Affiliate Spotlight: Utah

Affiliate Spotlight: Disability:IN Utah

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.

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

The Utah Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (recently renamed Utah Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities) has long had business partners on the committee working to increase access and opportunity for individuals with disabilities.  In approximately 2005, a subcommittee called the Utah Business Employers Team, UBET, was developed from the Governor’s Committee with the purpose of developing business-to-business support.

In 2014, The Utah Committee began working on converting UBET to a Disability:IN affiliate. We were able to finalize all details and began as UtahBLN in 2017 and have been working diligently since then to build up the Disability:IN Utah affiliate. We continue to be a small but mighty team working to drive access and opportunity.

What are some of the key initiatives or projects your affiliate is currently focused on?

       
1. Flash Mentoring – one-on-one virtual mentoring with our partner businesses
       
2. Disability:IN Utah Annual Summit - including presentations, breakout sessions, networking opportunities, vendors, Golden Key Awards for business partners and the Golden Key Scholarship.
       
3. Lunch and Learns - We offer a variety of virtual lunch and learn sessions as well as some in-person events.
       
4. Golden Key Scholarship - We offer an opportunity for a $1000 scholarship for students transitioning from high school to further education.
       
5. Sponsorship of biannual Employer Workshop on Recruiting Hiring and Retaining IWD
       
6. Sponsorship of the biannual Work Ability Career Preparation and Job Fair

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?

Kim Belliston has served as the Co-Chair of Disability:IN Utah for the past five years. Her connection to disability inclusion is deeply personal as disabled woman. She was born with spina bifida and have been in a wheelchair since I was 15. Shortly after she started using a wheelchair, she had a conversation with the store owner of a convenience store in her hometown. He asked Karen if she was excited. When she asked him about what, the owner said, "You'll never have to work. you can be on disability your whole life." At 16, she realized that she was going to have to constantly prove her ability, especially in the workplace. It's a lesson that has stuck with Karen through her career and has influenced her greatly. She believes that people with disabilities are inherent problem solvers. She tries to meet people where they are and find a way forward, together.