The AAO’s Professional Development Committee presents
Safe Spaces for Archivists with Disabilities, Chronic Illnesses, and the Neurodivergent
These virtual sessions are spaces intended and reserved for archivists with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or who are neurodivergent. No formal diagnosis is necessary, and no attendees are required to disclose anything. This space is for individuals in our profession to connect, support, and share their experiences with one another in an informal, participant-driven environment.
These sessions are open to students, emerging, and established professionals, as well as those working in volunteer and activist roles.
Note that this space is only open to archives workers and records managers with visible and/or invisible disabilities. The AAO follows the ADA’s definition of disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.”
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT
Location: Online via Zoom
Recording: These sessions will not be recorded.
Registration: FREE (AAO members, student members, and non-members)
This meeting is governed by the AAO’s Code of Conduct as well as a guideline of confidentiality. It is essential that all participants agree to keep confidential the identities of individual participants and any names that may be mentioned during their time together, as well as any attributed specific comments. Agreement about this point is required.
About the moderator:
Sarah McDougall has been a stutterer since early childhood, and has struggled with discrimination and mental health related to her disability. She is passionate about bringing visibility and respect to people with disabilities, and is continuously learning more about herself and how to navigate the archives profession as a stutterer. She was the first archivist at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, has worked numerous contracts with the Ontario government, and is currently the Archives Assistant at the Anglican Diocese of Toronto Archives. She holds a Master of Information and a Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto's iSchool.
Please contact professionaldevelopment@aao-archivists.ca with your questions and any requests for accommodation.
