EWDS Webinar 9: The Maine agrAbility Program — Cultivating Accessible Agriculture

Employment for ME: Workforce Development System logo

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the Maine Department of Labor and Syntiro invite you to join the Employment for ME Employment Services Workforce Development System for our ninth webinar in the 2019-2020 series of monthly webinars for the Maine’s workforce community.

May 14, 2020
10:00 – 11:00 AM

Registration fee: Individual registrations for the webinar are $5.00 per person. There is no fee if you have purchased an Employment Workforce Development System agency subscription.

Register online

Maine AgrAbility’s mission is to provide education, assistance, and support to farmers with disabilities engaged in production agriculture, helping them and their families maintain optimal production and experience an enhanced quality of life.

Maine AgrAbility reaches its goals through direct service, education, and networking. We provide consultative services and technical assistance, such as suggestions for modifying or adapting the agricultural operation, buildings, equipment, and/or tools. We work with rural agriculture, rehabilitation, and health care professionals to support Maine farmers with disabilities and their families.

Maine AgrAbility is a non-profit collaboration between the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Alpha One in addition to independent contractors and is funded through a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Presenters: 

Leilani Carlson, Maine AgrAbility Project Coordinator

Leilani Carlson is the project coordinator for the Maine. She has a BS in engineering and more than 15 years of experience in the environmental engineering and consulting industry, focusing on health and safety and regulations. She and her family live on a small farm in central Maine. Learning from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, books, farm visits and local master gardeners, she and her husband began farming and providing food for their family. Leilani joined the Maine AgrAbility program in August 2012 as the project coordinator working for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. This opportunity allows her to utilize both her engineering and health and safety background with her passion for farming in Maine.

Kelley S. Spencer, COTA/L, ATP, DSP

Kelley Spencer is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant who is also a RESNA certified Assistive Technology Practitioner. She has served people with disabilities all her life. She grew up farming in central Maine. Her family home was also a foster home and day program for adults with intellectual disabilities. She worked as an independent living specialist and regional manager for Alpha One’s Bangor and Presque Isle offices for 17 years. She oversaw the AgrAbility project which worked with farmers with disabilities to continue to farm, in part through the use of assistive technologies. She led her team in the Homeward Bound project assisting so many to move from nursing facilities back into their communities. Kelley chaired and co-chaired the State of Maine’s Acquired Brain Injury Advisory Council for 8 years. She served on the AgrAbility advisory board. She developed Goodwill’s Assistive Technology Program for 3 years before leaving to open her own business. She now owns and operates Maine Assistive Technology Solutions.

Important: Your confirmation email will contain call in and log in information so make sure you have received a confirmation email. If you do not receive your confirmation email shortly after completing your online registration form, please contact noelle@syntiro.org.

Participants will earn 1 hour of continuing education after completing an online evaluation following the webinar. After completing the webinar you will receive a link to the session evaluation. Once you complete the evaluation, a certification of participation will be emailed to you.