Each year, the Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues & Employment highlights disability in the workplace with the Governor’s Employer Awards.
The annual awards honor and celebrate the contributions Washington employers make to recruit, hire and advance workers with disabilities. The agency is seeking nominations for employers that captain this work and see disability as central to workforce diversity.
The awards program honors employers of all sizes in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. It also honors one employer who supports youth with disabilities through employment preparation and job skills training.
The governor’s committee also welcomes nominations for three awards to individuals.
• Direct Support Professional Award: Honors a job coach or developer who has made significant achievements in the successful employment of workers with disabilities.
• Governor’s Trophy in Memory of Carolyn Blair Brown: Honors a person with a disability who has developed or influenced programs, services and legislation.
• Toby Olson Lifetime Achievement Award: Honors a person who embodies the qualities and characteristics of the late Toby Olson, former Governor’s Committee executive director. This award recognizes someone who has made a lifetime commitment to addressing the inequities that people with disabilities face in their community and at the state and national levels.
Find nomination forms and instructions on the committee’s website. Nominations are due July 31.
Or request a nomination packet and get more information from Emily Heike at 360-890-3776 or email her at GCDEawards@esd.wa.gov. Email is preferred.
Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @JanicePods.
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