Congratulations to Executive Director/CEO Erin Stauder on being named one of The Baltimore Business Journal’s 10 Leaders in Diversity for HASA’s work in the field of diversity and inclusion for those who are neurodiverse or have communication differences.
At HASA, we were truly honored that our diversity and inclusion initiatives were recognized by The Baltimore Business Journal at their recent Leaders in Diversity awards. The recognition that diversity is more than just what’s visible and that inclusion means a seat at the table for everyone was inspiring. Congratulations to our own Erin Stauder for being honored (you can read more here) and to the other winners, as well:
- Christopher Bedford, Baltimore Museum of Art
- Lee Coplan, Hord, Coplan, Macht
- Ivy Dench-Carter, Pennrose
- Woody Derricks, Partnership Wealth Management
- Stacy Hermann & Tina Schmidt, Kennedy Krieger Institute
- Dave Imre, IMRE
- Joseph Jones, Jr., Center for Urban Families
- Michelle Lipkowitz, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lauer
- Pablo Pineyro, BD Life Sciences Diagnostic System
Below is a snippet of the article:
Erin Stauder spends her days pushing for everyone’s right to understand and be understood. Stauder is the executive director of HASA, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that advocates for people with hearing and speech challenges as well as those who have difficulty communicating due to sensory disorders such as autism.
While most businesses are by now familiar with the importance of offering accessible entrances and seating to customers, not as many have thought about how to accommodate people with trouble communicating – a disability that is not always immediately apparent.
There are plenty of small ways businesses can improve on the way they serve clients and employees, she said. She recommends that small- and medium-sized businesses without a diversity officer look at their human resources policies and daily procedures to make sure they’re offering an environment that’s as inclusive as possible.
“I think the most important thing for businesses to recognize is that they are responsible for challenging their own institutional and personal biases to make sure that they are offering communication-inclusive environments to their clients and to their community members,” Stauder said.