AGENDA
Registration & Continental Breakfast/Exhibitor Fair
8am – 9am
Breakout Sessions 1
9am – 10am
Presenters: Drew Fabricius, Jen Andrew, Professor Nicole B. Porter
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
How disability is defined matters because it shapes access to rights and services. Participants will learn the basics of the social and medical models of disability, person-first and identity-first language, and how disability is defined under the ADA and Section 504. The session will also cover how courts once used a narrow definition that excluded many people, and how the ADA Amendments Act later expanded coverage. It will highlight key gray areas and updates, including short-term conditions, gender identity disorder/gender dysphoria, and other open questions or new developments.
For attorneys, this session provides essential legal context for interpreting and applying disability definitions across practice areas. Participants will strengthen their ability to analyze coverage questions, advise clients accurately, and avoid common misapplications of the law that can affect standing, eligibility, and outcomes. The session supports effective advocacy by clarifying evolving legal standards and helping attorneys navigate nuanced and unsettled areas of disability law with greater confidence and precision.
Presenter: Howie Lintz
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
People with disabilities often face barriers to safe, affordable, and accessible housing – from being denied reasonable accommodations or modifications, to harassment or threats of eviction because of disability-related needs. Others simply cannot find accessible housing they can afford. These challenges put housing stability and community living at risk. Based on Disability Rights North Carolina’s advocacy and legal work, this session provides a practical overview of the Fair Housing Act and its protections. Participants will learn how to recognize housing discrimination and how to use fair housing rights to support stable, accessible housing in the community of their choice.
For attorneys, this session strengthens the ability to identify fair housing violations, counsel clients on reasonable accommodations and modifications, and evaluate potential claims or defenses under the Fair Housing Act. Participants will gain practical guidance on applying statutory and regulatory standards, assessing evidentiary issues, and advising clients to prevent eviction, preserve housing stability, and resolve disputes before litigation becomes necessary.
Presenters: Gabby Bush
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Managing Social Security benefits for another person is built on trust and comes with important responsibilities. This session is for self-advocates, family members, and service providers who serve or are considering serving as Representative Payees and want clear, practical guidance. Using official Social Security Administration resources, participants will learn what payees are expected to do, how benefits should be used and documented, and how to handle common real-life challenges. The session will also cover how to avoid unintentional mistakes, recognize when something may be wrong, and know what steps to take when concerns arise, with time for real-world examples and participant questions.
For attorneys, this session provides practical insight into the legal duties and oversight mechanisms associated with Representative Payees, including compliance expectations, documentation requirements, and risk areas that can lead to benefit misuse or enforcement action. Attorneys will be better equipped to advise clients serving as payees, identify red flags indicating potential mismanagement or abuse, and counsel beneficiaries and families on available remedies and reporting options.
Presenters: Mellonee Kennedy, Luke Woollard
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Hundreds of people with serious mental illness are stuck in North Carolina jails even though they have not been convicted of a crime. Found Incapable to Proceed (ITP) to trial and referred for Involuntary Commitment (IVC), many have no legal representation and no court date. Some have been held for months or even years. In this session, Disability Rights North Carolina will explain how the ITP and IVC systems intersect, how people become trapped between the courts and the mental health system, and how current laws contribute to prolonged jail stays. Participants will learn about proposed legislative changes and how advocates and community members can weigh in with lawmakers to help shape solutions.
For attorneys, this session offers essential legal context for understanding due process concerns, statutory gaps, and systemic failures affecting defendants found incapable to proceed. Participants will gain insight into the legal and ethical implications of prolonged detention without adjudication, the interaction between criminal and civil commitment processes, and emerging legislative efforts to address these issues.
BREAK / EXHIBITOR FAIR | 10am – 10:30am
Breakout Sessions 2
10:30am – 11:30am
Presenter: Corye Dunn
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Families of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) often face difficult questions as caregiving roles change due to aging, illness, or the loss of a parent or primary caregiver. Without tools to plan, many families are left making decisions in times of crisis. This interactive session will introduce a new initiative from Disability Rights North Carolina in partnership with the Dogwood Health Trust. The project focuses on helping families prepare for future caregiving transitions while supporting the autonomy and rights of people with I/DD.
This is not a session where we have all the answers. Instead, we are coming to listen and learn. Participants will be invited to share their experiences, ideas, and resources – what has worked, what hasn’t, and what is still missing. Your input will directly help shape the development of practical planning tools, trainings, and community resources created through this project.
For attorneys, the session provides practical guidance on identifying planning issues early and advising families in a manner consistent with disability rights principles.
