Accessibility Self-Assessment in Your Organization
SOLD OUT!
Event Description: Self-assessment of programming, facilities, and services is a critical step for any organization seeking to be more accessible. Identifying the accessibility needs of your organization can sometimes feel like a daunting task, and it can be difficult to know where to start. As such, Open Door Arts has developed a comprehensive self-assessment tool for cultural institutions at all levels of the accessibility journey. Partners from cultural institutions and ADA experts collaborated on creating the tool with disability voices centered in the work. Join us and representatives from Open Door Arts to gain insights on how your organization can use this assessment as a guide for future initiatives and learn perspectives from organizations that have used the tool themselves.
Date: Thursday, March 20th, 2025
Time: 12:00PM – 1:15PM, Central Time
Location: Zoom. Registered participants will receive a Zoom Webinar Link via email the day prior to the event. Please ensure that Info@ChicagoCulturalAccess.org is an approved sender to your email account, or be sure to check your Spam/Junk Mail filter for the email.
Program Accessibility: Real-Time Captioning and Sign Language Interpretation will be provided. Please complete the accommodation request field found in the event registration form or call (312) 788-8705 to request other access services.
Cost: FREE. While this program is free, a $5 suggested donation helps to cover programming costs to ensure Cultural Access Collaborative’s mission is achievable and accessible to all. You may make a tax deductible online donation to the Collab at any time.
Portia Brown, M.A., M.Ed.
Portia is a certified ADA Coordinator with a commitment to supporting arts and culture organizations to improve their accessibility. Since joining Open Door Arts in 2018 she has supported efforts to design and implement strategic solutions to improve access and representation of people with disabilities in the arts and culture sector. Prior to 2018, she worked at Boston Ballet where she directed programming that provided accessible and inclusive dance education, trained educators and service providers, and led organization-wide accessibility efforts. Portia earned her M.Ed. in Prevention Science and Practice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Colorado and earned her B.A. at Colorado College. She is a former special education teacher, the Primary Consultant for United Dance, and was a finalist for the 2017 Massachusetts Non-Profit Network Young Professional Excellence Award.
Nicole Agois, M.Ed.
Nicole Agois is a musician, educator, arts administrator, and disability advocate whose work centers at the intersection of arts, education and disability. She is the Managing Director of Open Door Arts, an organization that works to increase access, participation, and representation in arts and culture by people with disabilities. She directed Open Door Arts’ education programs for 13 years before assuming the Managing Director role in 2017. Passionate for coalition building around cultural equity and accessibility in the arts, she currently serves on the Steering Committees of Cultural Access New England and the Boston Cultural Leaders Coalition, on the Advisory Board of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education, and as a Corporator of the Worcester Art Museum. She has also served on the Leadership Council for the city of Boston’s cultural planning process, as Board Chair for Abilities Dance Boston, as National Institute Faculty for VSA International, and as a consultant for organizations like PBS Kids and SchoolTalk. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Nicole holds an Ed.M. in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.M. in Piano Performance from the Boston Conservatory.
Registration: Join us by completing this event registration form! Note that registrations will close on March 19th at 11:55 p.m. CST. In case of technical difficulties, please email info@CulturalAccessCollab.org for assistance.
Cultural Access Collaborative is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Michael & Mona Heath Fund, and individual donors like you.