Local Disability Rights Advocates Attend New Arc Leadership Workshop on July 23rd
The Arc of Snohomish County welcomed a dozen local disability rights advocates at a leadership training event on Saturday, July 23rd, 2022. Event trainees included parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities, adult self-advocates with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and leaders working professionally in the field.
The Leadership & Advocacy Workshop launched a new biannual training program that The Arc hopes will further support and engage new and emerging voices leading the disability rights movement in Snohomish County and across the state.
The workshop was developed and facilitated by Rachel Kube, The Arc’s Advocacy & Communications Coordinator, with support from other Arc staff members, who contributed presentations on leadership, advocacy, coalition-building, goal-setting and effective communication.
During the event, trainees discussed what it means to be a leader, leadership qualities and skills, and different types of leadership styles. They learned about legislative advocacy and the policymaking process, how to engage in legislative advocacy, and what it means to advocate at the local, county and state levels. Trainees talked about disability policies and issues that are important to them and in which they hope to engage further as leaders and advocates.
[Pictured: A word cloud created together by trainees listing the strengths and qualities they value in leadership.]
The biggest take-away lessons from the July 23rd training:
We are all leaders! Every single one of us has what it takes to lead, to advocate, to engage and to speak out on issues and policies that matter.
There are different ways to lead! We can be a leader within our families, our neighborhood or our faith community. We can engage in local leadership, in our city or county, by joining workgroups or sitting on local boards or commissions. We can be a parent leader at our child’s school or PTA group. We can support a nonprofit organization, either as a board member, a donor, or an event volunteer or fundraiser. There are countless ways to serve and countless ways to lead.
Are you interested in leadership?
Are you interested in learning more about advocacy?
If so, contact The Arc of Snohomish County, by email, at Whitney@arcsno.org, or by phone, at (425) 258-2459 x102, to share your leadership and advocacy interests and discuss possible opportunities to get involved.
Our self-paced, virtual Arc Leadership Training curriculum is available to those interested in learning more about the history of the disability rights movement, current policies and areas in which advocates can get involved to create positive change. Contact Rachel@arcsno.org to learn more.
We also offer training opportunities for self-advocates. Virtual workshops for self-advocates are scheduled for Thursday, August 4th, 2022, 1-3 PM, and Thursday, August 11th, 2022, 6-8 PM. Contact jessie@arcsno.org for more information. Adult self-advocates can also contact Leigh Spruce at leigh@arcsno.org to discuss their leadership goals.
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneystohr/“>Whitney Stohr is the Leadership & Independent Living Program Manager at The Arc of Snohomish County. She is passionate about advocating for medically complex children and children with disabilities and their families. She is a mom and medical caregiver herself, who is energized by working closely with other parent/family caregivers. She lives with her spouse and their four-year-old son Malachi in Lynnwood. Connect with her on Instagram @rollin.w.spinabifida. Contact: whitney@arcsno.org.