Former Labor Secretary to Speak at Disability Awareness Symposium

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Neil Romano

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Neil Romano, a former U.S. assistant secretary of labor, will give the luncheon keynote address during the daylong Disability Awareness Symposium on Oct. 17 on the University of Arkansas campus.

The symposium is sponsored by the Center for Educational Access at the University of Arkansas and Sources for Community Independent Living Services in Fayetteville. It features workshops designed for students, faculty, staff and the public that will enhance knowledge of disability-related topics. It is part of several events planned in observance of Disability Awareness Month.

Romano formerly served as U.S. assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy under George W. Bush. He worked with all Department of Labor agencies to lead a comprehensive and coordinated national policy regarding the employment of people with disabilities in the United States. He will give the luncheon keynote address titled “State of Disability, 2012” from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in rooms 513-514 in the Union.

Seating is limited to 50 people for Romano’s address so RSVP is required by emailing ada@uark.edu or calling 479-575-3104.

The Disability Awareness Symposium is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in rooms 503, 504 and 511 in the Arkansas Union. It is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is preferred, but not required. To register, contact the Center for Educational Access at ada@uark.edu or 479-575-3104. Certificates of attendance will be provided for participants attending more than one session.

The symposium will provide practical information in the areas of preparing for employment, developing an inclusive workplace and knowing local resources.

The symposium schedule includes three tracks – Disability and Employment, An Inclusive Workplace and Community Resources:

• 9 to 10 a.m. Check-in and welcome, Arkansas Union 512-514

• 10 to 11 a.m.

• Preparing for Employment: Laws and Accommodations, Will Roberts, project manager for National Organization on Disability Corporate Programs, ARKU 511

• Accommodations in the Workplace, Cammie Scott, president of CK Harp & Associates, ARKU 503

• Know Your Local Resources, Jim Mather, executive director of Sources for Community Independent Living Services, ARKU 504

• 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

• Preparing for Employment: Disclosure, Rick Roessler, University of Arkansas emeritus professor of rehabilitation education and research, ARKU 511

• Promoting an Inclusive Workplace, Cammie Scott, president of CK Harp & Associates, ARKU 503

• Employment and Health Access Trends, Brent Thomas Williams, University of Arkansas associate professor of rehabilitation education, ARKU 504

• 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. Sessions repeated from 10 a.m.

• 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sessions repeated from 11:15 a.m.

Neil Romano founded Romano & Associates Inc., which produced highly visible and effective public awareness programs about disability issues, as well as America’s Strength, a not-for-profit organization that works to promote the importance of hiring individuals with disabilities. His extensive professional background includes tenure as director of communications for the White House Office of Drug Abuse Policy. In that role, he worked on campaigns such as “Just Say No” and “America Responds to AIDS.”

Romano’s work as a member of the Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled has been described as having generated historic improvement in the quality of life for workers with disabilities. In 2010, his work was recognized by the full committee with a special leadership award.

Romano has served as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, and he serves on a number of diverse national boards of directors including the Major League Baseball Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society, the Prison Jail Ministries Foundation, and the Taylor Hooton Foundation, an organization designed to educate young people about the dangerous effects of steroid use.

He is a consultant to Walmart Inc. on matters of disability policy, and he advises many for-profit and non-profit companies on issues ranging from marketing to public relations and from mergers to acquisitions. Romano was recently named president and CEO of Quadex Pharmaceuticals, where he will lead a team that works on finding cures for the various herpetic viruses.