Join us for a conversation with Montreece Hardy, Founder, All Write With M.E., LLC. Montreece was diagnosed as legally blind in 2019 and noticed a dramatic shift in her experiences at work. It was as if managers changed their expectations and colleagues pulled away. Too often, employees navigating the workplace with disabilities find themselves in an environment where people either distance themselves because of discomfort with the disability or lower their expectations because of the persistent myth that people with disabilities are less competent. They may also find themselves navigating around or developing coping strategies to overcome systemic barriers because of insufficient, or lack of, appropriate accommodations.
For organizations working on culture change strategies to foster inclusion and belonging, recognizing disabilities is a critical dimension of identity that should be part of those efforts. That starts with getting comfortable talking about disability, raising awareness of the spectrum of disability, and understanding accommodations. Montreece will be sharing her experiences as a context for the conversation. Her journey taught her the importance of self-advocacy, agency, empathy, and education. By developing a deeper understanding of the complexities, nuances, and challenges of navigating disability in the workplace, organizations can develop strategies to foster inclusion and belonging for their colleagues with disabilities. We hope you join the conversation!
Learning Objectives:
- Summarize the spectrum of disability
- Identify the requirements for providing accommodations
- Name ideas for incorporating disability in DEI strategies
Jina Etienne, CPA, CGMA
Etienne Consulting
Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Speaker & Trainer
[email protected]
(301) 778-5510
Jina is a consultant and speaker on diversity, inclusion, culture, and belonging. She creates training programs and workshops to help clients move forward in their D&I journey. She is a storyteller and speaks candidly about her experiences, hard lessons, and ‘aha’ moments that helped her understand the importance of individuality, the value of curiosity, and the courage it takes to “just” be yourself. Often described as “approachable” and “relatable” by her clients, she works with purpose and the intention of being engaging, practical, and immediately applicable to real-world situations. Jina draws from her unique background and mix of work experiences to offer examples and share insights designed to benefit everyone across the workplace ecosystem – executives, management, employees, and customers.
Previously, she was Principal Consultant at EtiennePartners (EP), a boutique consulting firm that offered a unique strategy development, workshops & coaching to leaders, executives and entrepreneurs. Co-founded with her husband, EP was a full-time partnership in both work and life. Although in different professions, their work often intersected around the importance of self-awareness in leadership and navigating conflict within teams. Combining their experiences, backgrounds, and work led to the development of their unique approach to D&I, which she continues to use in her practice today.
Montreece Hardy
All Write With M.E., LLC
Inclusion and Belonging Advocate
[email protected]
Montreece is an expert in developing effective written and verbal communication related to Disability and Accessibility, workplace accommodations, and web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and compliance. She provides training through webinars, open discussions, and one-on-one coaching to leaders across all industries. Her clients include small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions. Montreece is dedicated to promoting empathy, inclusivity, belonging, and accessibility in the future of work by encouraging leadership and allyship at all levels using evidence-based measurements for success.
Montreece Payton-Hardy is a professional with diverse skills and experience. As a certified DEIA Partner with Diversity Crew, certified Faith-Based Mental Health Facilitator and Speaker, and recent graduate of the American Foundation for the Blind's Blind Leaders Development Fellowship, she has over a decade of experience in people-centered consulting and business operations. She has also provided customized forms and documents, standard operating procedures (SOPs), written communication, and event planning services to various small businesses.
Montreece is deeply passionate about learning. She is a mother of two exceptional Gen-Alpha future leaders. She strives to create unique opportunities for her children and encourages them to become agents of change and advocacy from a young age. When she is not spending time with her family or pursuing her D&IA work, she enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and skydiving.
About Our Presenter
Etienne Consulting's work is informed by their unique mix of experience in public accounting & business consulting, association management & member engagement, and diversity & inclusion consulting and training. Although in a variety of roles and industries, their work has always intersected around the importance of self-awareness in leadership, clarity of purpose, and navigating conflict within teams.
This led them to develop techniques to deepen awareness and strengthen communication — core skills necessary for driving meaningful change in organizations. They work with businesses and firms to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion across all aspects of people experience, operations, policy, communications, branding, and community & social responsibility. Their training programs and workshops are designed to bridge the gap between diversity and inclusion by offering concrete skills and communication strategies teams and use to build teams capable of leveraging their full diversity to drive innovation, growth, and lasting cultural change. They also offer support in developing, implementing, executing, and reporting on D&I strategy.
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