If 2024 was a time of growth, inclusivity, and transformation for Relay Resources, 2025 has been a year of putting those goals into action! We debuted a conference for the disability community, started training programs, added executives and board members, fostered partnerships in the community, secured important business contracts, and even won some awards along the way. At the same time, our three social enterprises—Building Solutions, Supply Chain Solutions, and Document Solutions—continued to be strong, essential drivers of our mission and impact.
As 2025 comes to a close, let’s look back at some of the highlights from the work Relay Resources has done over the past year and celebrate our collective accomplishments while looking toward the future. Click the items in the table of contents to explore the stories, partnerships, and progress that mattered most this year.
Accessibility Partnerships Create Spaces of Belonging
In April 2025, business leaders from around the world gathered in Portland for the DisabilityNext™ Summit, our inaugural conference focusing on advancing disability inclusion.
With about 280 people in attendance, the conference featured one of the most diverse speaker lineups in disability conference history. Eighteen speakers delivered five keynotes and took part in three panels, with topics including models for success in entrepreneurship; neurodivergence in the workplace; and how we can frame disability not as a deficit, but as a driver of innovation, equity, and resilience. The speakers—from entrepreneurs to policymakers to educators—delivered an urgent message: Disability inclusion is not just the right thing to do; it's essential to the future of work for all of us.
The attendee makeup was diverse as well, with about 59% hailing from private-sector companies, 27% from nonprofits, and 14% from government agencies. The Summit—which wouldn’t have been possible without our many sponsors and the myriad Relay Resources employees who staffed the event—made an impact, with about 65,000 impressions on social media, 5,200 web impressions, and 700 new followers for Relay Resources, helping us further our mission. Overall, attendees rated the event experience and the content quality of the Summit a 4.8 on a scale of one to five, and 83% said they plan to attend the “next” DisabilityNext™ event—which is coming in October 2026!
The year 2025 saw Relay renew and secure exciting business partnerships that will last through 2026 and beyond. These include:
Renewing Our partnership with the City of Beaverton. Relay Resources is proud to have renewed our long-term janitorial services partnership with the City of Beaverton. The new term began December 1, 2025, and runs through June 2031; the renewal reflects the City’s continued confidence in our quality, reliability, and inclusive employment model. Our work with the City of Beaverton has us working at several high‑visibility municipal facilities—including City Hall, the Main Library, the Public Safety Building, Griffith Park, and Public Works—that our team keeps clean, safe, and welcoming every day.
New work with Portland Parks & Recreation. We’re equally excited about our new contract with Portland Parks & Recreation, which added 13 new janitorial jobs! Our teams have been preparing equipment, staffing, and logistics to ensure a smooth start across their multiple spaces, in close coordination with City of Portland partners.
Growth in Supply Chain Solutions. In September, we moved 21 jobs for disabled people into the team. During this period, we also introduced new clients and business opportunities, including partnerships Daimler Truck North America LLC, Benchmade Knife Company, and several other new manufacturing and assembly partners. To further strengthen quality and consistency across operations, Supply Chain Solutions also added ISO 9001 certification.
Excellence in Document Solutions. Throughout 2025, Relay’s Document Solutions team continued delivering high-quality services for partners including Multnomah County, the Oregon Judicial Department, and the Oregon Department of Human Services. The team consistently exceeded contract quality requirements and received positive feedback for their exceptional precision, reliability, and attention to detail.
Expansion at PDX in spring 2026. We are also looking forward to our longtime partner Port of Portland, operator of the Portland International Airport (PDX), working on the new PDX expansion in spring 2026. This growth at PDX will enable our team to serve more travelers and airport partners while creating 10 additional jobs that advance our mission.
These achievements for new business are the result of the dedication and teamwork of the Relay Resources team. Together, we’re strengthening community partnerships and creating employment at scale.
We welcomed many new employees (206!) over the course of 2025, and we couldn’t be more proud of the team we currently have. Many team members also were promoted or took on new roles within the company.
In 2025 we welcomed many new people to our executive team, including Sayu Abend, Chief Technology Officer; Denise Conroy, Chief of Staff & Executive Coach-In-Residence; Luis Torres-Acosta, Chief Operating & Revenue Officer; Alfonso Carmona, Sr. Vice President of Marketing & Innovation; John Domingo, VP of Finance and Administration; Nadja Sailesman, VP of Disability Inclusion; and Tannon Scoggins, Vice President of Building Solutions. Their leadership and experience will help strengthen and guide Relay in our mission of advancing disability inclusion in the workplace.
We also had the pleasure of adding three new board members to Relay Resources: Kymbreanna Elliott, Esq., Michael Holton, and Suhail Khan; read more about them here. We echo Relay Resources President and CEO Dr. Jennifer Camota Luebke’s sentiments when we announced the additions in spring 2025: “I am thrilled to welcome these exceptional business executives, professionals, and community leaders to our board. Each of them brings unique experiences, professional expertise, and a deep commitment to advancing disability inclusion.”
