Liberty Co
Who We Are
Liberty Co is a consultancy focused on increasing neurodiverse employment with a special emphasis on autism due to my own diagnosis at midlife.
Our efforts are centred on the IDEA (Inclusion-Diversity-Equity-Accessibility) framework coming from a strengths-based approach to neurodiversity and disability. Our services range from speaking and training to consulting and advising and we have worked with organizations across Canada, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and beyond, and across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
We prioritize employee retention, inclusive leadership and entrepreneurial thinking towards the goal of neuroinclusion and overall accessibility.
Some of our services are recruitment and retention practice review, resource access, accommodation evaluations and program scans.
I speak on a range of topics from Neurodiversity to Disability, Mental Health, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, drawing from the latest research, trends and my own story to engage audiences as a keynote speaker, presenter and panelist. Using case studies and other methods, I help build awareness with the goal of improved organizational culture through evidenced based approaches.
And I advise through providing counsel to leaders, to a team on curriculum development, or serving as the member of a committee.
Why We Are Involved
I became involved in the inclusive employment movement largely stemming from my own personal and professional experiences. As a result of my undiagnosed autism, for example, I was in the workplace nearly 25 years without understanding why I regularly felt different. A month before my 47th birthday I received my diagnoses and shortly thereafter committed to living life as my real self.
Part of this journey is entrepreneurship with a firm focused on neurodiverse employment because I wish to help create neuroinclusive workplaces to reverse our current situation of the majority of the neurodiverse population being unemployed or underemployed.
We take an intersectional approach to our work because neurodiversity exists across all aspects of individual identity (race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.). Also, practices that build neuroinclusion lead to greater inclusion for all.
Accessibility Initiatives
Yes, some examples are:
- Judge and Advisory Panel member for The INfinity Prize,
- Keynote and panelist for BLG’s 2022 “Neurodiversity in the Workplace” series,
- Steering Committee member for Building an Inclusive Life Sciences Future,
- Consultant and facilitator for Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub mapping exercise focused on disabled women entrepreneurs,
- Community partner for City of Waterloo’s Accessibility Advocate position search,
- Consultant for Rhyze Ventures’ Micro Accessibility Audit,
- Trusted partner for design and launch of Redwood Employment’s Accessibility division focused on autistic employment.
