Partner Spotlight: Alliance for Full Participation

The Alliance for Full Participation (AFP) is a collaboration of states and organizations that seek to ensure that people with developmental disabilities have the opportunity to be included, integrated, independent, and productive community members. AFP has a strong vision for employment equity in competitive jobs with competitive wages, raised expectations surrounding employment, and job satisfaction and retention among people with development disabilities. This commitment includes the "Real Jobs: It's Everyone's Business" Campaign, which seeks to double the employment rate of people with disabilities by 2015. A summit will be held in Washington, D.C. in November 2011 to mark the midpoint in the campaign and bring together the various stakeholders involved in the movement. Central to the work of AFP are state-level partners and state team members, including people with developmental disabilities, their employers, coworkers and families, business organizations, community members, service providers, government representatives, and advocates. Karen Flippo, the State Team Liaison for AFP, spoke with the NTAR Leadership Center about the "Real Jobs" campaign.


Listen to the podcast with Karen Flippo, State Teams Liaison, Alliance for Full Participation
Read a transcript of the podcast
Learn more about the November 2011 summit
Find out more about your state AFP team

Partner Spotlight: National Network of Sector Partners

Sector initiatives are industry-specific approaches to workforce development and economic development for creating jobs as well as career pathways for job seekers in a particular industry. Sector initiatives generally work with a group of employers in a focused industry, use workforce intermediaries to facilitate the development of workforce solutions to meet employee needs, and work to promote long-standing change that can benefit the industry by providing skilled workers and benefit both the community and workers by providing good jobs. The National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP), the only membership organization in the country to promote sector initiatives, has been working to improve regional economies and enhance employment opportunities for low-income individuals through the promotion of sector initiatives. Under the leadership of Jack Mills, Director of the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP), and an NTAR Leadership Center Research Advisory Panel member , NNSP is strengthening the sector field by expanding the knowledge base of sector initiatives, advocating for policy support for sector initiatives at the state level, developing new funding models, and exploring new models of sector initiatives. Mr. Mills spoke with us about the benefits of sector initiatives and his work at NNSP.

• Listen to the podcast with Jack Mills, Director, NNSP
• Read a transcript of the podcast

Partner Spotlight: Eric Seleznow

Eric Seleznow, co-team leader of the NTAR Leadership Center’s State Leaders Innovation Institute’s Maryland team, has served as the Executive Director of Maryland’s Governor’s Workforce Investment Board since 2007. Throughout Eric’s extensive career in workforce development he has overseen the Montgomery County Maryland workforce development system, whose Workforce Investment Boards and One Stop Career Centers serve more than 10,000 people each year. An expert in corrections policy and workforce reentry initiatives, Eric brings a strong and diverse workforce perspective to his work with the State of Maryland and with the NTAR Leadership Center.

• Listen to the podcast with Eric Seleznow, Executive Director of Maryland’s Governor’s Workforce Investment Board and co-team leader of the Maryland State Leaders Innovation Institute effort
• Read a transcript of the podcast

Partner Spotlight: Karen McCulloh

Karen McCulloh is a recognized leader in the field of disability employment. As a registered nurse who found difficulty in regaining employment after her disability, she established her own consulting firm and a new field of nursing – Community Health Disability Education.

Ms. McCulloh’s drive and passion led to her position as the Executive Director of disabilityworks, an Illinois statewide initiative targeted to increasing the employment of people with disabilities and to “inspire sound employer-to-employee relationships.”

In her tremendous career, Karen has served as a Department of Labor federal appointee, as the Chair of the Disability Subcommittee of the National Job Corps Advisory Committee and on President Obama’s transition team. The NTAR Leadership Center is proud to have Karen on our Technical Assistance Advisory Panel.

- Listen to the podcast with Karen McCulloh
- Read a transcript of the podcast