The National Business & Disability Council (NBDC) at The Viscardi Center provides organizations with the tools and resources to align their mission and goals with sustainable strategy that empowers the workforce, consumers and the disability community. NBDC is prepared to help your organization integrate a disability inclusive framework linked to outcomes, return on investment, building brand value, and increasing profits.
NBDC’s programs and services are focused on 3 areas:
- Workforce
- Consumers
- Community
EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The Emerging Leaders Program focuses on matching promising college students with disabilities with Corporate Partners for internships that can potentially lead to full-time employment. It is a way for companies to bring new talent into their workforce, representing a bright, diverse and growing talent pool.
EMPLOYMENT POSTINGS
Corporate Partners wanting additional recruitment channels to identify qualified candidates with disabilities utilize NBDC’s Employment Posting Service.
REGIONAL ROUNDTABLES
Our regional roundtable events are hosted across the country in collaboration with our partners. Roundtables highlight disability inclusive trends and create opportunities for strategic learning and best practice sharing.
MONTHLY WEBINARS
NBDC hosts disability inclusive webinars focused on leadership, employment customer experience or marketing.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ENTRY/MID-LEVEL EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES
For employees with disabilities at entry or mid-level, professional development provides insights to navigate the corporate culture while advancing in their careers. The six-month program consists of one webinar per month, a one-on-one call with an NBDC Inclusion Consultant and course materials.
DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE DISABILITY INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
NBDC assists companies who need support or expertise to effectively identify, recruit, interview, hire, onboard, accommodate, retain, and advance employees with disabilities. We also provide guidance on self-disclosure, as well as creating and strengthening Employee Resource Groups (ERGS).
PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES
We’re committed to helping businesses meet evolving industry standards and making sure customers, students, and employees with disabilities get the most out of their digital media. Our highly experienced accessibility team ensures Section 508, and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance using WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards, with fast turnaround time, secure file transfers, and competitive pricing.
A one-stop-accessibility-shop for digital documents, websites, videos, and more.
- Document Accessibility to accurately ensure PDF, Word, and PowerPoint files are accessible by screen reading software for people with low vision/blindness and other print disabilities.
- Website Accessibility to provide customized solutions that ensure websites are compliant with today’s legislation and fully accessible to all, including a training program for client teams to understand and maintain site accessibility.
- Captioning & CART Services to make your in-person events, video productions, livestreams and webinars accessible for people with hearing loss.
- Audio Description, a narration service to inform individuals who are blind or have low vision about the visual content of a video or presentation.
- Viscardi Multimedia Learning Center, a state-of-the-art, accessible conference and production space for meetings, conferences, and training sessions for up to 75 people.
MARKETING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE CONSULTING
NBDC recognizes that disability inclusion is fully optimized when employment, customer experience and marketing are integrated throughout an organization. With 56M people with disabilities in the U.S., with $490B in after-tax income, this market is too large to be overlooked. That is why we’ve expanded our programs and services to include disability marketing and customer service. We offer:
- Market Research
- Content Development
- Social Media Strategy
- Community Relations
- Disability Inclusive Branding
- Touchpoint Analysis
- Guest Services Training for Front-line Employees
TRAININGS, CONSULTATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Our team of Inclusion Consultants design training and provide technical assistance on a variety of topics, including:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008
- Disability Awareness/Etiquette
- Unconscious Disability-Related Bias
- Accommodations
If you’re interested in learning more, contact Colleen Crispino at ccrispino@viscardicenter.org or 516-465-1480.
