National Disability Employment Awareness Month Webinar

Event Summary

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and this year’s Department of Labor theme, “Celebrating Value and Talent,” takes on special meaning as our nation marks its 250th birthday, honoring the contributions of Americans with disabilities, past and present.

Join Helen Keller National Center and Helen Keller Services for the Blind as we continue our annual tradition of promoting employment opportunities and workplace awareness for individuals who are DeafBlind, blind, or have low vision.

A New Format for a Milestone Year

This year’s webinar features a series of spotlight conversations: focused 10 to 15 minute sessions with each speaker, exploring their professional stories, the current state of employment for individuals with disabilities, and where the field is headed. The webinar closes with live Q&A, giving you the opportunity to join the conversation.

When: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 | 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET
Cost: FREE for all!

Register Today

Who can benefit?

• Counselors and Leaders of State Vocational and Blind Services
• Community Service Programs/Agencies
• Employers and Businesses
• Individuals who are blind, DeafBlind, have vision loss or other disabilities
• Individuals from nonprofit organizations and foundations
• College and university employees

Meet the Panelists

Kirk Adams, PhD
Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Diversity & Inclusion

Dr. Adams spent his professional career diligently driving the inclusion of people who are blind throughout society. A long white cane user since age six, he attended the Oregon State School for the Blind, and attribute the blindness skills and strong sense of internal agency gained there for much of his success in life. He entered the nonprofit sector through fundraising.

His first nonprofit job was as a development officer for the Seattle Public Library Foundation, raising money for the statewide Talking Book and Braille (NLS) Library. During that time, he earned a Master’s degree in Not-For-Profit Leadership from Seattle University, and earned the Certified Fundraising Executive credential from the Association of Fundraising professionals. He was originally hired by the Seattle Lighthouse to stand up a comprehensive fundraising program and a supporting Foundation and fundraising board.

Moving into the CEO roles at the Lighthouse and AFB, he continuously developed his network of relationships with others interested in the inclusion of people with disabilities. He currently has 4900 friends on Facebook, and 29,000 connections on LinkedIn. In his new role as a consultant, he’s excited about putting his skills, experience, and networks to good use, supporting innovative, impactful projects, like the Inspiration Foundation.

 

 

Kathy West-Evans, MPA, CRC
Consultant and Co-Owner, Abilities United Consulting

Kathy West-Evans, MPA, CRC, is a consultant and co-owner of Abilities United Consulting. She previously spent 21 years as Director of Business Relations for the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), the membership organization for the 78 directors of public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs. The public VR system serves more than one million people with disabilities each year, helping them pursue careers in integrated, competitive employment.

Kathy developed and led the National Employment Team (NET), a network of business consultants representing public VR agencies in every state, the territories, and Washington, D.C. Through NET, she advanced a dual-customer strategy that helps businesses meet workforce needs with VR talent and support services. She has helped business customers hire, promote, and retain employees with disabilities through training, consulting, technical assistance, and coordinated VR business teams at the national, state, and local levels.

Kathy is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) fluent in American Sign Language. She began her career in 1978 as a vocational consultant and Projects with Industry (PWI) program manager at the Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center. She later joined the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) as a VR counselor and went on to serve as assistant regional administrator, regional business relations specialist, and statewide manager for business relations and marketing. She then served in the Region X office of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the U.S. Department of Education, where she worked as a state representative and regional specialist in employment and business development, ADA, training, and personnel development.

Kathy has served on the National Employment Conferences planning committee and co-authored publications on employment through a dual-customer strategy with businesses and individual customers. She frequently speaks on business engagement and workforce strategies that support the hiring and inclusion of people with disabilities. She is a former Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling commissioner and a former chair and member of the national Veterans Committee on Rehabilitation.

 

Michael MacKillop
Executive Director, Washington State Department of Services for the Blind
Chair, NCSAB Careers & Business Relations Committee

Michael MacKillop serves as the Executive Director of the Washington State Department of Services for the Blind (DSB), the state agency responsible for helping individuals who are blind, DeafBlind, or have low vision achieve employment, educational, and independent living goals. In this role, he oversees statewide programs focused on vocational rehabilitation, assistive technology, orientation and mobility, skills training, business partnerships, and workforce development. [dsb.wa.gov], [dsb.wa.gov]

Before becoming Executive Director, MacKillop held leadership positions within Washington DSB and was previously identified as the agency’s Assistant Director of Programs. Public state employment records show his progression from Assistant Director roles into the Executive Director position. [opengovwa.com]

At the national level, MacKillop is a member of the NCSAB Executive Committee and serves as chair of the NCSAB Careers and Business Relations Committee, a role that places him among the leading business-relations professionals working with state blindness agencies across the United States. In that capacity, he helps coordinate strategies that connect employers with qualified candidates who are blind, DeafBlind, or low vision and supports collaboration among state agencies on employment initiatives. [ncsab.org], [ncsab.org]

His work emphasizes:

• Competitive integrated employment for people with visual disabilities
• Employer engagement and workforce development
• Cross-state business partnerships
• Career advancement opportunities for blind and low vision job seekers
• Collaboration among state blindness agencies nationwide [dsb.wa.gov], [ncsab.org]

 

Accessibility Statement

HKNC is committed to providing training and learning experiences that are accessible to all participants. This webinar includes American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, spoken English interpretation, live captions, audio description, accessible presentation materials, and transcripts.

If you require additional accommodations to fully participate, please contact Jennifer Falls at jfalls@helenkeller.org by October 1, 2026. While some accommodations may require additional planning, and certain requests may be subject to resource, funding, or vendor availability constraints, we will make every reasonable effort to meet your access needs and support your full participation.

Questions?

Joseph Melillo
National Employer & Business Relations Specialist
Helen Keller National Center
jmelillo@helenkeller.org
631.432.4823