Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability

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2009 Conference and Training - Information

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August 13 - 16, 2009
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.

Come LEAD With Us!

No matter what role you play within your organization, the LEAD Conference will give you the tools and information you need to make your facility and programs accessible to people with disabilities and older adults.

Drawing on national and local resources, the conference will provide opportunities to:

• Discuss issues ranging from physical and programmatic access to ticketing policies and marketing strategies;
• Share ideas and learn what has been successful at other arts organizations and cultural institutions;
• Engage in an open dialogue with representatives from the Disability Rights Section of the Department of Justice;
• Learn about best practices and how to develop sound policies; and
• Participate in stimulating and enriching discussions with leaders in the field.

Plan your trip to D.C. and become a part of this international network of leaders vested in creating and shaping the future of access and accommodations for the inclusion of seniors and people with disabilities in the cultural arts.

Contact us to be added to the mailing list and to receive updates about conference events!

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Who Should Attend?

The LEAD Conference provides professional development opportunities for:

• Accessibility Managers and Coordinators
• Box Office and House Managers
• Outreach and Education Coordinators
• Patron and Visitor Services Managers
• State and Local Government ADA/504 Coordinators
• University and College ADA/Accessibility Coordinators
• Marketing and Audience development Directors
• States Arts Commission/Council Accessibility Coordinators
• Volunteers and Board Members

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Pre-Conference Workshops

Thursday, August 13, 2009
Come early for one or two in-depth, interactive workshops on specific topics related to access in the cultural arts. Morning sessions will begin at 8:00 a.m. and afternoon sessions will start at 1:00 p.m. Boxed lunches will be provided for individuals who register for both a morning and afternoon session. Pre-conference workshops are $75.00 each.

Several sessions are back due to popular demand. Additional topics to be announced. Session descriptions and times are subject to change.

8:00 a.m. to Noon
Listen to a Bench, Chew on a Painting: Multi-Sensory Approaches to Museum Visits

How can temperature and texture affect your experience of a sculpture? How can a description shape the way you see a painting? How can taste and smell evoke the mood of a photograph, and fix it in your memory forever?

As visitor demographics shift and the population ages, museums are increasingly striving to address the needs of diverse visitor populations. This workshop will give you the tools to begin new programming or expand current access in increasingly inclusive ways. Explore how art and history museums can use multi-sensory interpretation strategies to create a richer appreciation and understanding of their collections. We will see how employing multiple, redundant and simultaneous versions of information as a means of improving comprehension, engagement and access to visitors with a range of abilities and preferences, will benefit everyone. Through interactive hands-on exercises, participants will discover the benefits of investigating a work of art through touch, sound, smell, taste and movement, as well as through looking, discussion and description.

Presenters: Hannah Goodwin, Accessibility Manager, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA); Rebecca McGinnis, Access Coordinator, Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY)

Basic Policy Development: Craft, Implement, Enforce, and Troubleshoot Access Policies for Your Venue

An encore presentation, this workshop provides you with the nuts and bolts you need to develop, implement and enforce defensible accessibility policies. Each participant receives a policy development guidebook. Especially recommended for those new to policy writing, approval, and maintenance.

At the completion of Basic Policy development, participants will be able to:

1. Identify evidence-based reasons for policies.
2. Develop a template policy format and process for in-house use.
3. Identify necessary components for a comprehensive organizational assessment of policy needs.
4. Identify core resources for verification of policy content and compliance.
5. Identify factors needed for successful policy development and implementation, including the policy-practice connection and in-house awareness.
6. Identify principles to defend the contents of, and need for, the policies you produce.

Presenter: Susan Duncan, RN, Duncan Consulting (WA)

Audio Description Tune-Up (Part One): ProgramEnergize Existing Endeavors and/or Launch New Ventures

Looking to create efficient, effective, and economical ways to start, maintain and grow an audio description program? This is the audio description workshop for you! Spend the day solving challenges associated with audio description programs in theaters, museums, and other cultural institutions in this two-part interactive session.

Part one will focus on starting or revitalizing a program. What is audio description? How do you identify and audition describers? What makes for good training? How does good description become great? What's important about program notes? What technology do you need to provide audio description? How do you reach audio description consumers?

Two audio description professionals with a combined 50 years of experience as describers and trainers will offer exercises, ideas, handouts, practice, and expert suggestions galore to help participants find their answers. Sign up early and the session leaders will contact you to help tailor the day to answer your specific questions.