Presenters: Hannah Shumaker, Judith Brown, Holly Connor, Travis Antoine Evans
Too often, boards, committees, and professional groups focus on “checking the box” on inclusion instead of creating real opportunities for people with disabilities to share leadership. Even when organizations aim to be welcoming, their structures, communication styles, and group norms can quietly limit meaningful participation. Drawing on real-world examples from a panel of ALP-NC leaders and Centered Resources consultants, participants will gain practical, easy-to-use strategies for building accessible, inclusive, and lasting partnerships in their organizations and communities.
Presenters: Dr. Craig Waleed, Luke Woollard
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Solitary confinement has profound and well-documented impacts on people with disabilities, particularly those with mental health disabilities, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and trauma histories. Prolonged isolation can intensify existing conditions, create new disabilities, and place individuals at heightened risk of psychological and physical harm. Yet despite decades of research and advocacy documenting these harms, solitary confinement continues to be used in jails, prisons, and other detention settings, often without adequate safeguards or meaningful alternatives. Drawing on the advocacy and investigative work of Disability Rights North Carolina, this session will equip participants with practical tools to recognize disability-related harms in detention settings, understand the legal rights of people with disabilities, and explore concrete strategies for advocacy, oversight, and reform aimed at protecting human dignity and advancing systemic change.
For attorneys, this session provides a legal and practical examination of solitary confinement as a disability rights issue. Attorneys will strengthen their ability to identify disability-related harms, assess potential claims or advocacy strategies, and advise clients on legal remedies and systemic reform efforts.
Presenters: Cari Carson, Glynnis Hagins, Elijah Moffe
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Transition plans for students with disabilities are often developed without meaningful participation from the students themselves, despite the significant legal and practical consequences these plans have for post-secondary education, employment, independent living, and community participation. Centering youth voice in transition planning is not only a best practice, but also a critical component of effective advocacy.
Attorneys will gain practical strategies for advising students and families, identifying deficiencies in transition planning, and advocating for legally sound, student-centered outcomes within the IEP process.
Lunch
11:45am – 12:45pm
Plenary Speaker: Cherene Allen-Caraco
1pm – 2pm
Cherene Allen-Caraco, Founder and CEO of Promise Resource Network, in a Conversation with Virginia Knowlton Marcus, DRNC CEO
BREAK | 2pm -2:10pm
Breakout Sessions 3
2:10pm – 3:10pm
Presenters: Ipshita Ghosh, Tara Muller, Hannah Shumaker
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Advocates often have strong cases and clear evidence of harm, yet real policy change and public accountability do not always follow. Winning an individual case does not automatically lead to broader reform. This panel explores what helps disability rights violations lead to lasting change beyond a single outcome. Panelists will share practical strategies for turning proof into persuasion at the community and policy levels, including what evidence moves policymakers, how to use lived experience ethically, and how legal, policy, and media strategies can be combined to create broader impact.
For attorneys, this session offers guidance on leveraging legal work to support systemic change while remaining within ethical and professional boundaries. Participants will gain insight into how litigation records, investigations, and client narratives can be responsibly translated into policy advocacy, legislative engagement, and public education efforts.
Presenters: Chris Hodgson, Steven Hardy-Braz, Don Kostelec
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Inaccessible public services limit where people with disabilities live and work, as well as the quality of their lives. While laws exist to ensure cities and towns develop and maintain accessible public pathways and transportation services, oftentimes these laws do not achieve meaningful access without persistent and effective on-the-ground advocacy. Drawing on the experience of seasoned self-advocates, this session will address what people with disabilities and others can do to help improve these vital public services in their communities.
Attorneys will gain practical insight into how accessibility laws work in practice, real-world barriers and ways to support clients and communities.
Presenters: Kishona Mimms, Demetrice Jones, Emma Kinyanjui
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Investigating and monitoring facilities is a core role of Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies like Disability Rights North Carolina. But keeping people with disabilities safe takes all of us. In this session, DRNC staff will explain how we monitor and investigate places such as residential schools, group homes, nursing homes, and psychiatric hospitals. You’ll learn about the rights of people with disabilities in these settings, the safety concerns DRNC looks for, and common warning signs to watch for. This session offers practical guidance whether you are advocating for yourself, a loved one, or someone in your care.
For attorneys, this session provides insight into the investigative authority and monitoring role of Disability Rights North Carolina and other P&A agencies, as well as the legal rights and protections applicable to institutional and congregate care settings. Participants will strengthen their ability to identify potential rights violations, assess conditions relevant to litigation or administrative advocacy, and advise clients regarding safety concerns, reporting options, and available remedies.
Presenters: Cari Carson, Glynnis Hagins, Elijah Moffe
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Youth with disabilities involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems face unique legal, developmental, and institutional challenges that can shape the rest of their lives. Drawing on direct representation experience and findings from DRNC’s recent public report Behind Locked Doors: Inside NC’s Juvenile Detention Centers, this session highlights what effective advocacy looks like in practice. Participants will gain practical tools for representing justice-involved youth and better understand how detention conditions influence legal strategy and outcomes.
For attorneys, the session provides practical guidance on identifying disability-related issues, advocating effectively for justice-involved youth, and navigating ethical and procedural considerations in detention-based representation. Participants will gain tools to strengthen client-centered advocacy, assess how institutional conditions impact legal decisions, and improve outcomes for youth with disabilities across juvenile and criminal proceedings.
BREAK / EXHIBITOR FAIR | 3:10pm – 3:30pm
Breakout Sessions 4
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Sessions and session times are subject to change.
Presenters: Vivianette Ortiz Caraballo, Julie-Ann Garcia-Acosta, Iris Green, Curtis Hill, Monica Resendiz, Lydia Shelly, Candace Speller
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
People often contact Disability Rights North Carolina feeling overwhelmed, unsure of their rights, and unclear about what help is available. Many don’t realize that advocacy can begin with information, guidance, and referrals, before any legal case is ever opened. DRNC’s Intake program is where confusion can turn into clarity and next steps. In this session, DRNC staff will explain how intake works and how information, referral, and self-advocacy guidance not only help prevent problems from escalating, but also give people the tools they need to address their issues directly. Participants will learn what self-advocacy looks like in practice and how to use tools like DRNC’s website, chatbot, letter tools, and social media to take action and find support sooner.
For attorneys, this session provides insight into how early-stage advocacy, information-sharing, and referral systems can resolve issues before litigation becomes necessary. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of when legal intervention is appropriate, how to counsel clients toward effective self-advocacy when representation is not required or available, and how to identify matters that warrant escalation to formal legal action. The session is relevant to attorneys practicing in disability law, legal aid, public interest law, and general practice, and supports efficient, ethical client counseling and triage.
Presenters: Lisa Nesbitt, Kirby Morrow, Tim Sookram, Rebekah Spannagel
1 hour general CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Changes in Medicaid programs and services can be confusing and hard to navigate for people who depend on them, as well as for families, providers, and advocates. When information is unclear, individuals may lose access to needed care and supports. In this session participants will gain a clearer picture of key Medicaid programs and recent updates, including 1915(i) Services, the Transition to Community Living Program (TCL), Tailored Care Management, Medicaid appeals, and Medicaid transportation. The session will offer practical guidance for using these programs and advocating for fair access to services.
For attorneys, this session provides practical insight into the structure and operation of key Medicaid programs and the legal issues that commonly arise when services are reduced, denied, or delayed. Participants will strengthen their ability to advise clients, identify appealable issues, navigate administrative processes, and advocate effectively for continued access to medically necessary services.
Presenter: Desireé Gorbea-Finalet
Brain injury is often an invisible disability that can affect memory, thinking, behavior, and physical functioning. Because the effects are not always immediately visible, brain injuries frequently go unrecognized, contributing to challenges in school, employment, mental health, housing stability, and involvement with the justice system.
This session will share lessons from the NC BRAINS campaign, a year-long initiative that expanded brain injury awareness and support across North Carolina through screening tools, provider education, and self-advocacy resources. Participants will learn about the development of the state’s first coordinated brain injury screening and training campaign and hear from a survivor involved in the effort.
The session will also preview early program data from surveys, interviews, trainings, and screenings, highlighting gaps in brain injury identification and the role of provider education and accessible tools in improving support for people living with brain injuries.
Presenter: Dr. Eric Morse, MD, DFAPA
1 hour professional well-being CLE credit approved by the NC State Bar
Burnout among attorneys is increasingly recognized as a serious issue affecting professional competence, ethical decision-making, and long-term fitness to practice. Recent surveys show that more than half of lawyers report symptoms of burnout. This session examines burnout as a response to chronic stress in high-pressure professions and how it can affect judgment, empathy, client relationships, and professional performance.
The program will offer practical strategies to strengthen resilience and maintain professional well-being, including recognizing early warning signs, improving work-life balance, building peer support, and identifying when professional help may be appropriate. While designed for attorneys, the core information may also be valuable to other conference attendees.