Reggie Fields
Dear OCALICONLINE Attendees:
As the chairman of OCALI’s Advisory Board, I want to be the first to welcome you to the first-ever all-virtual version of OCALICON! We cannot wait to see you this week!
As we prepare for our annual event, I cannot help but reflect upon the past 10 months - how many challenges we have been through, how our perspectives have shifted and how the way we work has changed. Things are different in so many ways now - and we know that more uncertainty is ahead. But one thing we are certain of is our mission to ensure that people with disabilities can live their best lives for their whole lives. That is the core value that we all share - and why we are so excited to be able to hold OCALICONLINE this year, in spite of all of the things swirling around us in the world.
There has never been a time in our history that access and equity have had more opportunity to not just be a PART of the conversation but to be THE conversation - and the work we will do together this week will elevate that conversation. Virtual and remote education, social justice and equality, health care disparities - the really hard stuff - are at the forefront now. We have the chance to make a difference for ourselves and others in ways that we have never had before. OCALICONLINE is coming at a time when we can learn from each other, collaborate virtually and gain new perspectives to help us each, in our own unique way, impact changes - big and small - for individuals with disabilities and autism.
I hope that you - like me - are looking forward to what the next three days will bring. See you in the front row!
Reggie Fields
Chair
OCALI Advisory Board