Dr. Jennifer Camota Luebke

"Elevating Our Vision and Expanding Our Horizons" is the theme for the United Cerebral Palsy National conference this year.

Words create worlds. Language shapes reality. And Team RELAY is leading the charge, transforming workplaces and communities through the transition from the Deficit, Medical, Identity, and Social language models, to the Justice language model.

Zach Anner, an American comedian, actor, and writer with cerebral palsy (Oprah's Your OWN Show, Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star, Rollin' with Zach 2011, writer for the 2016-2019 sitcom Speechless), gave a powerful opening keynote. My favorite quote from his presentation: "You never know what good things you're doing that will lead to change, so keep doing the good things."

Later, Dr. Lakshmi Balasubramanian, Ph.D. and I gave a presentation on The Evolution of Disability Language. Afterwards, Nadja Sailesman moderated a panel which included Dr. Lakshmi, myself, UCP National Board Treasurer Ken Bluhm, and Dr. Patti DesJardine, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary.

I attend a lot of disability conferences, and I have not heard the topic of disability language addressed as directly, objectively, thoroughly, and educationally as we did today, and with a diverse panel of disabled self-advocates and people who have conducted academic research on this topic. It can be controversial if it isn't presented in a historical, contextual, and evidence-based manner. We received positive responses from many attendees who appreciated the way we delivered this information.

Our call to action was to ask leaders of disability service organizations to review the language and the words they use when they talk about the clients/participants (disabled people) whom they support, with a fresh perspective.

🎬 A Short Film Series – Relay’s Legacy: Past, Future, and Present 🎬

It’s not every day that I get to experience magic – a combination of my “Ikigai” with my two other passions: filmmaking and academic research on disability inclusion.

[“Ikigai” is a Japanese concept that means a reason for being, the intersection of passion + mission + vocation + profession.]

It’s also not common to work with a group of people who listen to your wild ideas and actually make them a reality.

“Magic” is the only way to describe what I experienced over the last few months working with Relay’s exceptionally talented marketing team led by Alfonso Carmona, and includes Megan Baer, Juan Flores, and Lyanna Hoang, to develop a short film series for Relay Resources' 75th Anniversary Gala. The three short films tell the story of Relay’s history, describes our vision of the future, and demonstrates our present-day work.

Past. Future. Present.

Why did we sequence the films this way?

Years ago, while working on my dissertation, I came across a concept in critical hermeneutic theory called “Imagination” (Richard Kearney, 1988:17). It’s about how we continually make sense of the past, shape the future, and act in the present, in that specific order.

To understand Imagination, we have to understand our past, our history and experiences, the things that have already happened, the context we’ve inherited. Then, we imagine what our future could look like, new possibilities, different ways of acting, leading, and operating. The past history and our imagined future are connected by the present in which we take action, informed both by reflecting on the past and having a clear vision for the future.

We took this approach in our films, a continuous and intentional spiral of remembering of our past, re-imagining the future, and taking intentional actions in the present. In doing so, we are honoring Fred & Olive Stevens, the founders of what is now known as Relay, and attempting to complete their unfinished legacy of belonging for their disabled children and all disabled people who have come and will come afterwards.

We hope you enjoy this film series, which you can find here: https://lnkd.in/gYydxQR3

A huge shout out to Michael Holton for lending us his voice is narrating the three films.

[Photo ID: A black and white photo of Fred and Olive Stevens, taken in the 1950s, and their two children.]

Disability language is constantly evolving, and we need to be informed about the history, context, and impact so that we can be intentional about the words we choose to use.

Dr. Lakshmi Balasubramanian, Ph.D., Stanford University researcher and Relay Resources board member, and I will be presenting at the United Cerebral Palsy conference next week on The Evolution of Disability Language, which will include the latest academic research and lived experience trends of various disability populations and the language used by disabled people to describe themselves.

Immediately after the presentation, Nadja Sailesman , VP of Disability Inclusion at Relay will moderate a panel discussion on disability language with Dr. Lakshmi, me, Dr. Patti Desjardine, and Ken Bluhm, fellow UCP National board member.

