The Event Spaces
The Leadership Reception on Sunday, March 22nd, and the main conference sessions on Monday, March 23rd, will take place in the Embassy Suites conference hotel. These spaces are all wheelchair accessible and the distance between the guest room elevator and the conference spaces is very short (check back for an approximate step count). These spaces feature armless chairs.
Designated accessibility seating will be provided at the front of each session room for the main conference on Monday, March 23rd. All designated accessible seating is based on capacity and provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Seats for mobility devices and a companion will be held until five minutes before the event starts, after which unclaimed seating will be opened to the general audience.
Please check back for accessibility details about the Hill Day Breakfast Briefing space. All Capitol Hill facilities are ADA-compliant, but accessible routes may be inconvenient. The conference hotel is 1.7 miles from the Capitol Hill locations we will visit. Metro buses and trains are accessible. However, elevators at Metro stations are sometimes out of service. DC Taxi dispatch can provide wheelchair accessible cars and vans, and the approximate fair between the hotel and Capitol Hill locations is $13.29.
The Hotel
ADA-compliant hotel rooms with mobility features are available in our room block. The hotel – which includes the conference space – has a number of accessibility features, including a van-accessible parking, a pool lift, TTY, and a coin laundry facility. Please visit the Embassy Suites accessibility website to learn more.
Maps: Please check back for a map showing the location of accessible routes, elevators, accessible restrooms, and other information.
ASL Interpreters & Assisted Listening Devices
Free American Sign Language interpretation services will be offered, as needed, at the National Advocacy Summit. Assisted listening devices are available for the sessions on Sunday and Monday, March 22nd and 23rd, but not for the Hill Day on Tuesday, March 24th. To request an ASL interpreter or assisted listening device, simply email accessiblity@au.org by January 10, 2020.
PCAs
Personal Care Attendants are welcome to attend conference free of any registration fee or meal charge. However, we do need some information about your PCA to make sure our head counts are correct. Please contact accessibility@au.org if you will have a PCA at the National Advocacy Summit.
Gender Identity
Diversity of gender identity is embraced at AU. All are welcome to use the restroom that best fits their identity. There will be Mens, Womens, and All-Gender restrooms available at the Embassy Suites. Please check back for a map with specific locations. Outside the hotel, all single-stall public restrooms in Washington, D.C., are gender-neutral in accordance with local law.
Pre-printed pronoun stickers as well as blank pronoun stickers will be available at Registration. Not sure which pronouns to use for a new friend at the National Advocacy Summit? Check their badge for their pronoun sticker, and if they don’t have a sticker, just go ahead and ask!
Parents
AU is unable to provide childcare at the National Advocacy Summit. However, we welcome breast- and chest-feeding in the conference and are happy to recommend child-friendly activities around town! Please contact accessibility@au.org for more information.
Sensory Break Space & Medical Needs Room
Due to space limitations at the hotel, there will not be a sensory break space or medical needs room. We encourage those who may need a break to utilize their individual hotel rooms (which include refrigerators should you need cold storage for medications or special foods). However, if you need a sensory break space and do not have a hotel room – please stop by the registration table, and we will try to find you a space.
Service Animals
Service Animals as defined by the Federal ADA are welcome at the National Advocacy Summit. The hotel is located in an urban environment with plenty of sidewalks for walking your service animal, but please be sure to bring what you need to clean up after your animal outside. Samuel Gompers Memorial Park, which is a 3-minute, 1.5-block walk from the hotel, is the closest greenspace.
Potential Barriers
AU is striving to make the National Advocacy Summit accessible to all supporters. Due to financial, logistic, facility, and staff limitations, some barriers still remain:
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Public areas in and around the hotel can get crowded during the busy spring travel season.
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Most of the programming rooms are illuminated with fluorescent lighting.
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Signage and program booklets at the National Advocacy Summit feature regular-sized print only. If you have questions about signage during the Summit, please visit the registration table.
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The National Advocacy Summit is not scent-free.
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Most multi-stall toilet facilities in the hotel use binary language, though All-Gender restrooms will be available.
AU welcomes suggestions for making the National Advocacy Summit more accessible! If you have a comment or suggestion about accessibility, please email us at accessibility@au.org.
