WEDNESDAY
6/11
2025

How to Recruit People with Disabilities 

Date: Wednesday, June 11 2025
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Virtual (you will be emailed a Zoom link upon registration)

Discover a variety of methods to communicate effectively with people in many different roles in an organization:

Interact productively in the workplace with:

• peers, supervisors, external contacts
• Build positive relationships among diverse groups
• Consider organizational communication systems
• Communicate during conflict and change

Peak Performers

WEDNESDAY
3/12 & 3/19
2025

Microsoft Excel 1 for Office 365

Date:
Wednesday, March 12th, 2025
Wednesday, March 19th, 2025

Time: 9:00AM-1:00PM
Location: Virtual (you will receive a Zoom link via email upon registration)

In this course, you will learn fundamental Excel skills.

You will:

• Familiarize yourself with Excel's layout, various parts, commands, and terminology
• Outline Excel's abilities to quickly, efficiently, and accurately calculate data
• Format a worksheet and organize your data.
• Manage the overall structure of your workbooks
• Use Excel commands
• Learn worksheet formulas

 Tom Allen, Logical Operations

Tom has been teaching corporate and adult technology for 22 years; the past 13 years have been with Logical Operations. His focus is on Microsoft apps, but also databases, project management, reporting, and data visualization. 

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, the role of an educator whose target audience is professional adults changed drastically. Adults need to feel engaged; the content has to be relevant and focused. They need to know the “Big Why” behind every topic.  

Tom has found that it has been an exciting challenge to find ways to let the students interact with him and to comfortably give me clues to their comprehension. It is so easy to “lose” someone early, so he gets them involved early. As Tom says, “Then it is on me to keep them engaged and give them opportunities to tell me they are “in it” with me. If I’m doing my job, a full day of training goes by fast, and it’s a rewarding experience for everyone.” .  

Tom states, “Many of the organizations we provide training for are literally saving the world. It’s a huge responsibility, but also immensely uplifting. I also want to make sure I mention the team we have here. Smart, passionate, and empathetic. Everybody “gets it.” We are truly in this together.” 

He is also very involved in music education and community impact. He created and directs a youth brass band that brings fun, energetic music to fundraisers that serve the elderly, disabled, and those otherwise vulnerable in our community. The young musicians learn to use their talents to uplift those around them, and that “compassion” is empathy PLUS action.

Mary Malone McCarthy

CEO & Founder

M3 Placement and Partnership

Mary Malone McCarthy is founder and CEO of M3 Placement & Partnership, a Certified Woman-Owned national executive search, talent acquisition, and strategic HR firm.  As CEO she has led the organization to significant growth through the team’s focus on building strong partnerships and delivering exceptional service. Prior to founding M3, Mary Malone spent over 15 years as Senior Vice President at Northland Communications, responsible for the oversight of Human Resources, Marketing and Client Relations for the organization. Mary Malone has received the Women’s Business Council Young Careerist Award and was honored by the YWCA for the Salute to Outstanding Women. In 2023, she was awarded Women in Business Champion Award by the US Small Business Administration Upstate as well as the Capital Region Chamber Women of Excellence award in 2024.

Alicia McGrath

President and CEO

Center for Family Support of NY and NJ

Alicia McGrath is a dedicated senior-level non-profit executive with over twenty-five years of leadership experience in social services, focusing on programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral health services, community residences, and workforce development. As the President and CEO of the Center for Family Support of NY and NJ, she oversees an $80 million organization providing person centered supports for individuals and families. Previously, she was the Executive Vice President at Goodwill NYNJ, supporting persons with disabilities and other barriers to obtain employment, and the Executive Director at Bethany House a residential program for homeless women and families. Beyond her professional roles, Ms. McGrath is deeply committed to community service, particularly supporting people of color and Latinas. She is the founding president of the board of 100 Hispanic Women National Inc.’s Long Island program, which provides scholarships and mentoring to young Latinas. She sits on several boards including NYSID. Her contributions have been recognized with several awards, including a Citation as a Community Leader and a Legacy Achievement Award in Social Services

Barbara Pettengill
Director of Learning & Organizational Development Center for Disability Services

Barbara holds a BA from Cornell University, a Master of Human Services Administration from Antioch New England Graduate School, and a Physician Assistant Certificate from Albany Medical College. She has worked at the Center for Disability Services (CFDS) for 30 years and is currently the Director of Learning and Organizational Development, overseeing training and professional development for over 2,500 employees. Barbara especially enjoys developing curriculum and coordinating leadership programs for CFDS staff. She takes great pride in the growth, success and achievements of the program participants.

Along with colleagues at CFDS, Barbara has collaborated with professionals from the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to create training videos that are being used throughout the state to educate direct support professionals. This work led to CFDS winning the national “Moving Mountains Award” in 2015 for outstanding work in teaching direct support professionals to effectively empower people.

