Education
Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability
General Information |
2008 Conference and Training |
Conference Schedule |
LEAD Awards Information |
Resources
Conference Schedule
go to Text-Only VersionSubject to change.
Thursday, August 21
Sessions will be held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Times and sessions are subject to change
7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Registration
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Morning Pre-Conference Workshops
Basic Policy Develop.m.ent: Part One of a Two-Part Series to Help You Craft, Implement, Enforce, and Troubleshoot Access Policies for Your Venue
An encore presentation of LEAD 2007’s Policy Writing is Not for Sissies!, this workshop provides you with the nuts and bolts you need to develop, implement and enforce defensible accessibility policies. Each participant receives a policy develop.m.ent guidebook. Recommended for those new to policy writing, approval, and maintenance.
- Identify evidence-based reasons for policies.
- Develop a template policy format and process for in-house use.
- Identify necessary components for a comprehensive organizational assessment of policy needs.
- Identify core resources for verification of policy content and compliance.
- Identify factors needed for successful policy develop.m.ent and implementation, including the policy-practice connection and in-house awareness.
- Identify principles to defend the contents of, and need for, the policies you produce.
Presenter: Susan Duncan, RN, Duncan Consulting (WA)
Don't Be Caught by Surprise: Sound Ticketing Policies are your Friends
When do you release wheelchair accessible locations? Do you offer discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities? Where do you seat patrons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision? How do you accommodate unusual requests? The answers to these questions should be in your box office policies. Come to this session to learn how to write effective policies and implement procedures that will ensure that patrons with disabilities have equal access to tickets and performances.
Presenter: Betty Siegel, Director of Accessibility, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (DC)
Audio Description from A to Z: 10 Steps to Creating and Maintaining a Successful Service
Whether creating an in-house audio description service for a single performing arts presenter/producer or museum/exhibit facility or creating a community-wide service for the various venues of multiple progra.m. providers, the essential steps to creating and maintaining a successful service remain the sa.m.e. In a lecture/discussion format, the workshop leaders and participants will explore creating an advisory board; hiring an audio description trainer; securing buy-in from decision makers; determining equip.m.ent needs; budgeting, fund raising, and marketing; training describers and involved staff; and ongoing evaluation of the progra.m. and describers.
Presenters: Founding Members of the Audio Description Coalition: Janet Zoubek Dickson, Access Coordinator, McCarter Theatre (NJ); Ruth M. Feldman, Director of Education and Accessibility Services, Yale Repertory Theatre (CT); Celia Hughes, Executive Director, VSA arts of Texas, (TX) Deborah Lewis, Executive Director, ELA Foundation (CA) Michael T. Mooney, Manager of Outreach and Access Progra.m.s, Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ) Bill Patterson, President, Audio Description Solutions (PA)
This dyna.m.ic, interactive session will train staff and volunteers from theaters, museums, community centers, after school arts progra.m.s, and others how to universally design their educational arts progra.m.ming to make it accessible to children of all abilities. Participants will learn unique strategies and best practices for engaging a wide range of children in several arts disciplines. Everyone will leave the training with specific, universally-designed arts activities they can replicate with the children in their progra.m..
Presenters: Martin English, M.F.A., Executive Director of Accessible Arts, Inc. (KS); Kit Bardwell, M.M., Progra.m. Director of Accessible Arts, Inc. (KS)
12:30 to 5:30 p.m. – Pre-Conference Workshop
Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Effective Volunteer and Staff Training
Effective training is 90% of the battle…make that 100%! Your staff and volunteers are the public face of your institution. With proper training they can be enthusiastic and informed allies in your efforts to create a completely disability and senior-friendly patron/visitor experience. This session will address strategies for maximizing your training efforts, offer practical suggestions, supply sa.m.ple training manuals and materials, and look at key components of thorough and effective training sessions.
Presenters: Celia Hughes, Executive Director VSA arts of Texas (TX); Cindy Brown, ADA and Accessibility Specialist (AZ)
1:00 to 5:00 p.m. – Afternoon Pre-Conference Workshops
Advanced Policy Develop.m.ent: Part Two of a Two-Part Series to Help You Craft, Implement, Enforce, and Troubleshoot Access Policies for Your Venue
If you need help making your policies work in real life, this workshop is for you. Workgroups will gain practical experience by applying the principles learned in Basic to produce venue-tailored policies that comply with accessibility standards. Strategies for identifying and overcoming problems with policy implementation and maintenance will be discussed. Each participant receives a policy develop.m.ent workbook. Recommended for those involved in policy develop.m.ent, implementation and enforcement—administrators, legal counsel, managers, marketing directors, staff educators, policy committee members, progra.m. coordinators.