Presenters: Deborah Lewis, Accessibility Consultant, Arts Access (CA); Bill Patterson, President, Audio Description Solutions (PA)

Creating Arts for All

This dynamic, interactive session will train staff and volunteers from theaters, museums, community centers, after school arts programs, and others how to universally design their educational arts programming to make it accessible to children of all abilities. Participants will learn unique strategies and best practices for engaging a wide range of children in several arts disciplines. Everyone will leave the training with specific, universally-designed arts activities they can replicate with the children in their program.

Presenters: Martin English, M.F.A., Executive Director of Accessible Arts, Inc. (KS); Kit Bardwell, M.M., Program Director of Accessible Arts, Inc. (KS)

12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Effective Volunteer and Staff Training

Your staff and volunteers are the public face of your institution. With proper training they can be enthusiastic and informed allies in your efforts to create a completely disability and senior-friendly patron/visitor experience. This session will address strategies for maximizing your training efforts, offer practical suggestions, supply sample training manuals and materials, and look at key components of thorough and effective training sessions.

Presenters: Cindy Brown, ADA and Accessibility Specialist (OR); Celia Hughes, Executive Director, VSA arts of Texas (TX)

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
ADA Basics: Titles I, II, III

Start your LEAD experience with a comprehensive introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Discover how the ADA applies to cultural arts organizations in the areas of employment, participation in programs and services, effective communication and facility access. Learn about ADA compliance and creative ways to leverage compliance to draw in new visitors and patrons. Participants will take home case studies based on actual events, components of an access plan and solutions for effective implementation.

Presenters: Shelley Kaplan, Project Director, DBTAC-Southeast (GA); Marion Vessels, DBTAC: Mid-Atlantic ADA Center (MD)

Advanced Policy Development: Craft, Implement, Enforce, and Troubleshoot Access Policies for Your Venue

If you need help making your policies work in real life, this workshop is for you. Workgroups will gain practical experience by applying the principles learned in Basic to produce venue-tailored policies that comply with accessibility standards. Strategies for identifying and overcoming problems with policy implementation and maintenance will be discussed. Each participant receives a policy development workbook. Recommended for those involved in policy development, implementation and enforcement—administrators, legal counsel, managers, marketing directors, staff educators, policy committee members, program coordinators.

At the end of Advanced Policy development, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss various strategies for achieving administrative support and end-user compliance.
2. Discuss strategies for in-house teambuilding for accessibility issues.
3. Compare centralized and decentralized accessibility responsibility and oversight.
4. Discuss related education and performance requirements for employees and contractors.

Prerequisite: Basic Policy development or equivalent experience. Bring to class: Examples of policy-related problems from your venue that you want to discuss.

Audio Description Tune-Up (Part Two): Energize Existing Endeavors and/or Launch New VenturesEfficient

Looking to create efficient, effective, and economical ways to start, maintain and grow an audio description program? This is the audio description workshop for you! Spend the day solving challenges associated with audio description programs in theaters, museums, and other cultural institutions in this two-part interactive session.

Part two focuses on keeping your program and describers strong. Who benefits from mentoring describers? What professional development works best? Why is evaluate experienced describers? Where else might you offer your audio description service? When do you assess your program's effectiveness? How do you expand your audience?

Two audio description professionals with a combined 50 years of experience as describers and trainers will offer exercises, ideas, handouts, practice, and expert suggestions galore to help participants find their answers. Sign up early and the session leaders will contact you to help tailor the day to answer your specific questions.

Prerequisite: Audio Description Tune-Up Part One or previous exposure to audio description as an administrator, trainer, or describer.

Presenters: Deborah Lewis, Accessibility Consultant, Arts Access (CA); Bill Patterson, President, Audio Description Solutions (PA)

"How Did We Do? How Can we Do Better?" Practical Evaluation for Program Developers

This workshop will address skills and methods for evaluating programs and provide insights that benefit future programs. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be included, and participants will practice the methods in this interactive, hands-on workshop.

Presenter: Andrew Pekarik, Program Analyst, Office of Policy and Analysis, Smithsonian Institution (DC)

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Conference Highlights

Subject to change.

Super Sunday!

Stay through Sunday and attend sessions on fundraising, brainstorm with colleagues in affinity groups, participate in an open discussion led by Betty Siegel, the Kennedy Center's Director of Accessibility, to resolve any lingering questions, and more!

ADA Amendments Act and You

A discussion about the new ADA Amendments Act and how it applies to cultural arts organizations.

Building Blocks of Access

This series of introductory sessions cover the basics of access in the cultural arts. Learn to survey your facilities’ physical accessibility, provide materials in alternate formats, arrange sign language interpreters for tours, events or performances, design accessible exhibits, and more!

