Treasurer Frerichs leads panel at Special Olympics Illinois Athlete Leadership Academy
Treasurer Frerichs moderated a lively panel discussion at the Special Olympics Illinois (SOILL) Athlete Leadership Academy that focused on the benefits of working. Panelists included SOILL athletes who have disabilities and leaders from Amazon and Hyatt who focus on initiatives that support hiring people with disabilities.
Special Olympics Illinois Athlete Leaders, Zinyra Ross and Katie O’Neill talked about their jobs and the valuable skills and confidence they have built that carry far beyond work into all aspects of life. Zinyra works at the Brookfield Zoo, United Airlines and is the CEO of her own company. Katie works as a special education paraprofessional in an elementary school. Both panelists shared how working has shaped them as leaders.
Head of Community Affairs at Amazon Chicago, Sarah Glavin, spoke about job shadow days and other Amazon Chicago initiatives to employ and integrate employees with disabilities into the Amazon Fresh workplace. Gus Vonderheide, former Vice President of Global Affairs at Hyatt, helped launch Hyatt’s Career Builder Day, an annual event aimed at introducing athletes to job opportunities in the hospitality industry.
Katie’s mom Cathy provided tips to the employers on how to support employees with disabilities to be successful in the workplace. Zinyra’s mom, Simyra, shared that Zinyra is saving earnings in her IL ABLE Account to help protect her SSI benefits.
Treasurer Frerichs reminded the audience of approximately 175 athletes and mentors that an IL ABLE Account is especially helpful for working Account owners because they have a place to save their earnings without affecting their $2,000 asset cap. Learn more about IL ABLE & Working Account Owners.
The Special Olympics Illinois Athlete Leadership Academy brings together Special Olympics Illinois athletes and their mentors for an interactive weekend designed to help Athlete Leaders have a greater impact and more confidence in the roles they would like within Special Olympics Illinois and in the community.
Learn more about employment opportunities for people with disabilities at Amazon.
Learn about Hyatt’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.