On September 24, 2020, Dorris Consulting International’s Service to the Citizen: Champions of Change™ Awards program convened a virtual national award ceremony. This ceremony officially honored Michael Reardon, Dr. Scott Michael Robertson, and Nathan Cunningham of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) for their work leading the PEAT initiative. The Service to the Citizen Award recognizes federal public servants and their industry partners who have shown their commitment and capability to deliver programs and services that improve the lives of the American public.

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Our team at US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy or ODEP would like to thank Dorris Consulting for awarding us with a 2020 Service to the Citizen award. We are accepting based on our work managing the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology or PEAT. We feel especially honored to receive this prestigious recognition during a year in which we’re also commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Our project team for PEAT includes our work with Wheelhouse Group, the federal contractor, and our team at ODEP includes Doctor Scott Michael Robertson, who’s here on video with me. Michael Reardon, our supervisor, and myself Nathan Cunningham, the federal project manager.

Thank you Nathan. Nathan and I draw from our personal perspectives of lived experiences with disability to help [inaudible] activities by PEAT. I am an autistic person and Nathan is a person with low vision. Together we advance greater access to opportunities for people with disabilities to obtain competitive integrated employments Fostering accessibility of work technologies, including emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality plays a vital role in achieving this goal. Please learn more about PEAT’s tools, resources, and articles by visiting www.peatworks.org. Again www.peatworks.org. Thank you.