Alva Gardner Email & Phone Number

Oakland, Ca, Us

Placer County, California, United States

The 4*3 Perspective supports organizations and companies to make cultural and systemic changes that improve the work they do and the way they support all people, but especially those with disabilities.Pulling from Person-Centered Practices and Universal Design, while also capitalizing on Alva’s lived experiences as a woman with a disability, our trainings, speeches, and consulting style aim to make the conversation around and understanding of disability digestible for all people. Alva’s sassy, tell-it-like-it-is approach to discussing disability creates a space where people can be uninhibited and honest about the things they are curious and want to learn more about. The 4*3 Perspective is committed to meeting people where they are in their disability awareness journey. Our trainings are designed to be interactive and engaging, encouraging participants to ask their questions, no matter how “taboo” they might be.*See my Public Speaker job for a list of speaking engagements*

Keynote, Eighth Annual HHSC PASRR Conference, November 2024"Are You Listening For More Than Just Voices? A New, Inclusive Approach To Person-Centered Facilitation"Co-Presenter, The Learning Community for Person Centered Practices' Annual Gathering, July 2024"What’s Data Got To Do With It: A Data-Based Approach to Person-Centeredness"Speaker, Rutgers University Director and Faculty Gathering, March 2024“Disability Inclusion in Academia: How you can find and support it in your department…”Speaker, Institute for Women's Leadership at Rutgers University, March 2024"Women in Work: When You Are A Woman With A Disability"

As a speaker since age eight, I speak on topics as they relate to life with a disability - my experience with the medical industry, inclusion in school, working with Direct Support Professionals, disability etiquette, dating/relationships and sexuality, etc.Keynote, Oregon Statewide Transition Conference, March 2024“From Dreams To Reality... But Are You Being Conscious Of Others’ Realities?”Speaker, CHOICESS, February 2024"Importance of DSPs in the Lives of People with Disabilities"Speaker, San Gabriel / Pomona Regional Center, February 2024"Person-Centered Support: The Impact It Can Have In The Service System & The Gaps In Its Systemic Implementation"Panelist, Texas & Southwest Friends Gathering, November 2023“Supporting People with Disabilities to Reach Relationship Goals”Keynote, Texas & Southwest Friends Gathering, November 2023“Are You Listening To More Than Just Voices: A New, Intentional Approach To Person-Centered Facilitation”Keynote, County of Loudoun Residential Support Professional Appreciation Day, September 2023“Residential Support Professionals: The Important Role You Play In The Lives Of People With Disabilities & How To Approach Your Work In A Person-Centered Way”Keynote, The Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices Gathering, July 2023"Great, you’re ‘person-centered’… Now what? What does that ACTUALLY mean?"Speaker, IGNITE Collective, Inc., March 2021"Online Dating for People with Disabilities"Trainer, Alameda County Public Authority for IHSS, 2021-Present"Importance of DSPs in the Lives of People with Disabilities"Speaker, University of Oregon, October 2020"Having a Disability During a Pandemic Shelter-In-Place order"Keynote, Alegria All Staff Awards Lunch, July 2019"Importance of DSPs in the Lives of People with Disabilities and the Vitality of Self-Care"Keynote, Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Council Awards Dinner, June 2019"Importance of DSPs in the Lives of People with Disabilities"

ProFound is a powerful professional network of disability-inclusive leaders. Together, we are elevating disability inclusion and accelerating accessibility across our organizations and the workforce.

Oakland, California, United States

As a trainer, I facilitate 2-day, in-person PCT Trainings, as well as Virtual PCT Trainings to groups of up to 30 people, teaching them the skills and tools to implement person-centered practices into their own work.As a planner, I support people in discovering and developing what’s important to them in a life of their choosing, what their goals are, and the supports they need to get there.https://tlcpcp.com/members/alvag/profile/Organizations trained:Regional Center of the East BayAbility Now Bay AreaMission HopeRES SUCCESSLIFESPRING, LLCCreative GrowthCommunity Integrated Support Services, Inc.

