KDRMA 2026 Annual Meeting
Advertisement
Join us Friday, November 13th at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University! Please RSVP to [email protected] to receive parking information and a REQUIRED parking pass.
KDRMA will be hosting our annual meeting and November program on Friday, November 13th at Goodwin Hall at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University.
Network with other museum people from
9:30-10am: Networking with Member
10am: Short Annual Meeting, followed by our program "Cultural Accessibility 101" by Christena Gunther of Cultural Access Collaborative, formerly Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium
Cultural Accessibility 101
What is disability? What is accessibility? This session will provide a basic introduction to the world of accessibility in cultural spaces. Learn how accessibility is defined over a broad array of varying abilities, and how we can engage to create more accessible experiences in your cultural institutions.
About Christena Gunther
Christena Gunther (she/her) is the founder and Executive Director of Cultural Access Collaborative (The Collab), which she established in 2013 to bring Chicago's arts and cultural community together around accessibility and disability inclusion. She has more than 15 years of experience advancing accessibility in cultural and educational settings, including previous work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center in New York City. She also serves as Assistant Director of Disability Services at Adler University in Chicago.
Christena has presented internationally on cultural accessibility, including the importance of building local networks to share knowledge, resources, and expertise. She was selected to participate in Elon University's Center for Engaged Learning's 2023–2026 research seminar, Affirming and Inclusive Engaged Learning for Neurodivergent Students. As part of this initiative, she collaborated on qualitative research exploring neurodivergent students' experiences with collaborative learning and ways to make these experiences more inclusive and accessible.
Christena's passion for cultural accessibility began at a young age through visits to museums and performances with her brother, who has Down syndrome. These experiences continue to inform her commitment to creating more inclusive and accessible opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in arts, culture, and education.
About Cultural Access Collaborative ("the Collab")
Begun in 2013, the Collab is dedicated to empowering cultural spaces in Illinois to become more accessible to visitors with disabilities. We facilitate a dynamic community of cultural administrators and people with disabilities to remove barriers in Illinois’ cultural organizations. We represent theaters, museums, orchestras, park centers, zoos, and other cultural organizations across the state of Illinois. Cultural Access Collab shares resources, information and support to ensure more accessible and inclusive experiences for guests, collaborators, and employees with disabilities. The Collab received the Kennedy Center's Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) Emerging Leaders Award.
Please RSVP to [email protected] and to receive parking information and parking pass.
KDRMA will be hosting our annual meeting and November program on Friday, November 13th at Goodwin Hall at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University.
Network with other museum people from
9:30-10am: Networking with Member
10am: Short Annual Meeting, followed by our program "Cultural Accessibility 101" by Christena Gunther of Cultural Access Collaborative, formerly Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium
Cultural Accessibility 101
What is disability? What is accessibility? This session will provide a basic introduction to the world of accessibility in cultural spaces. Learn how accessibility is defined over a broad array of varying abilities, and how we can engage to create more accessible experiences in your cultural institutions.
About Christena Gunther
Christena Gunther (she/her) is the founder and Executive Director of Cultural Access Collaborative (The Collab), which she established in 2013 to bring Chicago's arts and cultural community together around accessibility and disability inclusion. She has more than 15 years of experience advancing accessibility in cultural and educational settings, including previous work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center in New York City. She also serves as Assistant Director of Disability Services at Adler University in Chicago.
Christena has presented internationally on cultural accessibility, including the importance of building local networks to share knowledge, resources, and expertise. She was selected to participate in Elon University's Center for Engaged Learning's 2023–2026 research seminar, Affirming and Inclusive Engaged Learning for Neurodivergent Students. As part of this initiative, she collaborated on qualitative research exploring neurodivergent students' experiences with collaborative learning and ways to make these experiences more inclusive and accessible.
Christena's passion for cultural accessibility began at a young age through visits to museums and performances with her brother, who has Down syndrome. These experiences continue to inform her commitment to creating more inclusive and accessible opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in arts, culture, and education.
About Cultural Access Collaborative ("the Collab")
Begun in 2013, the Collab is dedicated to empowering cultural spaces in Illinois to become more accessible to visitors with disabilities. We facilitate a dynamic community of cultural administrators and people with disabilities to remove barriers in Illinois’ cultural organizations. We represent theaters, museums, orchestras, park centers, zoos, and other cultural organizations across the state of Illinois. Cultural Access Collab shares resources, information and support to ensure more accessible and inclusive experiences for guests, collaborators, and employees with disabilities. The Collab received the Kennedy Center's Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) Emerging Leaders Award.
Please RSVP to [email protected] and to receive parking information and parking pass.
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University, 5700 College Road, Birck Hall of Science - 2nd Floor,Lisle, Illinois, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherKDRMA Passport to Adventure
