DEAM Speakers Bureau
Employers, professional and industrial associations, organized labour and service clubs are invited to celebrate DEAM, by holding a Disability Employment Awareness Training Event in your place of business. The aim is to help break some of the myths around disability, to promote disability-friendly workplaces, and to answer any questions you may have specific to your store, shop floor, construction site etc.
Below is a list of speakers or organizational contacts available for hour-long sessions held during business hours, for example a “Lunch and Learn”. The list includes the area of expertise and contact information, so that you can get in touch with the trainers directly. The training sessions are free, unless otherwise specified.
Alternatively, you may prefer to incorporate our 2-minute video created to promote an understanding about disability accommodations in the workplace or this 16-minute video, called “A Hire Awareness”, into your celebration of DEAM.
Available Speakers (listed alphabetically by surname)
- Gaudry, Louis - Charisma Communications
- Hedgecock, Darlene - Manitoba Civil Service Commission, Province of Manitoba
- Knipe, Patricia - Manitoba Human Rights Commission
- Lockhart, Doug - Independent Living Resource Centre
- Pudsey, Brent - Immigrant Centre of Manitoba
- Seale, Donna - Human Rights Lawyer
- Watters, Colleen - Disabilities Issues Office, Province of Manitoba
Louis Gaudry, Public Speaker - Charisma Communications
Phone: 204-770-9268
Email: louis@charismacommunications.ca
URL: www.charismacommunications.ca
Topic:
- Personal Experience Dealing with Employers - I will share my experience when it comes to job interviews and dealing with people when they find out that you have a disability.
- See You Watching - Dealing with people on a daily basis public
Note: I charge $150 per hour, $250 for 2 hours. I require a wireless microphone.
References:
- Lori Hurtig,
Manager of Community Relations
Reaching E-Quality Employment Services (RE-ES)
Phone: 204-832-7337 X 231
Email:lhurtig@re-es.org - Klaus Lahr, Director, General Manager & COO
The Convention Centre Corporation
Phone: 204-956-1720
Email:klausl@wcc.mb.ca
Darlene Hedgecock, Diversity & Inclusivity Development Programs Mgr - MB Civil Service Commission, Province of Manitoba
Phone: 204-945-5335 / Fax: 204-945-1486
E-Mail: Darlene.Hedgecock@gov.mb.ca
Topic:
- A Civil Service Commission representative will share some of the ‘best practises’ in their efforts to recruit and maintain a diverse workforce, one that is welcoming to persons with disabilities.
References:
- Rose Bear, Acting Director, Human Resource Services
Civil Service Commission
Phone: 204-945-2885
Email: Rose.Bear@gov.mb.ca - Glen Coutts, Senior Policy and Program Analyst, Employment and Training Services
Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade
Phone: 204-945-3549
Email: Glen.Coutts@gov.mb.ca
Patricia Knipe, Communications Director - Manitoba Human Rights Commission
Phone: 204-945-5112 / Fax: 204-945-1292
E-Mail: Patricia.Knipe@gov.mb.ca
Topic:
- Workplace Disability Accommodations and the Law
Note:
The Commission also offers, at a cost, half day seminars on reasonable accommodation, which can be tailored to various workplaces. For more information on these seminars, please visit the Manitoba Human Rights Commission’s website at: www.manitobahumanrights.ca and click on workshops.
References:
- Simon Gillingham, Workplace Consultant, Corporate Support Services
City of Winnipeg
Phone: 204-986-4494
Email: SGillingham@winnipeg.ca
- Jackie Gruber, Human Rights and Equity Advisor, Human Rights and Advisory Services
University of Manitoba
Phone: 204-474-7388
Email: Jackie.Gruber@umanitoba.ca
Doug Lockhart - Independent Living Resource Centre
Phone: 204-947-0194; Fax: 204-943-6625
E-Mail: dougl@ilrc.mb.ca
Topic:
- Disability Awareness Training (DART) offers a cross disability perspective that is designed, directed and delivered by people with disabilities and is offered for whole or half day sessions. Content and time frame can be tailored according to participant needs. Options include: Workplace Inclusion; Hospitality and Tourism; Disaster Management; Customer Service, Kids on the Block Puppet Troupe; What Provincial Legislation Could Mean to You, and Generic Disability Awareness.
Note: Free one hour lunch and learn sessions are available where your agency will discover what the ILRC has to offer and how DART can be tailored to suit your specific needs.
References:
- Kyle Waterman, Security Manager, St. Vital Centre
Phone: 204-258-7024
E-Mail: Kwaterman@20vic.com - Dr. Rick Freeze, Professor, Inclusive Special Education, Educational Administration, Foundations and Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB R3T 2N2
Phone: 204-474-6904 or 204-257-9905
E-Mail: Rick.Freeze@ad.umanitoba.ca
Brent Pudsey, Citizenship Tutor (Volunteer) - Immigration Centre of Manitoba
Phone: 204-391-9971
Email: BrentPudsey@gmail.com
URL: https://sites.google.com/site/brentpudseyportfolio/
Topics:
- Self Motivation: I will address the subject of how to keep motivated and persevering when facing challenges due to a disability. I will discuss ways to stay positive and not give up on one' self. I will also discuss how to approach others and tell them about your disability in a positive way.
- Brain Injury and employment: I will discuss my experiences of sustaining a brain injury in my teens and how this has effected employment. I will also discuss how to deal with misunderstanding due to an invisible disability.
- Disability initiatives and ways of promoting one's self. I will discuss my experiences as a participant in employment programs for persons with disabilities and also how I have attempted to promote myself through website portfolios and proposals for self employment.
References:
- Terry McIntosh, Pace IL Consultant
Independent Living Resource Centre
Phone: 204-947-0194 X 332
Email: terrym@ilrc.mb.ca - Kevin Jacobs, Environmental Inspector
Government of Manitoba
Phone: 204-253-4988
Email: jacobskb@gmail.com
Donna Seale, Human Rights Lawyer, Educator & Workplace Investigator
Phone: 204-792-0912
Email: donna@donnaseale.ca
URL: www.donnaseale.ca
Topics:
- Disability and the Duty to Accommodate in the Workplace (can be tailored to your organization and its specific accommodation policies)
- Providing accessible services to customers with disabilities (can be tailored to your particular organization)
- How to investigate human rights complaints (includes information on investigating complaints of discrimination on grounds such as disability and addressing complaints of failure to accommodate disability)
Note:
Fee-based training only. Quotes can be provided after consultation with the client.
References:
- Don McIntosh, Human Resources Consultant
Forward Thinking HR Solutions Inc
Phone: 204-296-8876
Email: ForwardThinking@shaw.ca - Don Rooney, Director, Labour Relations
MTS Allstream
Phone: 204-941-7567
Email: don.rooney@mtsallstream.com
Colleen Watters, Policy analyst - Disabilities Issues Office, Province of Manitoba
Phone: 204-945-7613; Fax: 204-948-2896
E-Mail: Colleen.Watters@gov.mb.ca
Topics:
- Disability awareness and workplace accommodations
- Introduction of Accessibility Legislation in Manitoba
References:
- Mary-Jane Fisher, Civilian Human Resources, Federal Treasury Board
Phone: 204-833-2500, ext. 4213
E-mail: MaryJane.Fisher@forces.gc.ca - Jim Baker, President of the Manitoba Hotel Association
Phone: 204-942-0671
Email: jbaker@manitobahotelassociation.ca