I've received more than 60 emails, texts, and comments from people who noticed our intentionality and attention to detail in making our 75th anniversary gala as disability inclusive as possible.

We at Relay Resources take pride in creating spaces where all disabled people belong - workplaces, communities, and events. We hope that all disabled and nondisabled guests who attended the gala felt like we created an environment where they belonged.

Disability inclusion is about the culture, behaviors, and practices before, during, and after the gala, which includes implementing accessibility. Accessibility is a subset of disability inclusion and includes the physical features and design of the layout, and the audio-visual features.

We at Relay just call it leadership and innovation.

The disability inclusive cultural features of the gala included:
💜 Disabled employees included in selecting the gala venue and implementing accessibility features
💜 Table Ambassadors (Relay team members) at each table to greet and host guests
💜 Entertainment by disabled artists - The Improvaneers (comedy) and DJ Lamar (disc jockey)
💜 Training for all gala speakers on eliminating ableist language
💜 Communicated all accessibility features on the gala website and in pre-gala emails so that the burden was NOT on attendees to ask for accommodations

The accessibility features of the gala included:
❤️ Accessible Seating
❤️ Step Stools in bathrooms
♿️ Wheelchair Reserved Seating
♿️ Wheelchair Charging Stations
♿️ ADA Height Registration and Refreshment Stations
❤️ Seven Feet between each table for wheelchair access
❤️ Ramp to the Stage (no stairs)
💛 Sensory Break Room
💛 Sensory Bags with ear plugs, fidgets, and other sensory tools
💛 Monitored Lighting and Audio for sensory sensitivity
🌻 Sunflower Lanyards
🌻 Hand Sanitizer
😷 Face Masks
💙 Trained Support Staff
💙 Service Animal Relief Station
💚 American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation
💚 Screen Captioning
💚 Assistive Listening Devices
💚 Audio Descriptions for Videos
💚 Wayfinding Services
💚 Sighted Guides

One of our core values at Relay is Growth, which we define as "embracing continuous learning and practicing progress over perfection." If you attended the gala, we would love to hear from you about what we can do better to make our gala, our upcoming summit, and other events where we are Accessibility Partners more disability inclusive. Please add a comment to this post or email us at [email protected].

🎉 Relay Resources' 75th Anniversary Celebration 🎉

75 years of commitment, and a reimagined vision to carry our founders’ unfinished legacy forward.

I’m incredibly proud of for coming together last Wednesday, April 15 at the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center to deliver our first gala in our 75 years, and what may have been the most disability-inclusive event Portland, Oregon has ever seen.

We honored our past by recognizing Regis Stevens and Lisa Cochrum, the daughter and granddaughter of our founders, Fred and Olive Stevens, with the Legacy Award. We also celebrated former board chair Thomas Simpson, CPA with the Impact Award for his decade of leadership (2015 - 2025) through change and challenge.

We reimagined our future through The Relay Project™, a live-learn-work-play community where all disabled and nondisabled people belong, and DisabilityNext™ which includes our accessibility partnerships, consulting services, and DisabilityNext™ Summit (coming this October 6-7, 2026: https://lnkd.in/gRJhg4R5), to accelerate disability inclusion at work.

It’s a future that moves beyond disability rights into the intersectional, systems-level transformation that disability justice demands. A future that raises the tide for everyone.

Together, we raised $304K to fuel our work today.

And our ultimate goal? To create impact so widespread and sustainable that Relay does NOT exist to celebrate a 150th anniversary.

Join us in our mission of transforming workplaces and communities by championing disability inclusion.

Because All Disabled People Belong. Everywhere.

Thank you to our amazing emcee, Rob Snow, Executive Director for the CEO Commission for Disability Employment, our amazing entertainers for the evening, Nick Doyle and Audrey Costilow of The Improvaneer Method, and Michelle Weisenbach, SVP and Market Leader representing Diamond Sponsor Wells Fargo, for her speech demonstrating her heartfelt connection to our mission.



