National Organization on Disability Announces Expanded Advisory Services To Connect Corporate America With New Talent

NEW YORK, April 24, 2015 //PRNewswire/ -- National Organization on Disability (NOD) President Carol Glazer announced an exciting new direction for a non-profit that has for more than 30 years been a leader in advancing opportunities for Americans with all kinds of disabilities. During last night's DiversityInc awards ceremony in downtown Manhattan, honoring the Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities, Glazer unveiled NOD's expanded Corporate Services – a best-in-class suite of advisory services now available to companies across the country who recognize that hiring people with disabilities is good business.

"NOD has been out in the field, researching, innovating, testing and proving what works in disability inclusion," said Glazer. "Through strategic pilot initiatives, NOD already has helped more than a dozen Fortune 1000 companies – such as Starbucks, Lowe's and Toys"R"Us – launch effective disability employment initiatives. We are now ready to take our 30-year record of innovation to corporate America on a much broader scale."

Glazer announced that an historic $1 million lead corporate grant from the Prudential Foundation, a gift that capped a successful growth campaign, made this work possible. Along with a $1.5 million investment from the F.B. Heron Foundation and major support from The Cookie Jar Foundation, NOD's Corporate Services are ready for business. Additional support was provided by McGraw-Hill, the Rockwell Collins Charitable Corp., Smith Charitable Trust, the Ford, Hearst, Rumsfeld and UPS Foundations, and members of the NOD Board of Directors.

"NOD's well-documented record of superior hiring and retention results is strong and the Bridges Advisory Services initiative is exactly the kind of innovation we are looking to support," said Michele Green, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Prudential Financial. "This is an important topic for corporations who are focused on engaging more people with disabilities in the workplace. We are proud to support NOD as they prepare more job seekers to be successful in the workplace.

"This investment in NOD is an investment in social change and economic growth," said Clara Miller, President, F.B. Heron Foundation. "We are pleased to support NOD's bold effort, as part of our mission to help people and communities help themselves prosper – especially by connecting those that are excluded from the economy to employment. Few understand this better than the National Organization on Disability."

To lead this new effort, NOD has assembled an experienced team of professionals with a proven track record. Managing Director Andy Traub leads NOD's Corporate Services. Traub has provided talent management and acquisition solutions for Google, Best Buy and Walgreens, among others, and created an award-winning disability employment initiative at AMC Entertainment. Deputy Director Howard Green is a sought-after trainer and nationally recognized expert in building relationships between business and the rehabilitation programs that serve many people with disabilities.

Glazer noted that recent rule changes by the US Labor Department require nearly 50,000 companies who do business with the federal government to set a goal of having seven-percent of their workforce comprised of people with disabilities. "Our team is ready to assist those federal contractors – and any employer ready to embrace disability inclusion – with a customized solution to meet any company's diversity needs," said Glazer.

DiversityInc CEO and recently elected NOD board member Luke Visconti noted that only one in five working-age Americans with disabilities is employed. "That means corporate America is missing out on the productive power of nearly 30 million potential workers," said Visconti. "The companies we honored last night with the Top 10 award have learned that hiring people with disabilities pays bottom-line dividends. Not to mention that there is a strong consumer preference for companies that hire people with disabilities. It's just smart business. NOD is ready to help right now."

NOD's Corporate Services include:

• Bridges Advisory Services: comprehensive disability-inclusion solutions, including:
  • Strategy development and enhancement of internal processes
  • Help identifying, attracting and retaining talent with disabilities
  • Training and real-time problem solving
    
• CEO Council of Corporate Leaders
  • Learn from corporate peers about common challenges and leading practices
  • Benefit from market awareness and insight into trends
  • Gain visibility and brand recognition
    
• Benchmarking through the Disability Employment Tracker™
  • Free online self-assessment tool
  • Benchmarks company practices against others
  • More than 85 leading organizations already participating

To learn more about how NOD can help your business, visit www.NOD.org today.

About NOD
The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is a private, non-profit organization that promotes the full participation of America's 56 million people with disabilities in all aspects of life. The organization's current focus is on increasing employment opportunities for the 79 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities who are not employed. Current employment programs benefit individuals with disabilities looking for employment, high school students with disabilities transitioning into the workforce, seriously wounded, ill and injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and employers seeking to become more diverse by expanding existing diversity initiatives to include people with disabilities.  For more information about NOD, its CEO Council, and employment programs, visit www.NOD.org. 

SOURCE National Organization on Disability

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http://www.nod.org