Affiliate Spotlight on Disability:IN North Carolina. Gradient spotlight design in the background.

Affiliate Spotlight: Disability:IN North Carolina

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 North Carolina – check out this conversation with the Executive Director, Beth Butler Fadel.

Beth Butler Fadel, Executive Director, Disability:IN North Carolina.

What is the story of your affiliate? Share the history.

Founded in 2012, Disabilty:IN North Carolina was formed by a group of business leaders, many who were employed by federal contractors, who volunteered their time to serve on the board of directors. In 2013 DI-NC contracted with a retired businessman who served as a part time executive director and developed DI-NC’s fall conference aligned with NDEAM, attracting business leaders and community partners to this annual networking event.

In 2017,  Beth Butler Fadel, one of the founding board members, stepped into DI-NC’s leadership role. Starting with a budget of under $10,000, Beth began to grow board representation and engagement and developed a strategic plan for growing membership and funding based on programs and services designed to support the ROI of disability inclusion. Within one year, the organization was able to contract for Beth’s time as well as support an operations director and financial services manager. Today, DI-NC employs two full time staff, an Executive Director, and an Operations Director, and a part time social media/communications consultant on an annual budget of $290,000.

What are the current programs offered by DI-NC?

Currently, DI-NC provides two virtual events including Wellness@Work (focused on mental health awareness in the workplace), and the DI-NC ADA Celebration (honoring access to accommodations and legal protections).  For the past six years, DI-NC has partnered with TRANE Technologies to host the annual DI-NC Fall Conference in October, an in-person, full day event aligned with the observance of NDEAM.

Signature programs developed by DI-NC include CommunAbilty:DI-NC Mentoring and CommunAbility:DI-NC Consulting services. CommunAbility:DI-NC Mentoring matches college students with business leaders who provide mentoring support for the industry of interest to each student. North Carolina Historically Black Colleges and Universities participated in CommunAbility:DI-NC Mentoring thanks to sponsorship from Wells Fargo. Other partners for Commun:Ability:DI-NC Consulting have included the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities, NC Workforce Development, Piedmont Airlines, Novant Health, Atrium Health and Healthy Blue for an initiative on apprenticeship awareness.

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?

Beth Butler Fadel spent over 25 years on the corporate side of the disability and employment conversation. As an attorney with low vision, Beth’s experience with HR Compliance included ADA, EO and Affirmative Action. Legally blind since birth, Beth leverages her lived experience as a professional to educate and inform many of the companies she serves in her role as Executive Director. Beth has a deep understanding of Disability:IN’s mission having served on the national Board as both Chair and Vice Chair. DI-NC’s Operations Director, Pat Keul, holds a master’s in special education and is a parent of a child with a disability. Pat’s previous experience in non-profit management enabled DI-NC to secure three consecutive grants that jump-started our signature programs and events.

DI-NC also deeply values the experiences of our retired Board Members, like Justin Francis whose experience as a former CFO who championed the disability focused ERG and other diversity work, now leads our social media efforts and informs our membership/sponsorship growth and development as a consultant with DI-NC today.

How does your affiliate collaborate with local businesses and organizations to advance disability inclusion in your state?

DI-NC is led by an active and engaged diverse Board of Directors who are executive level business leaders that represent many of the state’s leading industries including Health care, Biotech, Financial Services, Advanced Manufacturing as well as several certified disability-owned business enterprises (DOBES). DI-NC solicits business sponsors to underwrite our events and programs, assuring that our business members receive a brand lift and ROI for their time commitment to DI-NC membership.  DI-NC also strives to partner with government agencies that promote disability employment and inclusion including the Department of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities (NC’s VR agency), the NCCDD, NC Commerce and NC Workforce Development Centers.