A Technical Brief for Administration on Disabilities (AoD) Grantees
November 2024
Authored by: Regina Kline, Esq.
Regina “Gina” Kline is the Founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures, the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap by investing in early-stage companies working at the nexus of technology and disability. Enable is a leader and pathfinder in a highly innovative sector whose potential has been largely untapped by venture investors until now. Gina is also the founder of SmartJob, an impact consultant and early-stage scout for the disability tech sector that works with a global network of entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs).
Investor, entrepreneur, civil rights lawyer, and thought leader, Gina has dedicated 15 years of her career to building the future of work by advancing the rights and interests of people with disabilities as innovators, entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers. Gina previously served in the Obama Administration at the Justice Department and litigated landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cases and is nationally recognized for her legal and policy work in advancing the rights of people with disabilities.
In this technical brief for the Administration on Disabilities (AoD) Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC), Gina explores historical barriers to disability entrepreneurship and illustrates why the present moment represents an unparalleled opportunity for the growth of disability entrepreneurship as a powerful form of economic development. Gina discusses in detail how a powerful emerging model of entrepreneurial support is breaking through some of the most persistent barriers, and how this new model presents an opportunity for AoD grantees to play a supporting role in that new model’s growth.
Access the Brief Here
Want to learn more about an ESO in action? Watch the recording of DETAC’s March 2024 Webinar, Strategies to Support People with Developmental Disabilities and Brain Injury to Achieve Employment Goals Through Small Business Ownership Work, featuring Synergies Work.
Watch the Recording Here
