New Initiative Trains the Next Generation of Blind and Low Vision Leaders
With more than a century of experience employing people with disabilities, we know there are certain qualities they bring to the workplace, namely dedication, creativity and empathy. We also know those attributes are the bedrock on which great leaders are built because a quarter of our management team are people with disabilities.
Still, the rest of the world could use some convincing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 14.7% of employed people with disabilities work in management or professional roles, compared with nearly 40% of workers without disabilities. With roughly a quarter of Chicago Lighthouse managers being people with disabilities, we know the gap is not one of ability or ambition, but one of opportunity.
This spring, The Chicago Lighthouse is launching a program to help individuals who are blind or have low vision tap into their existing potential to grow into the leaders we know they can be.
Funded through a grant from Reader’s Digest Partnership for Sight, the new Leadership Development Program taps into the expertise of our Employment Services team to provide training and counseling that support career advancement both within The Lighthouse and beyond for people who are blind or have low vision.
“Our purpose has always been to demonstrate that our clients are at least as capable and employable as anyone, if not more so,” says Dr. Janet Szlyk, President and CEO. “This new program will help our clients advance into more knowledge-based, leadership positions where they can truly shine.”
Once enrolled in the program, participants meet with a job counselor who will help them identify careers they might pursue and imagine how leadership skills will support those goals. Each participant follows a personalized learning path that includes courses on leadership best practices and regular check-ins with their job counselor for guidance, encouragement and troubleshooting any challenges that may arise.
Once participants have completed their coursework, the Employment Services team will work with individuals to help them take the next step in their career, where they can put their new leadership skills into practice.
The Leadership Development Program is currently enrolling participants. If you are blind or have low vision and are interested in participating in this program, contact Martha Younger-White, Senior Vice President of Employment and Rehabilitative Services, by email at Martha.Younger-White@ChicagoLighthouse.org or at (312) 447-3251.