[Photo ID: A large ball room with people sitting around round tables looking at the stage where a woman with long black hair wearing a red jacket and black pants is giving a speech, with banners on the stage that read "Relay 75 Years. All Disabled People Belong. Everywhere. Wells Fargo."]

Accessibility Partnership: Lyra Health & Relay Resources!

Here's a full circle moment - about 20 years ago I was working at Genentech in David Ebersman's CFO organization. David went on to found Lyra Health, and I'm now leading Relay Resources.

Research has shown that disabled people experience five times the mental health distress as nondisabled people, and we at Relay implemented Lyra Health earlier this year as a mental health benefit for our employees.

Next month, Relay will be the official Accessibility Partner for Lyra Health's Breakthrough conference, creating a disability-inclusive environment for disabled and nondisabled people alike. This will be Relay's first out-of-Portland partnership!

We are proud to be a team of ACTION. Because...All disabled people belong. Everywhere. Including in spaces like the Lyra Health Breakthrough conference! https://lnkd.in/gHeQZW2b

Yesterday I attended the graduation ceremony for the second cohort of the abil-IT program. abil-IT is a 14-week cybersecurity and technology training program developed for neurodivergent people to provide skills and support for a career in technology.

One of our amazing leaders at Relay Resources, Monica Martinez, Director of Building Solutions, was a proud mom, with her son Jared Munoz as one of the many graduates.

Cohort #3 begins in a few weeks! For more information,
go to https://lnkd.in/gNyez54p!

Join me in congratulating Nadja Sailesman, Vice President of Disability Inclusion at Relay Resources for being elected to the National APSE - Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst Board of Directors!

Read all about Nadja's appointment here: https://lnkd.in/gVW3edRa

We are proud that Nadja is representing Oregon and the Pacific Northwest region in advancing employment equity and leading Employment First, a national framework and philosophy stating that competitive integrated employment - disabled people working in the general workforce for competitive wages alongside their nondisabled peers - should be the first and priority option for people with disabilities.

At Relay, Nadja leads our disability inclusion strategy and workforce initiatives, advancing accessible, equitable employment opportunities and expanding programs like Competitive Integrated Employment and abilIT. We are fortunate to have Nadja on !

Accessiblity Partnership! Because...All Disabled People Belong. Everywhere. Including at TEDxPortland Year 14 - Homecoming!

Relay Resources is proud to partner with TEDxPortland this Saturday to create an accessibile and inclusive space where every attendee is supported.

At TEDxPortland Year 14, the accessiblity features we'll have are:

- American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters and Closed Captioning
- Sensory Relief Break Rooms
- Assitive Listening Devices (ASDs)
- Sunflower Lanyards for people who choose to self-identify as having a non apparent disability
- Interaction Pins to help people choose how they want to interact with other humans
- Relay Resources' Trained Accessibility Support Team Onsite

If you are attending TEDxPortland this Saturday and you have an accessibility need, please contact Relay Resources at [email protected].

We are grateful to Phil Chun, ACC for his allyship in connecting us to this opportunity to support the disability community!

[Photo ID: blue rug with a white wheelchair icon and white lettering that says “Reserved Space” and logos on the graphic that reads “TEDxPortland x Relay Resources”.]

What an incredible honor to be recognized for a 2026 Liberty & Hope Award by the League of Minority Voters!

Proud to be in great company of this year's honorees, including:

- Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator
- Erin Graham, President & CEO of Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
- Janelle Bynum, U.S. Representative
- Nafisa Fai, Commissioner at Washington County
- Juan Carlos González, Metro Councilor
- Susan Bladholm, Founder & President, Frog Ferry
- Shaymaa Alquriqchee, Community Leader and Small Business Owner
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Charles Starr, former politician in the Oregon State Legislature

The award letter states:
This honor is in recognition of your contributions to our community and your extensive work in bringing people together. Every year, we come together to honor extraordinary Oregonians who have done so much to promote the values of inclusion and peaceful coexistence among diverse citizens. Even as we advocate for better public policies that uniquely impact communities of color, we pause to celebrate the important and impactful work done in our community. The theme this year is “Good Education and Good Health - Our true Path to a Healthy Democracy!”