Disability Matters Logo 2014 Disability Matters Conference and Awards North America The U.S. Event has been expanded to include Canada! MENDHAM, NJ (11/04/13) – Your resource for rich information about people with disabilities in the workplace just grew by the size of Canada. In response to overwhelming interest from our Canadian colleagues, Springboard Consulting LLC is excited to announce the expansion of what has been a U.S. only event to now represent all of both the U.S. and Canada. “For the first time, we can look forward to sharing and celebrating this most important event with both Canadian and the United States businesses and are honored to have Toyota Motor Sales serving as the Host of the expanded 2014 conference”, said Nadine Vogel, Chief Executive Officer of Springboard Consulting LLC. The event will officially kick-off with a welcome reception on Tuesday evening, April 8th, followed by two full conference days taking place on Wednesday & Thursday, April 9th and 10th, to be held at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, TX with the Awards Dinner to be held the evening of April 9th at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk. Joining our Hosts, to date the 2014 sponsors are: GOLD Adecco Group, NA Colgate-Palmolive EMC Corporation Prudential Financial UNUM SILVER Intuit BRONZE Abercrombie & Fitch Genentech PwC UPMC Global Sponsor companies have selected to sponsor all three 2014 Disability Matter Events around the globe: North America, Europe and AsiaPacific As seen by the growth of this segment and the increase in legislation in both the U.S. and Canada, meeting the needs of this most important segment through workforce, workplace, and marketplace initiatives is a business imperative, one that is most certainly understood by our Host, Toyota, as seen by their ongoing commitment to and initiatives for employees with disabilities. As in prior years, the Disability Matters conference will feature corporate executive presenters, the federal government, academia and the non-profit sector, sharing their experiences and best practices on how to support and market to this large, loyal segment of the population. New for 2014: a specialty session dedicated to Accessibility, featuring the tools and best practices for Physical Accessibility/Universal Design, Web Accessibility, Accessible Technology, and Accommodations as well as interactive facilitated table exercises following every panel resulting in real-time development of ideas and implementation strategies. Corporate Honorees will be selected in the following categories: Workforce, Workplace & Marketplace as well as the Employer of Choice Award, given to a company that has taken their award-winning initiatives to a level where there is complete synergy between mission and achievement. Also new this year is the Steps to Success Award. This award seeks to identify and celebrate those companies who are beginning on the journey of innovation, action and transformation relative to individuals with disabilities. The Disability Champion Award, the only award category open to individuals within an organization, celebrates individuals at the Executive, Management and Associate levels. For more information on different awards or to request an application, visit http://www.consultspringboard.com/2011/dm-award-descriptions-and-methodology/. Companies interested in becoming a sponsor, purchasing tickets, and/or applying for one of these prestigious awards, which honor outstanding commitment to the disabled community in the areas of Workforce, Workplace and/or Marketplace, will find additional information including prior year honorees by visiting http://www.consultspringboard.com/2011/about-disability-matters-united-states/. While planning your trip to 2014 Disability Matters NA, be sure to arrive one day earlier to attend the 2014 Disability ERG Professional Development and Leadership Summit, Hosted by Time Warner Cable and held at their headquarters in San Antonio. Additional Disability ERG Summit information will be released under separate cover. For additional information on either Disability Matters or the Disability ERG Summit, contact: Jill Frankel: 973-813-7260 x106 or Jill@consultspringboard.com ABOUT SPRINGBOARD CONSULTING® Founded in 2005, Springboard is recognized as the expert in mainstreaming disability in the global workforce, workplace and marketplace. Serving corporations and organizations throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, Springboard has become a trusted partner in relation to disability issues and initiatives across virtually every business category. Springboard annually honors exemplary organizational initiatives that promote the outreach, support & engagement of people with disabilities as employees and as consumers through the Disability Matters Awards. ABOUT TOYOTA MOTOR SALES Toyota, the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in 2012 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today. To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to American nonprofit groups. For more information about Toyota’s contributions in the U.S., visit www.toyotainaction.com .