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Webinar: Effective Practices in Creating a Transformative Service Experience
Wednesday, April 25
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
302 Kirby Plaza
Service has the potential to be a powerful experience in an individual’s life and can help them move into employment, post-secondary education, or other civic engagement activities. The National Service to Employment Project (NextSTEP) has identified the practices that contribute to a positive service experience as well as successful post service opportunities. Over the course of this discussion, speakers Sheila Fesko, Senior Research Fellow, and Nancy Keeler, Training Associate, of NextSTEP will review the practices and draft tools that can serve as resources to implement in the field. Individuals participating in the webinar will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these tools and help craft information regarding creating meaningful member experiences.
Specifically, you will learn about:
-The research process to identify effective practices of member engagement leading to successful post service experiences for individuals with and without disabilities.
-The roles and responsibilities of individual service members, service programs, and partner organizations that both ensure an effective service match and experience and support the individual’s goals.
-The strategies and tools to help individuals as well as programs make a more informed choice of a service program and engage in service that contributes to their future.
Additional information about the presenters:
Sheila Fesko has 25 years of experience working on the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace. As the director of NextSTEP, Sheila is working with the Corporation for National and
Community Service (CNCS) on increasing employment opportunities for youth with disabilities through community service and volunteerism. Areas of her research include inclusion of people with disabilities in the general workforce development system, effective job development strategies, and universal strategies to support inclusion of all employees in the workplace.
Nancy Keeler works as a training associate with NextSTEP for the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. As part of NextSTEP, Nancy facilitates two policy model demonstrations, trains at national conferences, and collaborates with the business community on service to employment. Prior to working for ICI, Nancy was an AmeriCorps VISTA with a Community Development Financial Institution in central Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelors of Arts from Roanoke College in Economics and Art History.
The National Service to Employment Project (NextSTEP) is funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (Cooperative agreement #09TAHMA001). NextSTEP is a collaboration of the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at UMass Boston; the State Employment Leadership Network of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services and the ICI; and the US Business Leadership Network.
The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) is a training and technical assistance provider on disability inclusion, under a cooperative agreement (#08TAHMA001) from Corporation for National and
Community Service (CNCS). NSIP partners with the Association on University Centers on Disability, National Council on Independent Living, Association on Higher Education and Disability and National
Down Syndrome Congress to build connections among disability organizations and all CNCS grantees, to increase the participation of people with disabilities in national service.
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