On Thursday, October 26th Jason Rogers was honored with the national Laura Lee Leadership Award. Jason is currently the Coordinator of Workplace Readiness and Inclusion on the Leadership & Organizational Development team at Special Olympics International (SOI). Jason received this award as recognition of his trailblazing advocacy to advance opportunities for people with an intellectual disability (ID) to experience meaningful inclusion and access in their communities. The award was delivered at the State of the Art conference, which gathers inclusive postsecondary education programs to create opportunities for students with ID to attend college. Jason graduated from an inclusive postsecondary education program, Lipscomb University’s IDEAL program.
“I am honored to win the Laura Lee Leadership award. It shows me that speaking up for myself and others works. I hope this inspires other people with ID to be an advocate for themselves. The work I have done in my community, in my state, and in my job has helped me to see the benefits of inclusion. As the Coordinator of Workplace Readiness and Inclusion for Special Olympics International, I hope to tell other people, schools, colleges, and companies how inclusion helps everyone.”
In his role at SOI, Jason supports the Special Olympics Unified Leadership activities and develops resources that support youth with and without ID as they learn how the skills and experiences they have gained through Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® programming support their postsecondary goals.
