September 19, 2016
Welcome to #USBLN16

Guest blog: Apoorva Gandhi, Vice President, Multicultural Affairs, Marriott International and USBLN 2016 Conference Chair

Apoorva Gandhi

Welcome to the 2016 USBLN 19th Annual National Conference & Biz2Biz Expo!!! We are so happy that you are coming from near and far to the beautiful JW Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. I am very proud to be the conference chair this year and I promise you we are going to have some great sessions for you to learn, get inspired and have fun!

And yes, we are SOLD OUT….and you are on the A-List! We all share a passion for disability inclusion. That’s for sure or you wouldn’t be here. It may be a desire to ensure all feel included and engaged as part of your workforce. Perhaps you work for a great company and want to know how to develop yourself and accelerate your growth and opportunities. Or perhaps you want to bring the great innovations created by disability-owned businesses into your company. We all know the spending power of people with disabilities but perhaps you want to understand it in depth and meet NextGen millennials with disabilities and learn how to design inclusively so your products can be enjoyed by all!

Well whatever the reason is…you have come to the right place. All of our sessions are full of industry leaders that get it and they get you!  We are here to ensure that you leave with actionable items that you can start implementing when you get to your office the next day. I decided to step up and accept the conference chair role because there is so much value to what we bring to the table. It’s time to spread the word, share ideas and move with swagger……and I needed to be a part of it.

What does moving with swagger mean to me? It means knowing the power of our spend, the innovative ideas we inherently create daily, the value of our workplace loyalty and growth. And this year…. the need for candidates to EARN our vote. We have something powerful within us and we need to act like it.

My friends, this year I ask you to redefine your future and by doing that we are going to redefine our world.

Please come find me and say hello and I can’t wait to meet you all. Thank you!

Best,

Apoorva Gandhi


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