Announcing 2022 Training Camp Lineup
At The Nora Project, we’re on a mission to promote disability inclusion by empowering educators and engaging students and communities. One part of our commitment to educator empowerment is our annual summer Training Camp. This summer, we’re thrilled to be hosting a hybrid training event, which will include a live, in-person gathering on July 12th at the Chicago Botanic Gardens — in addition to a plethora of online learning. The in-person day is possible thanks to the generous support of Jaclyn and Steve Maletzky, William Blair, and Mesirow Financial.
This year, Training Camp content will center around our theme: Spheres of Influence. In a school year that feels like there is more out of our control than not, we are eager to empower school staff by reminding them of the things that are within their sphere of influence - the things they can do to create learning environments where all students feel a sense of belonging.
We have an incredible lineup of speakers, facilitators, and panelists that will join us to provide a full day of professional learning while we build community and engage deeply.
Keynoting our Training Camp will be disability rights advocate, Rebecca Cokley. She is the program officer for the Ford Foundation’s first-ever U.S. Disability Rights program. Prior to joining Ford, Rebecca was the cofounder and director of the Disability Justice initiative at the Center for American Progress and before that, she served as the executive director for the National Council on Disability, where she worked on sexual violence on college campuses, policing reform, and civil rights of disabled parents. Rebecca will share how educators can exercise power within their spheres of influence to dismantle ableism in educational spaces.
A redhaired woman with freckles wearing a blue blazer and a white blouse in front of a red brick wall.
Building off our Keynote, we will offer a series of breakout sessions to engage educators in learning that will increase their awareness of ableism in schools, and provide tools and strategies to help them create environments that meet the needs of all students.
Our Inclusive Education Specialist, Dr. Janie Avant, will be joined by Rena Rosen, Inclusion Coordinator at JCC Chicago, who will provide a workshop on Universal Design for Learning. This framework, inspired by Universal Design, is intended to help educators design learning experiences that minimize barriers to a wide array of learning opportunities.
A smiling white woman with short blonde hair, wearing silver thin glasses and a blue shirt stands infront of a white wall.
A white woman with long brown hair, wearing brown large framed glasses is standing in front of a light blue grey wall smiling. She is wearing a light purple sweater with a pink shirt underneath.
Sabrina Guerra, a 10-year-old, autistic, nonspeaking self-advocate will help lead a breakout session entitled, “Sniffing Out Ableism.” She will be joined by Jordyn Zimmerman, Director of Professional Development. This interactive session will hone participants’ awareness of ableism, particularly as it relates to school environments. Jordyn and Sabrina will provide suggestions and strategies for dismantling ableism and creating a more equitable and inclusive culture.
10 year old girl with shoulder length curly, brown hair, wearing an olive green long-sleeved shirt. Framed from the mid torso up, she is looking at the camera, with her head tilted slightly and resting on one hand, which is cupping her cheek. Background is white wood panels.
A girl with mid length brown wavy curly hair stands wearing an olive green blouse infront of a white background. She is smiling.
Dr. Jen Newton will return for the third year in a row to continue the conversation about creating classroom environments that are supportive and welcoming of all students. She will examine common educational structures that are labeled inclusive, but are commonly not; discuss why inclusive settings benefit all students; and share data and statistics.
Jen, a smiling middle aged white woman with glasses and a brown shoulder length bob is sitting on concrete steps. She has on a black t shirt with the words Everyone Belongs, jeans, and tattoos on her arms.
To round out the program, we are excited to welcome a panel of four disability activists with lived experience who will share their thoughts on ableism and provide educators with explicit action steps. Our panelists include:
Elijah Armstrong is an epileptic who started the Heumann-Armstrong Award, an award for students who have experienced and fought against ableism in education.
Kenia Flores is committed to improving educational opportunities for disabled and first-generation students through policy work, having had first-hand experience in the public school system as a blind, first-generation student.
Elijah, a lighter skinned younger Black male, wearing a blue sweatshirt, stands on a busy sidewalk at night.
Kenia is a LatinX woman. She is wearing a teal floral shirt and a dainty gold necklace. She has brown shoulder-length hair and is smiling widely.
Marrok Sedgwick is a documentary filmmaker and learning scientist. He is a non-speaking autistic person with other disabilities.
V Tisi is an Autistic, Disabled, and Queer Taiwanese-Chinese-Venezuelan-American speech/language clinician- and educator-activist.
A masculine person wearing a blue and white Western style shirt leans into a bright green cane. He smiles and looks into the camera. Beside him is a TV screen with an image and words cut off.
V, a biracial Asian person with vivid purple colored long hair, wearing a pearl studded headband and a white high-collared, long-sleeved blouse, smiling while looking over their shoulder.
In addition to this outstanding group of presenters and panelists, attendees will gain access to The Nora Project’s archive of Training Camp content from the past two years, as well as access to new modules created especially for this year’s theme. One such module comes from Dr. Janie Avant and guest presenter Shemica S. Allen, owner of Personalized Learning Solutions, which will provide educators with guidance about how to craft IEP goals that encourage high expectations for student learning.
Shemica is an African American woman standing next to a white bookcase wearing a red and black animal print sweater, red and blank pants, and red heels. Also in the picture next to Shemica is the logo for Personalized Learning Solutions, LLC
Tickets and sponsorships are still available! Buy your tickets today via this link. If you’re interested in sponsoring this event, you can reach out to Lauren Schrero at Lauren@TheNoraProject.ngo and learn more abot our corporate partnership opportunities on our partnership page.
Never miss a post! Subscribe to the Nora Notes blog and get the latest delivered straight to your inbox weekly.