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NEADS Financial Resources Information Session, January 21st, 12pm EST
Join the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) Team on January 21st at 12pm EST as we discuss our financial assistance programs and resources for disabled post-secondary students and graduates! In this one-hour interactive event, learn more about NEADS' Student Awards Program and Accessibility Resilience Program, our online directory of disability-specific post-secondary scholarships, and available graduate research funding.
Lauren Gravis, Katja Newman, and Eniola Akisanmi discuss NEADS' Student Awards Program and the highly anticipated second round of our Accessibility Resilience Program, as well as offer behind-the-scenes insights on the application selection process. Aliyah Petzak-Grant guides an interactive tour of disabilityawards.ca, an online directory of scholarships for post-secondary students with disabilities, and Elizabeth Mohler draws from personal experience to share available financial support for graduate research projects.
Closed captioning and simultaneous interpretation will be provided. Online registration is required. Register here.
This event is supported by Employment and Social Development Canada, and is a feature of our Virtual Access for All webinar series.
More About Our Financial Support Programs
NEADS Student Awards Program
A national scholarship initiative established in 2007 designed to encourage full access to post-secondary education for persons with disabilities, who often face greater barriers to participation in higher education and extra costs because of their disabilities. The program is open to students with disabilities in undergraduate university, graduate university and college and cégep level programs. NEADS has provided over $300,000 in awards to more than 110 deserving disabled students across Canada in the 14 years of the program.
Accessibility Resilience Program
A program providing relief grants to students with disabilities who were already facing immense socio-cultural and operational accessibility challenges, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding intends to address the undue hardship/barriers faced by disabled students in transitioning to online/ hybrid learning environments. To date, the program has put a total of more than $165,800 directly into the hands of over 104 disabled students across the country.
More About The Speakers
Aliyah Petzak-Grant, Website Manager
Aliyah Petzak-Grant is the website manager for the National Education Association of Disabled Students (NEADS). She manages Disabilityawards.ca both Disabilityrightsonline.ca. Also, provides IT support for the NEADS team. Before working for NEADS she did freelance website design and graphic design.
Elizabeth Mohler, Research Consultant
Elizabeth Mohler currently works for NEADS as a Research Consultant, where she leads the Virtual Access for All Project and writes its quarterly publication, State of the Schools. She also works for Ryerson Magnet as their Inclusive Hiring Project Coordinator, sits on the Education Standards Committee for the Ontario Government, and is an experienced presenter, keynote speaker, lecturer, and published writer. Elizabeth is currently conducting Doctoral research at Western University, where she explores the impact of access to direct funding for self-managed attendant services on occupational performance and engagement of persons with disabilities.
Lauren Gravis, Director of NEADS' Financial Assistance Programs
Lauren has been working as a consultant at NEADS for over 6 years because she continues to see real and tangible impacts the organization has in supporting students with disabilities. As Director of NEADS' Financial Assistance Programs, she oversees the NEADS Student Awards Program and the Accessibility Resilience Program with the support of an amazing team to improve much needed financial support for students with disabilities, while working to reduce structural barriers intended to increase access to education from an evolving equity, diversity, and inclusion lens. Outside of NEADS, Lauren works for the federal public service, currently at Infrastructure Canada where she is evaluating the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. She also practices and teaches yoga and meditation, and strives to increase access and affordability of yoga by offering her services in-person, online, and for charitable causes.
Katja Newman, NEADS Student Awards Scholarship Program Manager
Katja Newman is the National Educational Association of Disabled Students’ Student Awards Scholarship program manager. A resident of Halifax Nova Scotia, she is in her final year of an online Masters in Grant Writing and Program Evaluation from Concordia University Chicago. Prior to her Masters, Katja received a Bachelor's of Social Work from Carleton University and a Child & Youth Work Diploma from Georgian College. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys hiking, tandem bike riding, baking, cooking and educating audiences on the accessibility and inclusion related highs and lows that come with living life as a blind post-secondary student who navigates the world with the help of a guide dog.
Eniola Akisanmi, NEADS Student Awards Program Officer
Eniola has been working as a consultant at NEADS for just over 2 years. As the program officer, she supports the Program Manager and Director with the NEADS Student Awards Program and the Accessibility Resilience Program to provide financial support for students with disabilities, and educating other on the structural barriers many students with disabilities face. Outside of NEADS, with her degree in International Business, Eniola is a bookkeeper at Bench Accounting for many US small businesses.
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Carly Fox (she/her/elle)
Researcher and Communications Officer
National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
carly.fox@neads.ca