Bring to class: Exa.m.ples of policy-related problems from your venue that you want to discuss. At the end of Advanced Policy Develop.m.ent, participants will be able to:
- Discuss various strategies for achieving administrative support and end-user compliance.
- Discuss strategies for in-house tea.m.building for accessibility issues.
- Compare centralized and decentralized accessibility responsibility and oversight.
- Discuss related education and performance requirements for employees and contractors.
Listen to a Bench, Chew on a Painting: Multi-Sensory Approaches to Museum Visits
How can temperature and texture affect your experience of a sculpture? How can a description shape the way you see a painting? How can taste and smell evoke the mood of a photograph, and fix it in your memory forever?
As visitor demographics shift and the population ages, museums are increasingly striving to address the needs of diverse visitor populations. This workshop will give you the tools to begin new progra.m.ming or expand current access in increasingly inclusive ways.
Explore how art and history museums can use multi-sensory interpretation strategies to create a richer appreciation and understanding of their collections. We will see how employing multiple, redundant and simultaneous versions of information as a means of improving comprehension, engagement and access to visitors with a range of abilities and preferences, will benefit everyone. Through interactive hands-on exercises, participants will discover the benefits of investigating a work of art through touch, sound, smell, taste and movement, as well as through looking, discussion and description.
Presenters: Hannah Goodwin, Accessibility Manager, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA); Rebecca McGinnis, Access Coordinator, Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), Hope McMath, Director of Education, Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens (FL)
ADA Basics: Titles I, II, III
The perfect session for beginners! Start your LEAD 2008 experience with a solid introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Speakers from two regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers will define Titles I, II, and III of the ADA and discuss how they apply to cultural organizations, whether public or private, non-profit or government.
Presenters: Robin Jones, Project Director and Principal Investigator, DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center (IL); Shelley Kaplan, Project Director, DBTAC-Southeast (GA)
Conflict is Inevitable; Combat is Optional: Mediation Skills for Everyone
Mediation skills have highly practical applications in managing the interpersonal and institutional conflicts which arts organizations, in general, and ADA professionals, in particular, may encounter. Role-play is the most common technique for teaching mediators and this session will involve extensive role-plays (relax, it's fun and will be gently coached) and will teach conflict management and mediation skills that can be put to work immediately to defuse, transform and resolve conflicts, handle complaints, satisfy constituencies that they have been heard, avoid litigation, and enhance the chance for peace.
Presenter: Madge S. Thorsen, Attorney (MN)
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Opening Reception – Free!
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Celebrate the start of the 2008 LEAD Conference. Reconnect with colleagues and make new contacts!
8:00 p.m. Art Metrano's Jew's don't Belong on Ladders…an Accidental Commedy
"Police Academy's" Art Metrano in an uplifting, uproarious and autobiographical show. Enjoy the funny, poignant and powerful story of actor/comedian Art Metrano's rise to fame, the accident that almost ended his career, but instead gave him new perspective on life.
You'll be buoyed by the triumphant spirit, and bowled over by the outrageous humor actor/comedian Art Metrano brings to the stage in this riveting account of his rise to fame and subsequent fall from the ladder of success. Metrano's career took off with appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Laugh-in, and a breakout role in the Police Academy films. Then, it all nearly ended when an accidental fall from a ladder broke his neck, leaving him paralyzed. But Metrano fought his way back. Now, with wit, willpower and laughter, he takes audiences on the wild ride with him.
This performance will be sign interpreted, captioned, and audio described. Assistive Listening Devices will be available.
Friday, August 22
Sessions will be held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Times and sessions are subject to change.
8:00 to 8:45 a.m. – Introduction To LEAD
Newcomers to LEAD are strongly encouraged to attend this session!
Presenters will provide first-time attendees with an overview of the LEAD conference. Whether you are new in the accessibility field or have years of experience, this session will provide you with the tools you need to get the most out of the conference.
8:45 to 9:15 a.m. – Welcome
9:15 to 9:45 a.m.
- Advocate, Expert, and Advisor: The Role of the ADA Coordinator
The ADA coordinator position, with its multiple roles, is often a balancing act. Find out how to wear all the hats. This session will provide a brief introduction to the responsibilities of the ADA/504 Coordinator in the cultural arts—from being an advocate for the disability community to being an advisor to your institution, as well as when you should be an expert and whether you should ever be an enforcer.
