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Schedule Overview

2026 Starkloff Disability Employment Summit • October 7 – 8, 2026

Click the session name to view the session description and speaker details.

Times are listed in CDT.

Day 1 Wednesday, Oct. 7

8:00 AM

Registration and Breakfast

Atrium

9:00 AM

Welcome

Pathways Auditorium

Opening Keynote

Beyond Buy-In: How to Build an Inclusive and Accessible Culture That Scales

Claudia L. Gordon, Esq.

Pathways Auditorium

10:30 AM

Break (15 minutes)

10:45 AM

A Block | Breakouts

Rethinking Workforce Design Through the Lens of Neurodiversity

Pathways Auditorium

Advanced

Building Disability Confidence Through Community

Denver (Upstairs)

Foundational

11:45 AM

Lunch

Atrium

12:45 PM

B Block | Breakouts

Supported Employment That Works: Building Sustainable Pathways to Employment Through Partnership

Pathways Auditorium

Advanced

Beyond Compliance: Building Deaf-Inclusive Workplaces That Attract, Support, and Retain Talent

Denver (Upstairs)

Foundational

1:45 PM

Break (15 minutes)

2:00 PM

C Block | Breakouts

The Architecture of Inclusion: Workplace Accessibility and Job Satisfaction

Pathways Auditorium

Advanced

Disability Benefits 101 for Employers

Denver (Upstairs)

Foundational

3:00 PM

Break (15 minutes)

3:15 PM

D Block | Breakouts

Building Accessibility: Making Disability Inclusion Everyone’s Responsibility

Pathways Auditorium

Advanced

What Employers Should Know: Strategies for Disability Advocacy and Leadership

Denver (Upstairs)

Foundational

4:15 PM

Networking Reception

Reception concludes at 5:30 PM
Light refreshments

Atrium

7:00 PM

Comedy Show: Laughing Matters

Wrap up SDES Day 1 on a high note and join us for an exclusive evening of laughs with comedians Fiona Cauley and Michael Beers and host Matt Taylor!

Funny Bone | Westport

Day 2 Thursday, Oct. 8

8:00 AM

Breakfast, Vendor Engagement, and Networking

Atrium

9:30 AM

Day 2 Welcome

Pathways Auditorium

Plenary

Lived Experience Panel Discussion

Pathways Auditorium

10:45 AM

Break (15 minutes)

11:00 AM

E Block | Breakouts

Certified to Use AI. Not Prepared to Use It Fairly. Disability, Workplace Technology, and the Accountability Gap

Pathways Auditorium

Advanced

Accommodations Past, Present, and Future: Transforming Workplace Culture from Compliance to Inclusion

Denver (Upstairs)

Foundational

12:00 PM

Lunch

Atrium

1:00 PM

Plenary

The State of Disability Economic Policy

Pathways Auditorium

2:00 PM

Break (15 minutes)

2:15 PM

Debrief Discussion Groups

Structured discussion to unpack SDES 2026 with peers

[Various locations]

3:00 PM

Closing Keynote

Wired Differently, Working Brilliantly: What My AuDHD Taught Me About Building Inclusive Workplaces

Stephen J. Nelson, MSOL

Pathways Auditorium

Final Remarks and Wrap Up

Pathways Auditorium

Schedule Overview

Day 1 Wednesday, Oct. 7

8:00 AM

Registration and Breakfast

9:00 AM

Welcome

Beyond Buy-In: How to Build an Inclusive and Accessible Culture That Scales

10:30 AM

Break (15 minutes)

10:45 AM

A Block | Breakouts

Rethinking Workforce Design Through the Lens of Neurodiversity

Building Disability Confidence Through Community

11:45 AM

Lunch

12:45 PM

B Block | Breakouts

Supported Employment That Works: Building Sustainable Pathways to Employment Through Partnership

Beyond Compliance: Building Deaf-Inclusive Workplaces That Attract, Support, and Retain Talent

1:45 PM

Break (15 minutes)

2:00 PM

C Block | Breakouts

The Architecture of Inclusion: Workplace Accessibility and Job Satisfaction

Disability Benefits 101 for Employers

3:00 PM

Break (15 minutes)

3:15 PM

D Block | Breakouts

Building Accessibility: Making Disability Inclusion Everyone’s Responsibility

What Employers Should Know: Strategies for Disability Advocacy and Leadership

4:15 PM

Networking Reception

7:00 PM

Comedy Show: Laughing Matters

Day 2 Thursday, Oct. 8

8:00 AM

Breakfast, Vendor Engagement, and Networking

9:30 AM

Day 2 Welcome

Lived Experience Panel Discussion

10:45 AM

Break (15 minutes)

11:00 AM

E Block | Breakouts

Certified to Use AI. Not Prepared to Use It Fairly. Disability, Workplace Technology, and the Accountability Gap

Accommodations Past, Present, and Future: Transforming Workplace Culture from Compliance to Inclusion

12:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM

The State of Disability Economic Policy

2:00 PM

Break (15 minutes)

2:15 PM

Debrief Discussion Groups

3:00 PM

Wired Differently, Working Brilliantly: What My AuDHD Taught Me About Building Inclusive Workplaces

Final Remarks and Wrap Up

4:30 PM

SDES 2026 Concludes