Our Vision Statement: Disability Rights California will create individual and family supports, chosen and directed by the person with a disability

Rolling Rains Report

July 16, 2009

Invitation: The LEAD (Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability) Conference

From the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts:

The Kennedy Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., opened to the public in September 1971. But its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center. To honor Eisenhower's vision for such a facility, one of the Kennedy Center's theaters is named for him.
The Kennedy Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., opened to the public in September 1971. But its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center. To honor Eisenhower's vision for such a facility, one of the Kennedy Center's theaters is named for him.

Consider participating in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' 9th Annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference and training in Washington, D.C., August 13 - 16, 2009. There is still space available for you at LEAD and the hotels have extended their discounts!

No fancy sales pitch, no special offers - just a sincere hope that you can find the time and resources to join us this year.

As a leader in the field of cultural access, you are a vital part of a national and international movement to build an inclusive society, develop best practices, influence policy, and ... not to be melodramatic ... change the world. Isn't that what leadership is about? Whether your personal style of leadership is quiet and behind the scenes or loud and out front, you are a necessary part of changing the world so that all people - with and without disabilities, young and old - have equal access to the soul and heart of any nation: its culture.

The LEAD (Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability) conference and training continues to be the one place where leaders in the field of access to the cultural arts for individuals with disabilities and older adults can meet and mingle with peers, find out what is hot and what is not in technology, get the straight talk on legal issues, and contribute to the collective knowledge base of what does and doesn't work for building and keeping audiences, patrons, and visitors.

Please join us this August to continue the dynamic dialogue we've been having for the past 9 years at LEAD. Please take the challenge to be the person at your museum, theater, or cultural institution who ensures that all members of your community have the opportunity to enjoy and participate in the cultural arts.