Gormley to Deliver Keynote

National Disability Employment Awareness Month Kicks Off at NIH

Dr. Maureen Gormley

Dr. Maureen Gormley, NINDS deputy director for management, will deliver the keynote address at the National Disability Employment Awareness Month kickoff on Wednesday, Oct. 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall, Bldg. 1. 

In her talk, “Workplace Stigma Toward Employees with Intellectual Disability,” she will present findings from a study demonstrating that coworker perceptions toward employees with intellectual disabilities change with prolonged organizational contact. She completed the study in the context of Project SEARCH, a school-to-work transition program that has successfully trained and hired youth with intellectual disabilities into the mainstream NIH workforce. Gormley led Project SEARCH at NIH for 6 years and became a strong champion of the program, expanding it across NIH and helping to start programs at the Smithsonian Institution and Montgomery County government. 

Gormley, who has spent her career at NIH, has a passion for creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. She holds an undergraduate degree in nursing from Boston College, an M.P.H. from Yale University and a doctoral degree from Fielding in human and organizational systems.

Other kickoff highlights include remarks by Debra Chew, director of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the first in a series of “Lightning Round Speakers” spotlighting how #InclusionWorks in the workplace. Three people with a disability will talk for 3-5 minutes each about a contribution they’ve made to NIH’s mission.