A career fair for high school and college students with disabilities is scheduled for September 24, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. The event kicks off a series of similar events across the country.

Disability Mentoring Day, a nationwide program that began with a Whitehouse celebration in Washington DC in 1999, is sponsored by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). The Florida event will be hosted in conjunction with the US Business Leadership Network National Conference. The convention is billed as “the preeminent national event for business [and] community leaders . . . that have an interest in hiring, retention and marketing to people with disabilities.”

The Florida career fair will feature national keynote speakers including Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Special Counsel to the US Assistant Attorney General Ollie Cantos, and Special Assistant to the Secretary of the US Department of Education Jennifer Sheehy Keller.

Educational breakout sessions during the day will include “Hi-Tech Jobs of the Future,”  “Next Generation Careers in Entertainment, Design and the Arts,” and “Real Life Strategies for Success.”

In 2006, 13,000 students and jobseekers with disabilities, along with thousands of potential employers, participated in Disability Mentoring Days in the US and 24 other countries.

 For more information about the Florida Disability Mentoring Day, email Kristen@AbleTrust.org or phone Kristen Knapp at 888-838-2253.

For more information about the national Disability Mentoring Day program, visit www.dmd-aapd.org/docs/factsheet.php.