Mission: The mission of FACts is threefold: 1) to align mismatched interactions in all forms of accessibility, including physical access, neurodiversity, and mental health; 2) to hold space for the Fermilab community to share any part of their personal experiences; and 3) to enhance our collective understanding of and support for accessibility.
Vision: All members of the Fermilab community are fully committed to a culture of accessibility, collectively driving improvements to physical, psychological, and intellectual access to opportunities for personal and professional growth, development, and advancement for all.
Areas of Focus:
- Understanding what physical, psychological, and intellectual accessibility looks like for employees, visitors and guests
- Building a system of support based on individual experience and sharing of resources such as requesting accommodations, disability and leave, using the Employee Assistance Program, understanding physical and psychological safety, and others
- Organizing accessibility programming and learning opportunities for teamwork and advocacy
- Championing accessible workplace tools and platforms
Getting Involved
Fermi Accessibility Communities launched on July 27, 2022 in alignment with the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A recording of the brown bag luncheon is available here. The announcement for Fermilab employees is available here.
- To join our Listserv, please send an email to listserv@fnal.gov with SUBSCRIBE FACTS in the email body.
- FACts meets twice a month to conduct LRG business and meet socially and share support.
- Voluntary self-identification of disability is available to all employees at any time. Individual disclosures will not be distributed and only aggregated data that does not identify individuals will be generated from the disclosures. Review why and how we disclose disability here.
Each color of the Disability Pride Flag represents a different type of disability: physical (red), cognitive and intellectual (yellow), invisible and undiagnosed (white), psychosocial (blue), and sensory (green). The charcoal background symbolizes mourning for victims of ableism, and the colored bands are placed diagonally to convey persons with disabilities “cutting across” societal barriers. Source: Human Rights Watch
Resources & News
- A different way of thinking, Neurodivergent physicists face barriers in STEM, but there are also benefits to being who they are, Symmetry, May 30, 2023
- Observing Disability Pride Month this July, Human Rights Watch, July 22, 2022
- How COVID made physics more accessible, Symmetry, September 21, 2021
- Disability in STEM: A conversation with Dr. Mahita Jarjapu, ecrLife, January 14, 2021
- NPR: A.D.A Now! (podcast), July 30, 2020
- How to: Building a neurodiverse workforce, Organization for Autism Research, April 6, 2020
- Approaching disability like a scientist, Symmetry, May 29, 2018
- Disability:IN: Disability Etiquette – A Starting Guide
- Equip for Equality: Advancing the Human & Civil Rights of People with Disabilities in Illinois: Illinois ADA Project
Fermipoint: FACts Documents and Materials (login required)
Contact Anahi Ruiz Beltran for more information; Executive Sponsor: Mark Jeffers