October 20, 2021 –
2021-22 Wise Webinar Series:
Navigating Systems
In this session, Daman will go into his experience of navigating the systems that are often tied to having a disability. Daman has gained much experience and knowledge to share. Throughout college, he navigated the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) system to gain support in earning his undergraduate degree and MBA. Due to the complexity of entrepreneurship, he has extensive personal experience navigating self-employment and SSDI benefits.
Daman utilizes in-home care services which makes Medicaid necessary for his quality of life. He will discuss relocating from Virginia back to Washington State to regain his Medicaid eligibility. He will also discuss how he successfully advocated for Washington State to remove their Medicaid buy-in income limit.
Throughout his presentation, Daman will share his journey of navigating systems as the founder and CEO of Wandke Consulting. He will also share tips and tricks with VR counselors assisting people with disabilities navigating through these systems.
In addition to the Navigating Systems session, there will be a 10-minute follow-up deep-dive recording on Mentoring. Daman will share his mentoring journey and the positive impact it had on his employment and entrepreneurship success.
Learning objectives:
- Learning from first-hand experience and gaining knowledge from someone who went on this path prior to yourself or your client.
- Learning an overview of many different benefits for the disability community and how they intertwine.
- Understanding how self-advocacy as well as mentorship are both crucial pieces to the puzzle of navigating Systems.
Daman Wandke, MBA, is the Founder and CEO of Wandke Consulting (WC). Beyond his role at WC, Daman is an instructor at Western Washington University as well as being greatly involved in the disability community. As someone living with a disability, Daman applies his unique perspectives on accessibility to create effective consulting practices for organizations aiming to be more inclusive. On top of his life of disability advocacy and entrepreneurship, Daman is an avid traveler and bicyclist.