David C. Onley Initiative

We’re a partnership. Our initiative to reduce the employment gap and connect employers with skilled students with disabilities is a citywide effort by Carleton University, University of Ottawa, La Cité  and Algonquin College. You can read their commitment to our cause below.

Together, we work with employers, agencies, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions to share knowledge and tools, and raise awareness of the barriers that prevent many students with disabilities from finding gainful and purposeful employment.

Advisory Committee

To ensure that the collective voice of post-secondary students and graduates with disabilities, along with student services professionals from each partner institution, are reflected in the project, we established the David C. Onley Initiative (DCOI) Advisory Committee, which has met monthly since August 2018.

The mandate of the Advisory Committee is to ensure that the business plan and performance deliverables are successfully completed, in order to realize the goals of advancing employment outcomes for post-secondary students with disabilities in the Ottawa area. In addition, the Committee is responsible for demonstrating successful multi-institution collaboration with the intent of creating a transferable model of delivery for the Initiative for use province-wide.

Membership of the Advisory Committee includes a representation of leadership from each of the campus career and disability offices, as well as key members of the leadership team for the Initiative. See below for designated representatives.

Algonquin College

Algonquin College is a proud to be an active partner in the David C. Onley Initiative. As an educational institution, Algonquin provides academic accommodations to over 2,000 students every year. However, we recognize that many of those students will experience uncertainty, and even barriers, when they graduate and enter the workforce. We see the development of disability-specific employment readiness strategies and the formation of relationships with employers who are looking to broaden their recruiting and onboarding strategies to include peoples with disabilities as a natural next step in our student supports. We are confident that this partnership with Carleton University, La Cite, University of Ottawa and employers will help fill this gap.

DCOI Advisory Committee Members

Jeff Agate, Associate Director, Student Support Services; Kristina Johnston, Manager, Career Services; Sara Jordan, Manager, Centre for Accessible Learning

For more information, visit the Algonquin College website.

La Cité

Collège La Cité is a proud supporter of the David C. Onley Initiative. Through this initiative, our college will gain insight on how we currently assist our disabled students in finding employment and how we can improve our practices to ensure that their prospects for employment are equal to student without disabilities.

We believe in the unleashed potential of all of our students. We realize that by improving employment outcomes for students with disabilities, we enrich the social and economic fabric of our college, our partners who employ them and our community overall.

DCOI Advisory Committee Members

Paul Toupin, Directeur, La Cite des affaires; Stephane Cote, Directeur, Bureau des admissions et du registraire; Jean-Robert Sabourin, Manager, Employment Ontario

For more information, visit the La Cité website.

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is proud to support the David C. Onley Initiative. We believe all uOttawa students and graduates deserve a chance at finding meaningful and equitable employment, and we recognize the importance of creating more opportunities for students with disabilities to actively participate in their career development.

We aim to prepare young people to find their place in the world, and through this initiative, we want to enhance this experience for students with disabilities by tackling the barriers they face in the job market.

The impact of this initiative will resonate outside of the uOttawa community. Not only will it help advance the employability of our students, but our commitment to it will help engage industry partners, raise public awareness on and off campus, and build community partnerships.

DCOI Advisory Committee Members

Nicole Miller, Assistant Director, Learning and Professional Development; Vincent Beaulieu, Manager, Academic Accommodations

For more information, visit the uOttawa website.

Carleton University

At Carleton, we take pride in being Canada’s most accessible university. A deep culture of accessibility is part of everything we do. Through the David C. Onley Initiative, we look forward to working with our colleagues at the University of Ottawa, La Cité and Algonquin College on developing knowledge, resources and tools to support students with disabilities at our institutions in advancing their careers. We believe that together we can create a more accessible and inclusive world.

DCOI Advisory Committee Members

Larry McCloskey, Director, Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities; Bruce Hamm, Manager, Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities; Courtney Regimbald, Director, Career Development & Co-operative Education; Rocio Alvarez, Manager, Career Development; Boris Vukovic, Director, READ Initiative (DCOI Leadership); Tara Connolly, Assistant Director, Research & Development (DCOI Leadership); Julie Caldwell, Assistant Director, Program Operations (DCOI Leadership); Dean Mellway, Special Advisor to the Initiative (DCOI Leadership)

For more information, visit the Carleton University website.