Throughout 2025 we partnered with several organizations for events near and far surrounding disability inclusion:
On May 10 we showed up to Hidden Creek Park West in Hillsboro, Oregon, to join the Best Buddies Friendship Walk in support of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as part of the Oregon Chapter of Best Buddies International. Thank you to our own Jetamio Kennedy, Equity and Inclusive Learning Manager, for organizing; to Antonio Contreras from our Janitorial team for serving as Relay ambassador and speaking on the power of friendship and belonging; and to our board members Xavier Tissier and Suhail Khan for joining the event.
For the second time, Relay Resources marched together as a team at the Portland Pride Festival and Parade, taking part in this year's “Dream Big” theme. And for the first time we hosted a booth and served as ambassadors of disability inclusion! Our presence was about ensuring that disability is part of the “inclusion” when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. We were proud to help expand the celebration of Pride by lifting up disability inclusion right alongside LGBTQ+ community visibility.
On July 8 we celebrated Disability Pride Month; the Relay community came together to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a flag raising and ice cream social. We had the honor of having Coleen Carey, Executive Director of Disability Rights Oregon, join us, as well as Walt Marchbanks, Senior Manager at the Port of Portland. And we heard fantastic testimony from Vance Bjorklund, Data Imaging Operator at Relay Resources.
We also had two Relay employees, Jetamio Kennedy and Khodi Dow (Janitorial Manager) speak at SourceAmerica’s 2025 Grassroots Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., joining policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and other people with disabilities. They both shared their stories of resilience and navigating workplaces as people with disabilities in support of the AbilityOne program, and to strengthen advocacy for workplaces centering disability and inclusion.
This summer, Relay Resources launched our first abilIT cohort. Developed in partnership with Melwood, abilIT is a 14-week training program designed for neurodivergent people and injured veterans interested in building a future in IT. The program helps participants prepare for industry-recognized certifications and strengthens the professional skills needed to succeed in tech roles. From June to September, participants gathered in downtown Portland for a free, intensive training program. The first cohort graduated on October 9 and was a huge success.
abilIT is now accepting applications for its next cohort, starting January 5, 2026; the deadline to apply is December 27, 2025.
This year we unveiled our redesign of the Relay Resources website. It’s easier than ever to find information about our programs, services, and job opportunities, and the site has easier navigation, improved features for accessibility, and more updated content on our mission and history. Check it out!
In 2025, Relay served as the official Accessibility Partner for multiple high-profile community and business events across Portland, helping ensure that disability inclusion was built into the event experience.
We were proud to partner with organizers at the following events:
Our team was honored to partner with event organizers to help make each gathering more welcoming, inclusive, and accessible.
Throughout October, Relay celebrated National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) with events, resources, and ways to spread the word. We held a training at the Port of Portland on building an inclusive workforce.
We also took over the Portland Business Journal’s homepage and shared helpful resources, such as a disability inclusive workplace toolkit, an employment gap infographic, a social media toolkit, and a checklist for making workplaces more inclusive.
Looking for a place to find all of Relay Resources information and education on disability inclusion in the workplace? Check out our NDEAM toolkit with shareable infographics, articles, and resources.
In March, Dr. J also joined KOIN 6 to discuss the importance of celebrating National Developmental Disability Awareness Month.
The PDX People Quarterly Awards luncheons recognized four Relay Resources team members for their contributions at the Portland International Airport (PDX) in 2025: Dainya Morgan, Charity Fenley, Ash Torgerson, and Efrenia Pere. These excellent performers represent all of the quality work being done by Relay Resources employees at PDX. We've had a partnership with PDX for many years and are thankful for the wonderful airport employees who keep the Port of Portland operating smoothly.
Among this year’s recognitions, the Portland Business Journal named Relay’s President and CEO and Dr. Jennifer Camota Luebke as one of their executives of the year!
Jenny Kim, executive director of Portland-based Partners in Diversity, had this to say about her: “Dr. Jennifer Luebke truly embodies the qualities of an Executive of the Year with a clear vision, measurable results, equity-driven innovation, and profound community impact. She has not only strengthened Relay Resources but has also inspired employers, policymakers, and business leaders to reimagine what inclusion looks like in the workplace and beyond.”
The year 2026 will be an exciting one for Relay Resources as we further our established programs and summits, continue to provide excellent service to our customers, and foster an excellent work environment for our employees—all in the name of advancing disability inclusion in the workplace.
We’ll help accomplish those goals with our two signature 2026 events, which we recently announced:
Both events will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Portland, Oregon. Sponsorship opportunities for the Celebration and the Summit are available at Relay Resources’ website.
We look forward to partnering together in the new year as we continue championing workplaces and communities where all disabled people belong.
Interested in supporting Relay’s mission? Please find donation opportunities here.