Equity Alliance Equity Series

Description

Along with several other organizations in Rochester, The Arc Minnesota, Ability Building Community, the City of Rochester, and Workforce Development Inc. are hosting a Disability Summit this July in honor of Disability Pride Month. This will be Rochester’s first-ever Disability Summit. The July Equity Series will serve as the first session, covering disability justice concepts and how disability rights and supports have evolved, both nationally and in Minnesota. This will include examining models of disability, relevant legislation on disability, and examining disability advocacy and history relevant to Rochester.

OUR PRESENTERS
Lexi Dunn
Local Disability Advocate
Lexi Dunn is a local disability advocate who creatively combines her lived experiences and educational background as a social work and disability studies student to shed light on the hidden struggles of chronic illness and disability. She currently serves as a co-chair for a disability rights organization, is a public speaker, a legislative advocate, and a community organizer.

Linda Driessen
Region 10 Quality Council Coordinator, The Arc Minnesota
Linda Driessen has been involved in disability support her entire life, as she has a sibling with a developmental disability. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Psychological Services from Springfield College. She has worked for more than 30 years in some capacity that has supported people with disabilities. She began working professionally with disabled people in 1987 in semi-independent living. She worked as a Program Coordinator for a Day Training and Habilitation program for 16 years. In 2013, she transitioned to Executive Director for a local Residential Provider, where she worked for another 11 years. Currently, she works for The Arc of Minnesota as the Region 10 Quality Council Coordinator, advocating for systems change.

Buff Hennessey
Director of Statewide Grants and Initiatives, The Arc Minnesota
Buff Hennessey is the Director of Statewide Grants and Initiatives for The Arc Minnesota. In this role, she oversees 10 programs that are funded by grants and/or contracts that support people with disabilities in a variety of ways throughout Minnesota. She has worked in the field of disabilities for 55 years. The last 44 years have been with The Arc, with the first 37 of those years in southeastern Minnesota. Buff has done advocacy for people with disabilities at the individual level as well as the systems level throughout her career.

The Equity Alliance Equity Series is a monthly seminar sponsored by Destination Medical Center and the City of Rochester. The purpose is to introduce diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices, build sustainable DEI community strategies, and build advocacy and allyship within the Rochester community. The series is held virtually on the second Wednesday of every month at noon.