Challenging the Conventions of Audio Description

Researchers at the Centre for Learning Technologies at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Ontario, Canada, have been evaluating the feasibility of introducing first-person narration in television and film as an alternative to conventional third-person audio description. Come ready for a lively discussion with Dr. Deb Fels, the Director of the Centre, about this new take on audio description. To prepare for this session, please visit http://www.ryerson.ca/clt/projects/clime.html.

Doing Access Justice: Legal Issues for Arts Administrators

This forum opens with a brief introduction to the major federal disability rights laws and quickly transitions into a dynamic, participant-driven Q & A session with experts from the U.S. Department of Justice and Disability Business and Technical Assistance Centers.

An Intro to ALDs

You know that Assistive Listening Devices are an essential tool for providing effective communication, but how do you know which system is right for your venue? How can you use the system to provide the highest quality experience for patrons regardless of their level of hearing loss? This session will cover the ins and outs of ALDs so you can invest in the equip.m.ent will work best for your venue and learn the technical lingo you need to communicate clearly with sound technicians who maintain and operate it.

The Three-Minute P.A.S.

You can make the perfect hard-boiled egg in three minutes, but can you describe your P.A.S (Perfect Accessibility Solution), or your favorite accessibility triumph, in the same amount of time? Deliver a three-minute rapid-fire presentation on an accessibility solution or program that demonstrates how your organization turned a negative situation into a positive one. Share the lessons you learned and stimulate a vivacious discussion about best practices in accessibility. Be as creative as you want to be. (Check "Yes” on your registration form to present during this session!)

Leadership Skills: A Portrait for Success

Thousands of skilled professionals are promoted into leadership positions every year but never given the training or resources to effectively lead their organizations. If you are one of them, or in search of a leadership refresher, this session is for you. What makes a good leader? What is the forgotten skill? Are leaders born or made? What is the secret to success? Learn the answers to these questions and more as the speaker shares his experiences, challenges and passion for this critical skill and provides a solid foundation that will make you a more effective leader.

The Future of Accessible Technology

Larry Goldberg, the Director of WGBH's Media Access Group, will discuss the explosion of new accessible technologies and how those technologies will change and shape the way we provide accommodations in museums, theaters and other cultural venues.

Website Accessibility Consultations

Meet with Knowbility web specialists for an individualized consultation and get useful recommendations on making accessibility improvements to your organization’s website. (Space is limited. Must request consultation on registration form.)

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Post-Conference Session

Expand Your Audio Description Skills

Sunday, August 16 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Registration deadline: July 22, 2009

With a combined 50 years of experience as describers and trainers, Deb and Bill will challenge you to sharpen your skills with intensive exercises, ideas, handouts, practice, and expert suggestions. Increase your expertise, learn from fellow describers, become a more comfortable and confident describer. Quicker thinking on your feet? Better pre-show notes? Break some bad habits? All this and more in this professional development opportunity for experienced describers.

Sign up early and the session leaders will contact you to help tailor the day to address your specific concerns.

Presenters: Deborah Lewis, Accessibility Consultant, Arts Access (CA); Bill Patterson, President, Audio Description Solutions (PA)

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Special Events

Subject to change.

Opening Reception and Resource - Free!

Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 p.m.
Join us to celebrate the start of LEAD 2009! Reconnect with colleagues and make new contacts.

Millennium Stage - Free!

Thursday, August 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 15 at 6:00 p.m.

Join us on Thursday and Friday evenings for performances on the Center's Millennium Stage featuring artists with disabilities. These performances will be sign- interpreted, open-captioned, and audio -described. Assistive Listening Devices will be available. This performance will be sign interpreted, captioned, and audio described. Assistive Listening Devices will be available.

LEAD Awards Dinner

Saturday, August 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are $35.

Always one of the best conference events, the Awards Dinner is not to be missed! Join us for an elegant evening to present the 2009 Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Awards for Excellence in Accessibility Leadership in recognition of the achievements and contributions of an individual and an organization to the field of cultural arts access.

Click here for more information about the LEAD Awards.

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Registration Rates

Full Conference: August 14–16

2009 Conference Brochure

Register for LEAD 2009

• $150 per person for Board or staff members of arts organizations, arts services agencies, cultural organizations, or cultural services agencies; University and College staff members; State and Local Government employees
• TEAM DISCOUNT: $130 per person. If your organization sends more than one person, the full conference fee drops to $130 per person! (Note: Team Discount ONLY applies to individuals who are eligible for the $150 registration fee.)
• $250 per person for staff members of non-profit disability service organizations
• $450 per person for employees of consulting, architecture, and law firms and other organizations

Pre-Conference Workshops: Thursday, August 13

Pre-Conference Workshops are $75 each. Each workshop is four hours long. Morning sessions will begin at 8:00 a.m. and afternoon sessions will start at 1:00 p.m. Boxed lunches will be provided for individuals who register for both a morning and afternoon session.