Oakland, Ca

Responsible for the planning, coordinating, and implementing self-employment opportunities for adults with developmental and physical disabilities through business development, community outreach, and community support partnerships. The goal was to expand opportunities and improve participants’ business plans so they could fully operate independently. Acted as a liaison between entrepreneurs, program staff, external staff, and family supports to ensure cohesive awareness of business requirements and tasks. Also responsible for redesigning and rewriting the Small Business Development Center program description, entrance and exit criteria/requirements, and the incremental programmatic benchmarks.Coordinated projects and deadlines amongst the Small Business Development Center staff and ensured tasks were getting completed. Led/co-led Small Business Development Center staff meetings and updated the team on the goings-on within the department.Acted as a one-on-one advisor to a list of participants. Was responsible for completing their semi-annual and annual paperwork, regularly checking in with them about their goals and objectives, and ensuring their supports were approached in a person-centered manner.

Oakland, California, United States

Worked across the organization to implement a systems approach to Person-Centered Planning in order to enhance Ability Now Bay Area’s programs and services. By doing so, I empowered and supported the people we serve to live the lives of their choosing, as well as supported Ability Now Bay Area staff at every level to facilitate this empowerment. I led and supported the person-centered planning process across the organization to ensure that each person’s plan is aligned with their goals and implemented according to the Person-Centered planning process. I also facilitated the process to help people develop their Person-Centered plans and oversaw Person-Centered Planning Training Services.

I share my personal experience as a woman who grew up with a disability. I primarily focus on my experience with medical professionals, and advise these future doctors are ways to remain open-minded and get to know their individual patients.

• Regularly communicated with CEO, Executive Assistant, COO, CFO, and IT Director regarding projects and tasks; process expense reports and research materials for YMCA expansion projects.• Researched, compiled and mapped out available gym-rental spaces for the expansion of all YMCA afterschool programs and summer camps.• Facilitated daily office operations; assist departmental projects and ordered office supplies.• Updated Finance Department budgets, tracked expenditures, digitized and organized vendor invoices; streamlined ordering and billing across branches.• Edited, reformatted, and updated templates for new hire forms; designed PowerPoint presentations for new hire orientations.

Oakland, California

• Conducted outreach and recruitment of sponsors and attendees for company milestone event; registration of attendees in Eventbrite. • Researched companies and partners in support of the milestone anniversary celebration.• Created and implemented auditable system for tracking work hours of professional service advisors • Scheduled entrepreneur client set up and in-take calls with entrepreneur services team.• Created client accounts/contacts in Salesforce; supported pipeline by recording meeting notes and next steps.• Participated in weekly project check-in meetings regarding progress, goals and milestones.• High-level project management; recommended final format for client-company workplans.• Conducted research, presented recommendations to the Entrepreneur Services team.• Dropbox organization; inventoried 200+ online documents; created worksheets.• Researched and compiled data from entrepreneurs to populate directory and created an online format.

Berkeley, Ca

• Founded business, created business plan, conducted market research, carried out marketing and business plan.• Modified and produced garments and accessories for people with disabilities, specifically those who use wheelchairs.• Designed “Functional Fashion” by modifying existing fashion trends and styles focusing on promotion of independence and comfort for the wearer.

Foster City, Ca

• Active team member developed and implemented business relocation plan, established timelines, defined resources and ensured that milestones were met.• Established and maintained positive working relationships with IT department, contractors, technicians and customers with a focus on prompt and effective communication.Organized, scheduled, and implemented administrative tasks required for relocation plan.

• Interfaced with customers, in person and over the phone; answered inquiries, updated confidential file information and managed financial transactions.• Technical systems used – PopTART, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.

• Managed a case load of 20 individuals with disabilities; employment resources, independent living skills and housing resources/search tools.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), American/United States Studies/Civilization

Digital Photography

I spent a summer in high school taking digital photography classes at CCA, at the end of which I was offered a scholarship to attend there.