Founded in 2008, the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN) is a professional network of employment service providers across Ontario united to increase employment opportunities for people who have a disability. We spoke with CEO Jeannette Campbell to learn what ODEN is doing to educate and support employers in inclusive and diverse hiring and how accessibility is always top of mind for her, even when standing on top of volcanoes.

01. Tell us about yourself.

Jeannette: Professionally, I have been working in the non-profit sector for my entire career but have been focused on supported and inclusive employment since around 1999. Working in this sector has been rewarding and it’s offered me opportunities to meet incredible people from all over the world who have travelled some really interesting paths. It is always nice to be surrounded by people who have shared vision and values.

I joined Oden in the fall of 2017 as General Manager, just as ODEN was starting to expand. About a year after I started, the CEO retired, and I competed for the role and here I am!

Personally, I like to travel, I find it very interesting to see the differences from country to country, and I always find I’m looking at accessibility and inclusiveness wherever I go. A big highlight for me was travelling to Vanuatu in the South Pacific. While I was there, I got to hike to the top of a live volcano and dive the wreck of the SS President Coolidge.

02. WHAT IS ODEN AND WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT?

Jeannette: ODEN is a network organization, we’re made up of over 140 member agencies, all in the business of helping people who have a disability get into the workforce. Our member agencies are from every corner of the province and support people of all disability types. Beyond Ontario, ODEN has connections with organizations in most provinces and territories of Canada.

In-house, we have an amazing team of talented people who deliver the services that are needed to help our member agencies. Our team also provides in-person and online consulting to businesses as well as training and professional development for staff who support job seekers who have a disability.

We also have a special projects branch that focuses on research and knowledge transfer. They also work on specific programs like our Youth Success Strategy and Project SEARCH. They also look at all the various technologies that are proving to be a promising practice in the sector.

The ODEN Team

03. How long has ODEN been in business and what’s changed since it started?

Jeannette: ODEN started in 2008 as a group of volunteers who were all from the employment service and disability sector. In the beginning, it was very grassroots, spread across the province and they would meet to work together, until they reached the point where they were able to bring in a part-time executive director. By the time that I took the position over in the spring of 2019, there were five staff, including me. We are now at 12 staff and are continuing to grow!

As an organization, we are growing and expanding to add more offerings and services, we’re seeing that businesses are much more engaged in conversations about inclusive employment. We’re finding that they’re much more informed about the business case for inclusive hiring, so they understand the benefits and why they should be doing it.

04. Where do you see ODEN in 5 years?

Jeannette: In the next 5 years I think that it would be possible to see ODEN go national in scope because we’re already edging that way. We do some youth work right now in BC, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia and we’ve done training in other provinces, and we’ve engaged with a lot of other provinces on projects.

I also think the other thing to look at is that we’ve grown so much in the past few years so now might be the time for us to focus on developing what we have now and solidify everything before we take it to the next level again.

05. What are some major wins you’ve had at ODEN?

Jeannette: A big win I have to talk about is Light It Up! For NDEAM.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which is something that has been around in Canada for a few decades but started in the United States in the late 40s and went from a day to a whole month.

We really increase our marketing this time of year to bring awareness and promote disability inclusion in business and the workplace. We create information resources, infographics, and other materials that can be used to get involved in raising awareness about how and why disability inclusion is essential.

In 2020, we started Light It Up! For NDEAM, on the third Thursday of October, we got major landmarks in Ontario to light up in purple and blue to shine a light on disability and inclusive employment. It was a big conversation starter and went national in 2021.

Last year, 440 locations across the country lit up, including major landmarks like Niagara Falls, the Calgary Tower, BC Place, the Terry Fox Memorial and so many more.

Iron Ore Haul Truck, Iron Ore Company of Canada Ltd., Labrador City, NL

Photos: ODEN | Light It Up! For NDEAM Photo Gallery

BC Place, Vancouver, BC

06. As a leader, how do you motivate people to go the extra mile?

Jeannette: I’ve always believed that you do what you say you’re going to do and don’t ask anybody to go further than you’re willing to go. That’s not to say that I don’t challenge people to go the extra mile, it just means that I challenge people to join me on the journey. If they can get further than me that is great!

When it comes to motivation, I think that everybody has their own internal motivations for everything in life, including at work. For me, finding that common motivation and championing it within the team that I lead, has always been my strategy and it’s one that I think keeps us connected and supporting each other as well because we’re united around something that motivates all of us.

I also like to think that I provide agency, I ask you to own your work. When people have that accountability and ownership for their work that’s really motivating.

07. What services do you offer that you want others to know about?

Jeannette: ODEN has a fantastic offering of services that can be done online or in person.

For businesses, we have disability awareness and confidence training and depending on the company and what their goals are needs are we can also design some customized training for them from the executive team, hiring managers, and HR professionals to front-line staff.

We also provide talent acquisition services, where we work with businesses to assess their HR and organizational policies and procedures. We do reviews and make recommendations on job postings and job descriptions to help them get rid of unintentional barriers that might be there. We also help them build relationships with service providers, to support them with their hiring needs.

For our member agencies, we provide capacity-building and professional development, as well as networking events for those who support job seekers who have a disability. The teams that we train are the employment specialists, the job developers, and the job coaches.

Learn more about the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN) and the resources they have available on inclusive hiring by visiting their website – odenetwork.com.

A few great places to start:

• View a complete list of the services offered for businesses by ODEN.
• ODEN Online Learning Centre.
• View resources available for Employment Service Providers.

Get involved:

• Learn more about the National Disability Employment Awareness Month Campaign.
• Learn more about Light It Up! For NDEAM and see how you can get involved on October 19, 2023.

This interview has been edited and condensed.