One-Day Conference Pass

Access to conference sessions for one day
Available only to board or staff members of arts organizations, arts services agencies, cultural organizations, or cultural services agencies, University and College staff, and State and Local Government employees

• Friday, August 14: $75
• Saturday, August 15: $75
• Sunday, August 16 (Sessions end at Noon): $75

Post-Conference Session: Expand Your Audio Description Skills

• Sunday, August 16 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.: $75.00

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Conference Hotels

Conference rates have been arranged at three hotels within walking distance of the Kennedy Center. To receive these rates, reservations must be made by July 17, 2009. Be sure to ask for the Kennedy Center LEAD Conference rate. A limited number of rooms are being held so call immediately! Rates do not include tax.

The George Washington University Inn

824 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037
(800) 426-4455 (voice)
(202) 298-7499 (fax)
www.gwuinn.com, Enter Promo Code: LEAD
Rate: $129/night

• Approximately 0.25 miles from the Kennedy Center
• Five accessible rooms; two have roll-in showers
• Wheelchair accessible entrance is in the back of the hotel on 25th Street.
• A second wheelchair accessible entrance is to the right of the front door through the restaurant.

One Washington Circle Hotel

1 Washington Circle, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037
(800) 424-9671 (voice) (Mention Group ID Code #423215)
www.thecirclehotel.com
Rate: $129/night

• Approximately 0.56 miles from the Kennedy Center
• Eight accessible rooms; four have roll-in showers
• The lobby is accessible through the front entrance on Washington Circle via a wheelchair lift.
• A second wheelchair accessible entrance is available through the restaurant on New Hampshire Avenue. (Please note that the doors are not equipped with automatic openers.)

The River Inn

924 25th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20037
(888) 874-0100 (voice)
(202) 337-6520 (fax)
www.theriverinn.com
Rate: $129/night

• Approximately 0.3 miles from the Kennedy Center
• Accessible entrance is down the driveway that is to the right of the front entrance.
• Two accessible rooms; no roll-in showers

Additional Hotels

For additional hotel listings, visit the D.C. Convention and Visitors Association on the web at www.washington.org. For information about accessible travel, please visit www.gimponthego.com or www.disabilityguide.org.

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Directions and Travel Information

Airports

Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) is the closest and most convenient airport to the Kennedy Center. Please visit the airport's website for information about accessibility services and ground transportation.

Dulles Airport (IAD) in Virginia is a 30- to 60-minute drive from the Kennedy Center. Please visit the airport's website for information on accessibility services and ground transportation.

Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) is a 45-to-75-minute drive from the Kennedy Center: Please visit the airport's website for information about accessibility services and ground transportation.

Public Transportation (Metro), Driving Directions, and Parking

The Kennedy Center is located on the banks of the Potomac River at 2700 F St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20566, at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue, NW, and the Rock Creek Parkway. It is accessible by Metro (via the subway and bus lines), by taxi, and by car. Parking is available in the Kennedy Center garage.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the 2009 LEAD Conference Content Committees members.

• Rae Atira-Soncea, Overture Center (WI)
• Linda Jane Austen, The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (AZ)
• Cindy Brown, Accessibility Specialist (OR)
• David Dillon, Broward Center for the Performing Arts (FL)
• Martin English, Accessible Arts, Inc. (KS)
• Ruth Feldman, Yale Repertory Theatre (CT)
• Hannah Goodwin, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA)
• Beth Gordon, VSA arts of Florida (FL)
• Hunter Gullickson, Guthrie Theater (MN)
• Celia Hughes, VSA arts of Texas (TX)
• Melissa Janssen, Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego Zoo (CA)
• Bonnie Kaplan, VSA arts of Massachusetts (MA)
• Deborah Lewis, (CA)
• Rebecca McGinnis, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY)
• Michael Mooney, Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ)
• Marirose Morris, Wyoming Arts Council (WY)
• Martha Newman, The Kentucky Center (KY)
• Garry Novick, Broward Center for the Performing Arts (FL)
• Marian Winters, VSA arts of Florida (FL)
• Beth Ziebarth, Smithsonian Institution (DC)

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Contact Us

(202) 416-8727 (voice)
(202) 416-8728 (TTY)
(202) 416-8802 (fax)

access@kennedy-center.org

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