American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity Announces the 2019 Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award Honorees for its Annual Awards Ceremony

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an organization of equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action professionals, announced that Deb Dagit, President, Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC, and BOSMA Enterprises, Navigating Blindness, will receive the association's Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award at its 45th National Conference and Annual Meeting on June 12, 2019. "We are delighted to honor such outstanding icons of equal opportunity, community service and disability rights," said Dr. Richard Anthony Baker, president of AAAED.

Themed Moving Beyond Diversity Towards Equity and Inclusion, the annual meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis. The Hyatt is located at One South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The awards program begins at 12:15 pm ET and is open to the press.

Named for Edward M. Kennedy, the former Senator from the State of Massachusetts who was a lifetime champion of civil rights, disability rights and other issues on behalf of disadvantaged persons, the award is presented to an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding community service.

Deb Dagit (National Award Honoree) started her own business in 2013 to deliver the consulting services and products she wished were available when she was a Chief Diversity Officer. She focuses on offering practical, just-in-time resources, tools and support for diversity practitioners. As Merck's CDO for 11 years, Deb was responsible for global equal opportunity, employee relations, recruiting and staffing, and diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, the company was recognized for its exemplary work in diversity and inclusion by DiversityInc and Working Mother magazines, the Families and Work Institute, and the Human Rights Campaign. Merck also received the Department of Defense Freedom Award (veterans) and the Department of Labor New Freedom Award (people with disabilities) during her tenure. She played a key role in the passage of the American with Disabilities Act through her lobbying efforts in both California and Washington, D.C. She also testified in July 2011 before the U.S. Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee regarding best practices for improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Bosma Enterprises: Navigating Blindness (Local Award Honoree). With roots that reach back to 1915, Bosma Enterprises has decades of experience in helping Hoosiers with vision loss achieve independence. Bosma's rehabilitation program helps nearly 800 people each year. "As we plan for the future, we're looking forward to assisting even more of Indiana's almost 160,000 people who are blind or visually impaired." Through its rehabilitation services and its job training and employment programs, Bosma teaches people experiencing vision loss how to successfully navigate their lives and jobs. In doing so, it is helping its clients grow their abilities and confidence — a journey that its trainers call "progressing from tears to cheers."

For more information or to register for the Conference, go to: https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/Conference_Agenda1.asp. To purchase a luncheon ticket or a table for the awards ceremony, click here: https://www.aaaed.org/Forms.asp?MODE=NEW&Forms_FormTypeID=-1755

Founded in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), AAAED is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of equal opportunity, compliance and diversity. AAAED has 45 years of leadership in providing professional training to members, enabling them to be more successful and productive in their careers. It also promotes understanding and advocacy of affirmative action and other equal opportunity laws to enhance the tenets of access, inclusion and equality in employment, economic and educational opportunities.
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SOURCE American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity