This year we are celebrating the values that guide our work and have come to define UCP Oregon in the community.

Inclusion - Individuals are included in every aspect of life including home, school, workforce, and community.

Empowerment - People with disabilities, and families of children with disabilities, have a right to make decisions about things that affect their lives. We help them identify their options and utilize the same means as anyone else in the community to achieve their choices.

Family Solidarity - Families having a member with disabilities are supported so they may stay together and flourish.

Teamwork - It takes teamwork to produce positive results. The many people who contribute to our mission are appreciated, encouraged, and supported.

Diversity - All persons are valued and respected for their individual differences.

SUNY Finger Lakes are hosting our 7th annual teaching conference called "Jumping the Desk: Teachers as Learners" and our theme is Universal Design Instruction. This is a one-day conference is on January 15th 2019 in Canandaigua NY.

Access to Success conference on Accessibility, Inclusion, and Universal Design, will be the first such event geared specifically towards MBA students that addresses the business case of accessibility and universal design. It will include two keynote speeches, a panel of entrepreneurs working on universal design products, and a case competition on universal design for MBA students in Canada and the U.S.

In recent years, graduate business schools across Canada and the US have made great strides in the diversity and inclusion (D&I) space. School and student-led efforts in diversity of culture, gender, and sexual orientation have contributed to a mosaic of enriching perspectives. Effectively, these diverse perspectives bring a community one step closer to reaching its full interpersonal and economic potential. We are not there yet, as there still remains a facet of D&I far less often addressed: accessibility and inclusion of students and professionals with disabilities.

Technological advances are accelerating. A range of technologies are developing at exponential rates. Have we reached a steep part of the curve? What does this mean for design at Amazon? What does trust look like for customers in a physical world enhanced by technology? What do design teams look like and what impact does it have on our work? What does it mean for positive and sustainable growth for the world? How do we as designers maintain the balance of art and science, craft and technology, human and machine–creating a future possible?

A free, five-day celebration of our community that builds momentum and opportunity around entrepreneurship. We're led by local entrepreneurs and hosted in amazing spaces all over town.