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Better Toledo | Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities

Learn about disability etiquette, language usage, respectful interactions; best practices for fostering a disability-inclusive workplace culture; tips for recruiting, hiring, and supporting employees

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) will facilitate an interactive workshop to raise awareness of disability etiquette, proper language usage, and respectful interactions with people with disabilities; best practices for fostering a disability inclusive workplace culture; and tips for recruiting, hiring, and supporting employees with disabilities. 

This event is in partnership with The City of Toledo Human Relations Commission and is part of Better Toledo, a personal and professional development series to ensure “you will do better in Toledo.”

Certificates of completion are available to participants who take part in three or more sessions in 2024.

For group registrations please call 419-259-5293.

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities is a state of Ohio agency that empowers Ohioans with disabilities through employment, disability determinations, and independence. By partnering with organizations including businesses, education, and non-profit organizations, OOD helps Ohio companies recruit and retain employees with disabilities. Join OOD’s Business Relations and Accessible Ohio Specialists to identify best practices for disability inclusion, workplace accessibility, and ways to connect with Ohio workers with disabilities.

Alanna Smith is the Business Relations Specialist for OOD.  Since joining OOD as a job developer in 2019, Alanna has worked closely with employers to support their efforts to hire and retain employees with disabilities. She provides services including direct candidate sourcing, hiring events and job fairs, and disability awareness training across Northwest Ohio’s 22 counties.  

Alanna holds a bachelor's degree in Recreational Therapy from the University of Toledo. 

Shelly Burkhart is the Accessible Ohio Specialist for OOD.  In this role, Shelly supports Ohio’s businesses, communities, venues, and attractions to be accessible and inclusive through individualized consultations, education, and resources.

Shelly joined OOD in March 2016 as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. In this role, Shelly worked with students and adults with developmental disabilities to help them achieve competitive integrated employment.    

Prior to joining OOD, Shelly worked for a local county board of developmental disabilities and served as the deputy director at a local board of elections.  Shelly’s other work experiences include teaching at various colleges and universities, working in public health, and co-owning a computer store where she built and fixed computers. 

Shelly has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sociology.