• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, February 24, 2020

Creative Spirit, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding good jobs for individuals with intellectual and learning disabilities, is garnering support from agencies, marketers and media companies for its inaugural Benefit Gala. It takes place in New York City on March 5. 

Among the supporting companies are Omnicom, IPG’s McCann and MRM, Cisco, Disney, Ogury, Sony, Salesforce, teradata, Diageo, Verizon and Voya. 

Co-hosts for the evening are Michael Kassan, CEO, MediaLink, now part of Cannes Lions parent company Ascential, and Jamie Gutfreund, Tubular Labs board member. New York’s Ad Club is a founding member of the group. 

Creative Spirit’s ultimate goal is to change the way the world embraces neurodiversity in the workplace.  

And it’s not an insignificant issue.

Two out of seven families report having at least one member with a disability, according to U.S. Census data.  

The event is timed to Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, and it will honor Tami Erwin, executive vice president-CEO of Verizon Business Group, who is receiving the Diversity & Inclusion Leadership award. 

Also being honored is the Voya Caresprogram, which is committed to helping Americans with special needs and their caregivers financially plan for their future, with the Diversity & Inclusion Program of the Year award.