Announcing Our 75th Anniversary Celebration and 2026 DisabilityNext™ Summit

The year 2026 will be an exciting one for Relay Resources as we scale up our efforts to advance disability inclusion in the workplace.

We’ll help accomplish those goals with our two signature 2026 events, which we’re excited to announce:

• The Relay 75th Anniversary Celebration, bringing together the community for a night of celebrating our past, dreaming about our future, and supporting our present strategic goals, on April 15; and
• The DisabilityNext™ Summit, our second-annual conference creating and implementing the future of disability inclusion in the workplace, on October 6-7.

Both events will happen at the Hyatt Regency in Portland, OR. Sponsorship opportunities for the Celebration and the Summit are available at Relay Resources’ website.

Relay 75th Anniversary Celebration 

Relay Resources was founded in 1951 as the Portland Children’s Center, which became Oregon’s leading institution in educational programs for children with disabilities. The organization adopted the name Relay Resources in 2017. 

We will mark 75 years in business with the Celebration, which will honor both Relay’s legacy and our exciting future growing employment opportunities for disabled people. The 75th Anniversary Celebration will include: 

• An awards program recognizing changemakers who are advancing disability inclusion in their communities. 
• An auction in which participants can bid on one-of-a-kind experiences ranging from celebrity meetups to surprise perks and other exclusive opportunities. 
• Family-style dining, offering guests delicious cuisine while we celebrate with Relay Resources' ambassadors for belonging, supporters, and community members.
• Live entertainment provided by talented disabled artists.

People interested in attending the event can find more information and tickets here. 

Second-annual DisabilityNext™ Summit

Later in 2026, we will present the second-annual DisabilityNext™ Summit, October 6-7. The event will coincide with National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which takes place each October to promote inclusive employment practices and highlight the contributions of disabled employees. 

For the 2026 Summit, leaders, futurists, and innovators from across the country will gather to: 

• Learn from 15-plus speakers who are leaders and innovators in disability inclusion at work
• Discuss opportunities and scalable solutions for workplace accessibility and disability inclusion 
• Share case studies that demonstrate accessible and disability-inclusive workplace environments 
• Accelerate action advancing the disability inclusion movement 
• Network with other thought leaders from around the U.S. 

The 2026 Summit will build on the success of the inaugural event last year, which gathered hundreds of attendees for an event centered on disabled voices and featured keynote presentations from disability rights and inclusion advocate Imani Barbarin and other distinguished speakers. 

Discounted Early Bird tickets for the 2026 DisabilityNext™ Summit are on sale now. To receive updates on tickets and more, sign up for Relay Resources’ email list here.

Accessibility Features

In keeping with Relay’s mission of disability inclusion, both the 75th Anniversary Celebration and the 2026 DisabilityNext™ Summit will offer numerous accessibility features for attendees, including: 

• American Sign Language interpretation
• Screen captioning
• Assistive listening devices  
• Sighted guides
• Sensory break rooms
• Reserved seating for wheelchair accessibility throughout the seating areas
• Service animal relief station  
• Sensory bags
• Face masks and hand sanitizer throughout the venue
• Sunflower lanyards  
• Accessibility-trained support staff to provide assistance   

We’re very excited to gather with the community in 2026 for these events fostering disability inclusion!