Guest post: Disability, civic and business leaders tackle unemployment at Twitter-hosted hackathon

Twitter and The Arc San Francisco (@TheArcSF) hosted a “Community Conversations” hackathon in San Francisco, CA on Thursday, Jan. 22 to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar (center, wearing a tie) at a discussion sessions to improve job opportunities for people with disabilities.

Over 80 participants attended the lively one-day event held at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, working together to tackle some of the biggest barriers to more jobs by sharing ideas and resources.

Twitter’s Aaron Rothman, Engineering Recruiting Manager, Janet Van Huysse, VP of Diversity and Inclusion and Caroline Barlerin, Head of Community Outreach and Philanthropy, were all on hand to lend support and speak as employers with experience hiring people with disabilities.

“It’s important for us to open up our network and share our success with clients of The Arc,” said Mr. Rothman.

“More companies need to be involved in this effort,” said Ms. Van Huysse.

Janet Van Huysse, Twitter’s VP of Diversity and Inclusion, commits her team to reaching out to other companies who can benefit from hiring people with developmental disabilities.

“California ranks last in the nation in employment for people with disabilities,” said The Arc’s Kristen Pedersen, Director of Employment. “There are thousands of people with disabilities who can work, who want to work and enjoy the dignity of participating in the economy and contributing to our city. With today’s event, we’re creating new partnerships and solutions that will put more people in jobs and make a powerful difference in all our lives.”

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The Community Conversations event was sponsored by California Consortium for Youth, a project of UCLA’s Tarjan Center, with local support provided by The Arc San Francisco (@TheArcSF), a learning and service center providing education, vocation and life enrichment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Originally posted (and all photos provided) by The Arc San Francisco.