2026 Starkloff Disability Employment Summit
October 7 – 8, 2026 • World Wide Technology Global HQ in St. Louis
Disability-Led. Employer-Ready.
The Starkloff Disability Employment Summit (SDES) is the Midwest’s leading workplace disability inclusion summit. Now in its 12th year, the Summit is expanding to two full days of insight, strategy, and real-world application.
Convening the full range of leaders who shape workplace culture—from HR and ERG leaders to marketing, communications, IT, and operations—SDES delivers what no other event can: disability inclusion expertise led by people with disabilities themselves.
SDES 2026: Intentionally Reimagined for Deeper Impact
The Starkloff Disability Employment Summit has always been where serious disability inclusion work happens. Based on feedback from practitioners in the field, we’ve redesigned the experience from the ground up to go beyond awareness to lasting impact.
The new 2-day Summit includes:
Tiered learning tracks that meet you at your level and push you further. Foundational sessions welcome practitioners just beginning the journey. With two additional options in every breakout block delivering the tactical, specialized depth that experienced inclusion leaders have been asking for. Every speaker. Every session. Built for action.
And the learning doesn’t stop in the session room. Structured networking connects you with peers who share your role, your challenges, and your goals: creating space for the kind of honest, productive conversation that only happens when the right people are in the room together. Your needs. Your network. Built for what’s next.
11
Starkloff Disability Employment Summits
100%
Attendees report increase disability confidence
4,700+
Professionals engaged and educated
1
Top disability employment event in Midwest
Why Attend SDES?
- Disability-Led Perspective
Designed and guided by disability leaders, ensuring authentic insights grounded in lived experience and real-world expertise.
- Actionable Learning
Leave with concrete strategies you can immediately apply to hiring, retention, workplace culture, internal communication, marketing, and accessible design.
- All Levels Welcome
From foundational concepts to advanced practices, our new session tracks are designed to meet you where you are in your disability inclusion journey.
- Meaningful Connection
Build relationships with professionals from across industries and functions committed to the same goal: advancing disability inclusion in the workplace.
“One of the most informative and engaging conferences I’ve ever been to.”
Who Should Attend SDES?
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Employers and business leaders
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HR and talent acquisition professionals
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ERG leaders and members
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DEI professionals
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Marketing and communications professionals
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Accessibility professionals
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Learning and development professionals
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Advocates and allies
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Community and workforce stakeholders
“Meaningful and challenging content!“
2026 Keynote Speakers
Claudia L. Gordon, Esq.
Senior Accessibility Strategy Partner
T-Mobile
Claudia Gordon is Senior Accessibility Strategy Partner at T-Mobile, where she leads company-wide work to strengthen disability inclusion and accessibility. She is the first Black Deaf female attorney in the United States and a graduate of Howard University and American University’s Washington College of Law.
Over more than 30 years, Gordon has held senior roles with Sprint, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the White House Office of Public Engagement under the Obama-Biden Administration. She later served as Chair of the National Council on Disability under a Biden Administration appointment.
Adding to Gordon’s professional expertise is her lived experience as an immigrant at the intersections of race, disability, and gender, which is the foundation for the strong emphasis on disabled individuals with multiple marginalized identities that she brings to her work.
Stephen L. Nelson, MSOL
Director, Culture & Belonging
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Air
Steve Nelson is an AuDHD senior leader serving as Director of Culture and Belonging at Alaska Airlines, where he built the airline industry’s first full-service Disability Office. He holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and certificates in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Ethical Leadership.
Before Alaska Airlines, Steve spent years on the Walt Disney Company’s worldwide accessibility team and coached more than a dozen companies on inclusion and accessibility, including work with the 2016 Invictus Games and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He serves as Board President of Disability:IN Washington State. Conde Nast Traveler and TravelAbility named him a top accessibility leader in travel.
Adding to Nelson’s professional expertise is his own lived experience as an AuDHD leader with an autoimmune illness, which drives his commitment to inclusion for people whose experiences often go unheard.
Exclusive group rate available at the Sheraton Westport Plaza Hotel St. Louis—book by September 14!
Registration
Be part of a growing community of leaders committed to rethinking work through the lens of disability inclusion. Leave equipped not only with new ideas—but with actionable next steps, trusted connections, and renewed momentum. Register today to reserve your spot!
Hotel Information
Exclusive SDES reduced pricing is available at the Sheraton Westport Plaza Hotel St. Louis! Reduced rate must be booked through the Summit link by Monday, September 14.
The Sheraton Westport Plaza is conveniently located adjacent to World Wide Technology Global HQ and offers complimentary shuttles to and from the airport (STL).
Special Thanks to our 2026 SDES Sponsors
Our partners make this Summit possible and invest in Starkloff’s peer education and career development programs for disabled professionals. Thank you for helping us build inclusion where we live, learn, work, and play!
Disability Confident Leader of Starkloff’s 2026 Conference Series
Inclusion Sponsors
• Host partner •
Opportunity Sponsors
Additional Sponsors
• Lunch Sponsor •
• Student Scholarship Sponsor •
• Student Scholarship Sponsor •
• Sensory Room Sponsor •
• Student Scholarship Sponsor •
Breakout Session Sponsors
Lighthouse for the Blind Saint Louis
2026 Partnership and Recognition Opportunities
The Starkloff Disability Employment Summit and our programs that build inclusion where we live, learn, work, and play would not be possible without the support of our sponsors.
Maximize your brand exposure with a comprehensive sponsorship level designed to elevate your presence at the 2026 Starkloff Employment Summit. Contact: Aimee Wehmeier, Chief Development Officer, awehmeier@starkloff.org, 314-860-3077 (direct) or 314-588-7090 (main).
“I can take what I learned back to my workplace and share and implement.“
Continuing Education Units Available
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Starkloff Disability Institute is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.
“I look forward to coming back next year!“
Previous Keynote Speakers
Rebecca Cokley
Program Officer, U.S. Disability Rights
Ford Foundation
Amie Fornah Sankoh, Ph.D
Senior R&D Specialist
Dow
Lori Golden
EY Global Disability Leader
EY
Dom Kelly
Founder, President & CEO
New Disabled South
Haley Moss, Esq.
Attorney, Advocate, Thought Leader
Haley Moss, LLC
Vincenzo Piscopo
President
Morgan’s Inclusion Institute
Daniel Van Sant, J.D., M.S.Ed.
Director of Disability Policy
The Harkin Institute