WEDNESDAY

10/23

2024

Stepping Away from the Benefits Cliff- Policy Strategies to Support Employment for People with Disabilities

Date: Wednesday, 10/23/2024
Time: 1:00pm-2:00pm
Location: Held in person at the Annual Meeting. Rivers Casino & Resort. 1 Rush St, Schenectady, NY 12305

**Following the conclusion of TIP courses at 3:30pm, we invite you to attend a NYSID Networking event hosted by M3 Placement, an Albany based talent and team building firm specializing in not-for-profits. The event will take place in the Sunroom at the Landing Hotel**

NYSID and the New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation continue working together to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities without sacrificing public benefits.

A new report issued by the Rockefeller Institute of Government reviews existing New York State policies and programs intended to lower employment barriers for people with disabilities. 

This roundtable discussion will focus on policy solutions that encourage employment as a pathway to inclusion:

1.  The prevalence of missing information and misinformation

2.  Administrative burdens

3.  Risk aversion

This training will be in-person at the Annual Meeting and presented by:

Michael Seereiter, President & CEO, New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation

Leigh Wedenoja, PhD,
Chief Economist
Rockefeller Institute
of Government

WEDNESDAY

10/23

2024

NYSID’s Contract Administration and Compliance Processes – An Overview 

Date: Wednesday, 10/23/2024
Time: 1:00pm-2:00pm
Location: Held in person at the Annual Meeting. Rivers Casino & Resort. 1 Rush St, Schenectady, NY 12305

**Following the conclusion of TIP courses at 3:30pm, we invite you to attend a NYSID Networking event hosted by M3 Placement, an Albany based talent and team building firm specializing in not-for-profits. The event will take place in the Sunroom at the Landing Hotel**

NYSID will provide an overview of its Contract Administration Department to help you better understand the “why” behind our processes. Learn the issues we see most and how to avoid them. Come with any questions/suggestions/frustrations in getting your contracts more quickly processed. The session will also cover the ins and out of the Compliance Department including how to complete a Quarterly Employment Report (“QER”) or prepare for a Compliance Review.

NYSID will provide an overview of its Contract Administration Department to help you better understand the “why” behind our processes. Learn the issues we see most and how to avoid them. Come with any questions/suggestions/frustrations in getting your contracts processed more quickly. The session will also cover the ins and out of the Compliance Department including how to  complete a Quarterly Employment Report (“QER”) or prepare for a Compliance Review. 

Sarah Devoe

Chief Compliance Officer

Dan Minns

Director, Contract Administration

Paul Danaher

Contract Administration Spec Proj Manager

Patricia Harrison

Senior Compliance Specialist

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

9/5 & 9/6

2024

Session 1:

Date: Thursday, 9/5/2024
Time:  9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Session 2: 

Date: Friday, 9/6/2024
Time: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Location: VIRTUAL

Who Should Attend:

Anyone who has completed Excel Part 1 & 2.

Session Objective:

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to perform advanced data analysis, collaborate on workbooks with other users, and automate workbook functionality.
You will:

• Work with multiple worksheets and workbooks.
• Share and protect workbooks.
• Automate workbook functionality.
• Use Lookup functions and formula auditing.
• Forecast data.
• Create sparklines and map data.

JoAnn LeSage Nelson
APR

Jo Ann LeSage Nelson, APR, vice president of client services, is responsible for strategic public relations and communications counseling for clients of Pierce Communications, an Albany, N.Y. based public relations, public affairs, and crisis communications firm.  She is an Accredited Public Relations professional and in 2020 was selected for membership in PRSA’s College of Fellows, an honor that signified and celebrates meaningful work accomplished, long-lasting impact made, and dedication shown to PRSA, the profession, and her community. She was named a Fellow along with only 14 other professionals in the nation last year.

TUESDAY

10/3 & 10/4

2023

Session 1:

Date: Wednesday, 10/3/2023
Time:  1:00pm-4:30pm

Session 2: 

Date: Wednesday, 10/04/2023
Time: 1:00pm-4:30pm

Region: All
Location: VIRTUAL

Who Should Attend:

Anyone who has completed Excel Part 1 & 2.

Session Objective:

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to perform advanced data analysis, collaborate on workbooks with other users, and automate workbook functionality.
You will:

• Work with multiple worksheets and workbooks.
• Share and protect workbooks.
• Automate workbook functionality.
• Use Lookup functions and formula auditing.
• Forecast data.
• Create sparklines and map data.

JoAnn LeSage Nelson
APR

Jo Ann LeSage Nelson, APR, vice president of client services, is responsible for strategic public relations and communications counseling for clients of Pierce Communications, an Albany, N.Y. based public relations, public affairs, and crisis communications firm.  She is an Accredited Public Relations professional and in 2020 was selected for membership in PRSA’s College of Fellows, an honor that signified and celebrates meaningful work accomplished, long-lasting impact made, and dedication shown to PRSA, the profession, and her community. She was named a Fellow along with only 14 other professionals in the nation last year.