mental Health Awareness Month and other awareness campaigns to expand disability inclusion and reduce stigma. In addition to our events and conferences, Disability:IN North Carolina has developed several signature programs to expand disability employment inclusion. We also promote programs developed by our parent organization, Disability: IN.

Programs Created by Disability:IN North Carolina:

CommunAbility Mentoring: The Disability:IN North Carolina / CommunAbility mentoring program matches business mentors to students or young adults with disabilities for mentoring sessions that take place throughout their senior year in high school, technical training, college or university.

NC Ready2Hire (NCR2H): NCR2H provides consulting services designed to improve disability hiring and retention and comply with federal regulations. Through our NCR2H program, Disability:IN North Carolina partners with your business to customize a disability inclusion strategy for successful recruitment, selection and hiring practices.

Talent Source Network: The Disability:IN North Carolina / Talent Source Network* provides a resource for businesses and employers who are sourcing talent from the community to network with agencies that provide employment services and/or human services to people with disabilities.

Current Initiatives| InRoads to Employment: InRoads to Employment is a three-year initiative funded by the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD). InRoads to Employment is designed to create a centralized infrastructure, that will serve as the backbone organization for a state network of businesses, employment agencies, school systems, community colleges and individuals with disabilities & their families to act in concert as champions for employment.

Disability:IN North Carolina joins employers across the state to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October during our Fall Conference. We also hold Thought Leader Luncheons, to recognize National Mental Health Awareness Month and other awareness campaigns to expand disability inclusion and reduce stigma.

In addition to our events and conferences, Disability:IN North Carolina has developed several signature programs to expand disability employment inclusion. We also promote programs developed by our parent organization, Disability: IN.

Programs Created by Disability:IN North Carolina:

Beth Butler, J.D., Executive Director, NCBLN

Beth Butler, BS, JD, Executive Director, NCBLN

Letter from the Executive Director

I am honored to have the opportunity to advance NCBLN’s mission to help businesses drive performance through disability inclusion in the workplace, supply chain and marketplace. As an experienced HR professional, licensed attorney and most importantly, one who was born with a non-apparent disability, I delight in the potential that NCBLN brings to the businesses in North Carolina and welcome you along for what promises to be an engaging and impactful journey.

What appealed most to me about the opportunity to lead the NCBLN as executive director was how, for the first time in my career I could leverage my experiences both personally and professionally to meet business and community leaders where they are in their diversity journeys and focus my efforts on helping them appreciate the value of full disability inclusion in their workplaces and in our communities. With an unemployment rate of 69.6% for working age people with disabilities in NC coupled with a poverty rate of 31% for this same population, the NCBLN’s role is clear. By spotlighting North Carolina businesses and community leaders that demonstrate best practices and innovations in disability inclusion we will be challenged to think, act and lead differently. These changes will help remove attitudinal barriers and reduce the unemployment rate of people with disabilities in NC.

My perspective is unique. With experiences, as both an employment attorney struggling to balance the mitigation of risk with the motivation to promote disability inclusion and as an applicant who nearly lost an employment opportunity because I disclosed my disability during an interview, I am not intimidated by the complexities of this important work. It is through these challenges that I have developed the resiliency that will fuel my passion for our future work together.

Sincerely, Beth Butler, JD, Executive Director, NCBLN

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