2024 Advocate NH Conference: The Art of Advocacy

Check out our exciting lineup of speakers and panelists & register to join us!

Beginning in 2013, the Advocate New Hampshire Conference was an annual networking and skill-building event by and for people involved in disability advocacy in New Hampshire. This event was a day for people with disabilities in New Hampshire, and their family members and other individuals who support them, to come together and join a network of advocates who care about making our communities inclusive and supportive.

In partnership with the Institute on Disability at UNH and with collaboration from People First of New Hampshire, we are thrilled to facilitate the return of the Advocate NH Conference on Friday, October 4th, 2024 in Concord. We have built an exciting lineup of presenters and will host breakout sessions on the topics of Housing, Employment, and Financial Fitness.

Event Schedule

Text says, “Event Schedule October 4, 2024 8:00 AM Doors open 9:00 AM Check-in and Registration, Time to view exhibitor tables 9:15 AM Introductory Remarks 9:30-10:00 AM Keynote: “Taking the ‘Self’ Out of Advocacy” with Patricia Vincent-Piet 10:00-11:00 AM Breakout Sessions on Housing, Employment Issues, Financial Fitness 11:00-11:30 AM 30 minute Break 11:30-12:00 PM Keynote with Jessica Gorton and Melissa Hardy 12:00-1:00 PM Lunch 1:00-2:00 PM Collaborative Art Activity 2:00-3:00 PM Panel: Intersections of Disability”

Keynote Speakers

Patricia Vincent-Piet will be delivering the first of our two keynote speeches at the conference! You may know Patricia through her work with the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities or from her YouTube channel @JimandPat4Inclusion where she shares content about disability inclusion with her husband Jim.

Later in the morning, attendees will hear from Jessica Gorton, new Bureau Chief at the Bureau of Developmental Services, and Melissa Hardy, Director of the Division of Long Term Supports and Services. This is a unique opportunity for community members to engage directly with state government officials who directly influence our systems!

Headshot of a smiling woman on a teal background and text that says, “Keynote Speaker Patricia Vincent-Piet she/her Advocate, Caregiver, and member of the NHCDD. Find Patricia and her husband, Jim on their YouTube channel: @JimandPat4Inclusion”
Headshots of two people on a dark purple transparent background with an image of the state Capitol building and text that says, “Art of Advocacy Second Keynote Jessica Gorton she/her Bureau Chief of BDS Melissa Hardy she/her Director of Long Term Supports at DHHS”

Breakout Sessions

Between keynote presentations, attendees with engage in breakout sessions on the issues of Housing, Employment, and Financial Fitness. You may also recognize the names of the beloved Granite State disability advocates leading these breakout sessions! Our Housing Breakout Session will be led by Jules Good, Founder of Neighborhood Access and disability policy expert, along with Michelle Schladenhauffen, a local watercolor artist and powerful community advocate. Our Employment Breakout Session will be led by Jane Brickett of our ABLE North Chapter and Jim Piet, a well-known New Hampshire expert on disability issues, and the other half of @JimandPat4Inclusion. The Financial Fitness Breakout Session will be presented by People First/SALT leadership Kathy Bates, John Fenley, and Nick Petersen.

Headshots of 7 people on a dark purple background and white text that says, "Breakout Sessions Jules Good they/them Advocate, Policy Analyst, Founder of Neighborhood Access, Programs Coordinator at Autistic Self Advocacy Network Michelle Schladenhauffen she/her Disability rights advocate, NH Leadership Series graduate, Artist and Owner of Watercolors by Michelle Jane Brickett she/her Former Job Developer, Former Rehabilitation Counselor, Former Support Coordinator, ABLE North member, and Volunteer Advocate Jim Piet he/him Public Speaker, Disability Advocate, Leader in Disability Policy Change, Expert on Vocational Rehabilitation, ADA, Personal Care Support, Integrated Education, and More Kathy Bates she/her Faculty at UNH, Facilitator of the Self-Advocacy Leadership Team, and Author of the blog 'From Where I Sit' Nick Petersen he/him Vice President of People First and the Self-Advocacy Leadership Team John Fenley he/him Secretary and Treasurer of People First, Member of the Self-Advocacy Leadership Team, Founding Member of Advocate NH and the SPARK Community Center

Group Art Activity

After Lunch, local artist and advocate Maureen Rashifard will lead a collaborative art project, during which attendees will create signs for advocates to use in the Disability Justice Parade the following day. Maureen is the owner of Atomic Beet, where she creates beautiful block-prints. She is also Chair of the NH Universal Changing Station Alliance, where she advocates for the installation of universal changing tables across the state.

This group art activity is sponsored by our friends at People First/SALT.

Headshot of a smiling woman on a pink and dark blue background with text that says, “Maureen Rashidifard she/her Artist and Owner of Atomic Beet Maureen will facilitate a collaborative art project and lead conference attendees through a stamping activity.”

Intersectionality Panel

To close out the conference, we look forward to hearing from a panel of NH disability and social justice advocates as they discuss the topic of intersectionality. This panel will be moderated by ABLE NH Board member Sophie Kellam, founding member of the Rainbow Connection support group for LGBTQ+ folks with disabilities and recipient of our 2024 Disability Justice Star of the Year Award.

Panelists include Owen Bastille of ABLE NH’s Seacoast Chapter, Deborah Opramolla of the Disability Rights Center – NH, Jules Good of Neighborhood Access and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and Yasamin “Yaz” Safarzadeh, local mixed media artist and community organizer.

Headshots of five people on a seafoam green background. Bold, dark blue text at the top of the image says "Panel: Intersections of Disability." Dark blue text in a white rectangle above a large headshot on the left of the image says, "Sophie Kellam she/her Founding member of ABLE NH's Rainbow Connection Support Group." Purple text in a white circle below says "Sophie will moderate the panel discussion, featuring the speakers to the right:" To the right, four smaller headshots are labelled with dark blue text that says, "Owen Bastille he/they Advocate, Member of ABLE NH, Lab Imaging Technician at UNH Deborah Opramolla she/her Program Manager at DRC-NH, Educational Surrogate Parent Jules Good they/them Advocate, Policy Analyst, Founder of Neighborhood Access, Programs Coordinator at Autistic Self Advocacy Network Yasamin 'Yas' Safarzadeh she/her Artist, Multimedia Creator, Cross-cultural Liasion"

We are ready for a conference jam-packed full of disability advocacy and community building before we gather as a community to march in the 3rd Annual Disability Justice Parade the following day. We hope to see you there!

Register Now!