10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
- Pity to Power
People with disabilities are not to be pitied – they have a powerful voice. This panel session discusses how the disability community moved from being a focus of dependence and pity to one of independence. - Twelve Steps to Success
Starting an access program may seem an overwhelming task, but it really involves twelve simple steps. Learn what the twelve steps are, and how to effectively use those steps to set policy, priorities, and ensure equal access. Step zero: attend this session. - Woof, Meow, Oink? Accommodating Visitors and Patrons with Service Animals
Are there limits on what constitutes a service animal? How do you know what animals to allow into your facility? Get answers to these questions and participate in a guided discussion so that you can develop policies and procedures that will make everyone comfortable. - Listening Hard or Hard to Listen
Assistive Listening Devices are an essential tool for providing effective communication. This session will focus on how to choose the right ALD's - infrared, FM or loop - as well as how to maximize the listening experience for everyone in the audience regardless of the level of their hearing loss. Ultimately we want to provide better Assistive Listening Experiences.
11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
- Website Accessibility Consultations
This is your opportunity to meet one-on-one with Sharron Rush, the Executive Director of Knowbility, to get useful recommendations for making accessibility improvements to your organization's website. Space is limited.
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- Pity to Power
People with disabilities are not to be pitied – they have a powerful voice. This panel session discusses how the disability community moved from being a focus of dependence and pity to one of independence. - Twelve Steps to Success
Starting an access program may seem an overwhelming task, but it really involves twelve simple steps. Learn what the twelve steps are, and how to effectively use those steps to set policy, priorities, and ensure equal access. Step zero: attend this session. - Usher Training 101
Front of house staff are vital in welcoming patrons who are older or who have disabilities. Training your ushers can be a challenge - especially if they are part-time, volunteers, students, and/or temporary. This session will give you the tools you need to prepare your ushering staff to assist your patrons with disabilities. - Creating Touchable Interpretations
Enhance the museum experience for patrons who are blind by using tactile models and other touchable methods of getting information. And find out how those tactile supplements can also engage and improve the experience of all visitors.
1:15 to 2:45 p.m.
- The "How to" of Effective Communication for Patrons and Visitors who are Blind or have Low Vision
This session will introduce you to the ins and outs of providing effective communication for patrons and who are Blind and have Low Vision. Discover how cultural organizations can make exhibitions and performances accessible using audio description, accessible labels, alternative formats for print materials, and more. - The "How To" of Effective Communication for Visitors and Patrons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
This session will address the basics of providing sign language interpreters and captioning, including when and how to provide the services and what it takes to do it right. Presenters will cover all the elements: how to find, hire, and contract qualified interpreters and captioners; budgeting for the services; what materials the interpreters and captioners will need to prepare; and what happens the day of the signed or captioned event. - Expanding the Market – 54 Million PLUS!
Viewing the potential disability market as only the 54 million Americans with Disabilities is short-sighted. The market doubles and triples as you look at those individual plus their families – children, parents, grandparents, and siblings. The cultural arts institution that recognizes, reaches out and captures this broader demographic will not only be creating experiences to be enjoyed by the whole family but will be developing a new and vital audience for now and the future. - Please Do Drop In
This panel session explores the balance between programming and spontaneity. How does (or should) your cultural organization use programming plans and prepare for drop-in audience members? Panel topics will focus on effective and ineffective strategies for accommodating both ends of the spectrum.
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
- The "How to" of Effective Communication for Patrons and Visitors who are Blind or have Low Vision
This session will introduce you to the ins and outs of providing effective communication for patrons and who are Blind and have Low Vision. Discover how cultural organizations can make exhibitions and performances accessible using audio description, accessible labels, alternative formats for print materials, and more. - The "How To" of Effective Communication for Visitors and Patrons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
This session will address the basics of providing sign language interpreters and captioning, including when and how to provide the services and what it takes to do it right. Presenters will cover all the elements: how to find, hire, and contract qualified interpreters and captioners; budgeting for the services; what materials the interpreters and captioners will need to prepare; and what happens the day of the signed or captioned event.
3:00 to 6:15 p.m.
- Parameters of "Reasonableness"
This session is designed to help you find a balance between best accessibility practices and what is, or is not, a reasonable access request. Gain an understanding of how disability rights laws are applied and the various criteria used to determine reasonableness so that you can protect your organization and your patrons. Increase your insight into what exactly the "reasonableness" standard means so you can make the right call when these challenging cases arise.
4:45 to 6:15 p.m.
- Universal Design with a Twist of Cultural Arts
This session evaluates universal design for physical access and provides a focus on integrating access in all environments—from the great outdoors to the cultural institution. - Expanding the Market – 54 Million PLUS!
Viewing the potential disability market as only the 54 million Americans with Disabilities is short-sighted. The market doubles and triples as you look at those individual plus their families – children, parents, grandparents, and siblings. The cultural arts institution that recognizes, reaches out and captures this broader demographic will not only be creating experiences to be enjoyed by the whole family but will be developing a new and vital audience for now and the future.
