Most organizations will say accessibility and disability employment matter. 

A smaller group will invest in understanding how they can strengthen their workforce, engage employees, and create meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. 

This is where those leaders come together. 

The 2027 Dining in the Dark & Executive Roundtable brings executives, business leaders, practitioners, advocates, and innovators together for two days of immersive learning, meaningful conversation, relationship building, and action. 

This isn't another conference where you spend two days listening to people talk. 

You will experience. You will connect. You will act. 

Experience Something Different 

Dining in the Dark creates an environment unlike the traditional executive event. 

During this immersive dining experience, guests temporarily remove sight from the equation, challenging assumptions and creating an opportunity to experience the world differently. 

But the blindfold isn't the point. 

What happens because of the experience is. 

Facilitated conversations help participants process what they experienced and connect those insights to leadership, accessibility, workforce strategy, employee engagement, innovation, and organizational performance. 

The goal isn't simply to leave thinking differently. 

It's to leave ready to do something differently. 

Why Be in the Room? 

Experience 

Step outside the traditional conference environment through an immersive experience designed to challenge assumptions, encourage curiosity, and create conversations that stay with you long after the event. 

Connect 

Build meaningful relationships with executives and decision-makers from leading retailers, suppliers, consumer brands, and other organizations. 

You'll also engage with practitioners, innovators, advocates, and people with lived experience who bring perspectives that can challenge your thinking and expand your network. 

Strategic networking is an intentional part of the experience—not an afterthought. 

Act 

Move from conversation to application. 

Through facilitated dialogue, practical learning, and the Executive Roundtable, you'll explore what other organizations are doing, identify opportunities within your own organization, and begin translating insight into meaningful next steps. 

What to Expect 

Day 1 | Experience & Explore 

Join fellow leaders for executive conversations followed by the signature Dining in the Dark experience. 

The evening will include an immersive blindfolded dining experience and facilitated conversations designed to help participants connect what they experience to larger questions about leadership, accessibility, employment, and business. 

Day 2 | Learn & Act 

Turn the previous evening's experience into action. 

The Executive Roundtable will feature interactive discussions and working sessions focused on practical strategies, leading practices, and organizational opportunities. 

Our goal is simple: Don't just leave inspired. Leave with ideas you can use. 

Celebrate Leadership 

The 2027 experience will also include presentation of the annual Beatriz Shapiro Accessibility Award, recognizing leadership that advances accessibility and meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. 

Why This Matters 

The Inspiration Foundation is working toward a bold goal: 

Increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities by 10%. 

Getting there requires more than awareness. 

It requires employers willing to examine assumptions, learn from one another, identify what works, build new relationships, and turn good intentions into measurable action. 

Dining in the Dark & the Executive Roundtable are designed to help make that happen. 

Will You Be in the Room? 

February 24–25, 2027 

Bentonville, Arkansas 

Planning is underway, and additional event, registration, and participation details will be announced as they are finalized. 

If you're interested in attending, bringing members of your leadership team, or exploring how your organization can become involved, tell us now. 

Complete the brief form below, and we'll make sure you're among the first to receive updates.