Affiliate Spotlight: Disability:IN Greater Atlanta
Welcome to our new Affiliate Spotlight series! Each month, we’ll highlight one of our affiliates, celebrating their unique contributions to disability inclusion in their local business communities. Disability:IN affiliates are non-profit, employer-led membership-based business associations that create business-to-business connections, networking, and shared learning. This month, we’re excited to feature Disability:IN Greater Atlanta.
What is the “story” of your affiliate? Share the history of the affiliate.
The Greater Atlanta Affiliate’s story began in 2017 when several members of a local diversity and inclusion networking group started discussing the feasibility of launching a local affiliate of the USBLN. We had heard that there had been an unsuccessful attempt in years past, but securing the necessary resources for the creation of a new organization was a key obstacle at the time.
By happy coincidence, at this same time, the leadership of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) was interested in finding a way to connect directly with employers.
GVRA was instrumental to the creation and launch of the new USBLN affiliate. With their assistance, the charter team of founding leaders was firmed up with representatives from Coca-Cola Company, Georgia Pacific, Georgia Power, MARTA, Southern Company Gas, SunTrust (now Truist), TJX, UPS, and Voya Investment. With the assistance of a GVRA liaison, this leadership team met over several months to develop bylaws and then formally applied for incorporation with the GVRA’s support in 2018.
The affiliate was incorporated as the Greater Atlanta BLN but soon after, the USBLN rebranded as Disability:IN and we were able to launch our programming as Disability:IN of Greater Atlanta (DI-GA). Our first public event featured the rebranding.
Despite a promising beginning, several big challenges have slowed our momentum.
Thankfully, the tide started to change in 2022 as we’ve been able to recruit new leadership team members who have brought in renewed energy, focus, and professional networks. The leadership team is growing again and we’re planning for more engaging and ambitious programming in 2025.
What are some of the key initiatives or projects your affiliate is currently focused on? (this is where we could list the events and initiatives you already shared).
Candidly, the focus has been on putting our policies, procedures, and structure into place. This includes updating the bylaws, firming up our value proposition to prospective members, rounding out the board complement, growing its corporate support base, and building a calendar of events. DI-GA is still a 100% volunteer-driven affiliate.
Externally, Disability:IN Greater Atlanta has been focused on being a convenor of engagement for Employee and Business Resource Groups (ERG/BRGs). The Affiliate recently held an event focused on NDEAM and what high-scoring Disability Equality Index companies are doing to continue their evolution in this space.
Can you share some background on the head of your affiliate? What is your connection to disability inclusion, and how has it influenced your leadership?
Valerie Murphy is Board Chair. She’s been in the advertising industry for close to 30 years and currently serves as the Talent Engagement and Inclusion Program Manager at Publicis Group. Her passion for inclusion and advocacy began when her son was diagnosed with a disability at age three. In addition to her leadership role with DIGA, Valerie served as the lead for a Disability ERG group at Comcast.