Saturday, August 23
Conference sessions will be held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Times and sessions are subject to change
9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- Doing Access Justice
If you’re confused about compliance, or just want to brush up on your core accessibility knowledge, attend this frank and open discussion with experts in the field of disability regulations, statutes and laws. Get clarification on puzzling issues, have your questions answered, discuss relevant issues, and find out how current legal decisions might impact your work and your institution.
1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
- Website Accessibility Consultations
This is your opportunity to meet one-on-one with Sharron Rush, the Executive Director of Knowbility, to get useful recommendations for making accessibility improvements to your organization’s website. Space is limited.
1:15 to 3:00 p.m.
- Hands On - Crafting good Marketing and Adveritising Tools
Come to this session with your organization’s existing marketing materials and press releases and walk away with specific feedback on how to improve those pieces to target the disability community. Gain insight on creating an accommodations brochure to highlight your accessibility services. - Back to the Future: Technology Update
The ever-changing face of technology is a challenge to keep up with. In this session we will explore technologies we currently use and the possible new technologies for accommodating individuals with disabilities. - Expect the Unexpected
It is essential to be prepared, but there is no predictability when it comes to accommodating the full range of access issues the public can place in front of you. From visitors with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to those who come in a hospital bed, this session provides insight on accommodating individuals with unique needs or unusual circumstances, as well as handling all situations with diplomacy and grace.
3:15 to 5:15 p.m.
- Autism: The Unique Museum and Theater Experience
Hear different perspectives—professional, familial, and personal—on autism from this panel interview. Discussion will range from an introduction to autism to the various challenges that individuals and families face when attending cultural institutions. - Measuring Up - Surveying the Built Environment
Panelists will identify useful surveys and tools to evaluate the physical accessibility of your facility. Immediately following the presentation, grab your tape measure and put those tools to the test on a tour of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts! - Double Duty: Older Adults as Participants and Audience Members
The number of senior citizens in the United States is expected to triple by 2030. How can you get this growing segment of the population, which also has a lot of leisure time and disposable income, involved in your organization? Come to this open discussion to find out what type of programming and outreach efforts have been successful at other cultural organizations and share your own strategies.
7:00 p.m. LEAD Awards Dinner
Tickets are $35
Always one of the best conference events, the Awards Dinner is not to be missed! Join us for an elegant evening to present the 2008 Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Awards for Excellence in Accessibility Leadership in recognition of the achievements and contributions of an individual and an organization to the field of cultural arts access.
Click here to learn more about the LEAD Awards.Sunday, August 24
Conference sessions will be held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Times and sessions are subject to change.
9:00 to 10:45 a.m.
- Expect the Unexpected
It is essential to be prepared, but there is no predictability when it comes to accommodating the full range of access issues the public can place in front of you. From visitors with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to those who come in a hospital bed, this session provides insight on accommodating individuals with unique needs or unusual circumstances, as well as handling all situations with diplomacy and grace. - Building Relationships that Pay Off
Feel like you’re always struggling to find financial support for your accessibility programs? Learn how to ask for funding appropriately, get grant writing tips, and, most importantly, discover the value of building and maintaining relationships with potential funders, donors, and grantors.
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Affinity Group: Museums
Round Two – Extending from last year’s museum session:
The museum is a complex institution with multiple facets and services ranging from tours to lectures in auditoriums. This open discussion addresses everything in between—exhibiting art, training volunteers, nurturing institutional commitment to developing accessible and inclusive programming. What does the future hold for museum accessibility and what can we do to shape it? - Affinity Group: State and Local Arts Commission/Council Representatives
As state and regional agencies, we share the role as a leader of cultural access and provide a unique service to a larger constituency, including ensuring our sub-grantees are aware of their legal requirements. This is an opportunity to meet colleagues from state arts agencies and regional arts organizations to discuss our role as accessibility coordinators on the state and regional level. Come share how your agency views the role and responsibilities of the accessibility coordinator both internally and externally. - Affinity Group: The Future of Audio Description
What is the future of audio description? What are blind and low-vision audience members seeking with audio description services? This is an opportunity to go beyond the basics and discuss what the future holds for audio description. - Affinity Group: Planning for the Future
Making access an integral part of your organization takes planning and buy-in from all the right people. Explore long-term planning options with others who are also trying to ensure that accessibility is at the core of their institutions.
Contact Us
- (202) 416-8727 (voice)
- (202) 416-8728 (TTY)
- (202) 416-8802 (fax)
- access@kennedy-center.org
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts