As part of the NCC grant submitted in 2020, the staff of the NCC planned for the creation of a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to help extend the reach of the NCC, ensuring our message and resources get to those who need them most. While the NCC and others have been successful in growing the field of inclusive higher education, there are still plenty of people who are unfamiliar with the college options that exist for students with intellectual disability.
Identify potential members, that have a necessary role in planning for the transition to college and employment such as:
- K-12 educators
- Families
- Transition professionals
- K-12 administrators
- DD councils
- Job coaches
- Employers
- College faculty and staff
- Vocational rehabilitation professionals
By targeting organizations that have stronger connections to specific groups, we could expand our reach—connecting their audience to ours. We are grateful for the new and established relationships with following organizations are now participating in the National Coordinating Center’s PAC:
- PACER Center's National Parent Center on Transition and Employment
- Taishoff Center at Syracuse University
- NTACT:C
- National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC)
- Syntiro
- National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)
- The Arc
- The Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) at CEC
- Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities
- Ruby's Rainbow
- Coalition to Promote Self-Determination
- National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)
- National Organization on Disability (NOD)
- CAST
- State Employment Leadership Network
- Williams Syndrome Association
- DREAM
- National Center for College Students with Disabilities
- Inside Track
- MCIE
After just two meetings, meaningful collaborations are already developing. The PAC members receive information from the NCC every 4-6 weeks to share via their dissemination channels. Additionally, we offer to promote the work of their organizations to our community. Some of the exciting developments resulting from our PAC include:
- Promotion of the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education via several PAC members
- NCC staff scheduling an appearance on the MCIE podcast, Think Inclusive
- Exciting leads on some course and training structures thanks to CAST
- Creation of an op-ed for distribution via Inside Track
- NCC staff presenting at the Williams Syndrome Association conference in July 2022
We will continue to meet regularly and identify ways that the NCC and PAC can work closely to promote opportunities for people with intellectual and other disabilities in school, work, and elsewhere in the community, and we’ll share a bit more about each PAC member in upcoming issues of our newsletter. Don’t miss an issue; subscribe today!