Babson College Receives ADDP Business Inclusion Award
Babson’s Paula Doherty and Theresa Holland receive ADDP award from Joe Donati of Work, Community, Independence (WCI) (left) and Mandy Nichols, ADDP Interim President/CEO (right).
Babson College has received the 2018 ADDP Business Partner Award from the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers.
This ADDP Award is an opportunity to acknowledge an organization that consistently embodies practices that promote community integration and inclusion of persons with developmental disabilities and/or brain injuries in the workplace.
In presenting the award, ADDP Conference Committee member Joe Donati praised Babson for its strategic vision that states its commitment to create “a diverse, multicultural, and inclusive community of highly talented students, faculty, and staff characterized by respect, understanding, and appreciation of the uniqueness and value of all people.”
Donati said that positions for employees with disabilities developed by Babson College are forward facing, very visible to students and other employees, and integrated into the fabric of their respective departments. The employees with disabilities work alongside their co-workers from the community, who are able to provide exceptional natural supports.
“This Business Partner puts great effort into understanding best practices of employing people with disabilities,” he said.
Utilizing a partnership developed with Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Paula Doherty and Theresa Holland of Babson College’s Human Resources Department work to educate, inspire, and increase awareness of disability inclusion in the workplace.
Nominated by Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Doherty and Holland received this award on behalf of Babson College as co-leaders of Babson’s disability inclusion initiative. In accepting the award, they said: “The forward-facing roles of our employees with disabilities sends a strong message about Babson’s commitment to diversity of all kinds. We are simply living our values; it’s who we are. Babson is honored to be the 2018 recipient of ADDP’s Business Partner Award.”
Award Criteria
Criteria for the Business Partner Award is to have business practices that are 1.) inclusive, 2.) innovative, 3.) promising, and 4.) inspirational in regard to vocational advancement of persons with disabilities.
ADDP’s mission is to promote and ensure strength of community-based providers so provider members can be successful in improving quality, access, and value of services in the community. ADDP is committed to enhancing political, financial, and educational health of member organizations that serve people with disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries.