The William W. Picard Inspire For
Life Foundation
- This Foundation is under
- the umbrella of the
- National Heritage Foundation
William W. Picard
(207) 782-5184
OBJECTIVE
My goal in starting Inspire For Life is to deepen employers', employees' and students' understanding of people with disabilities. Mainly, I want to inspire all people to be the best that they can be.
EDUCATION
B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Management, December 1998
- University of Maine, Orono, Maine
- Additional Concentration in Developmental Disabilities
COMPUTER SKILLS
IBM compatible computers:
- InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 - Editing video including vhf tapes and putting them on DVD's
- Special Equipment - Pathfinder, Liberator, Touch Talker, Light Talker (talking keyboards)
- Word processing - Microsoft Word, Excel, Corel WordPerfect
- Presentation program - Microsoft PowerPoint
- Internet - Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, E-mail
- Web Page Design - Basic HTML using Microsoft FrontPage and scanners
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
- Lecturing at Maine schools, university classes, keynotes, conferences, workshops, and assemblies. Speaking schedule
- Database management of website, Opportunities to Completion (OTC): Post secondary Education for people with disabilities, project.
- Maintained website for Opportunity to Completion On line Disability Information System: ODIS.
- Maintained discussion group on campus FirstClass email system.
- Surveyed UM buildings for accessibility problems.
- Participated in a interview using my talking (Liberator) keyboard in a video called Breaking ground (which sold all over the country) about the challenges and obstacles students with disabilities encounter in college.
- Research on home ownership for people with disabilities
- Reviewed selected policies and practices at UNUM.
- Assessed challenges and included recommendations on enhancements.
- Promoted ideas to make their company more diverse and adaptable to employees with disabilities.
- Requested by Sandy Bishop (Manager of Diversity, UNUM Life Ins Co of America).
- Consisted of representatives from higher education, business and state and local government.
- Talked about my experiences of living, working and studying in Maine, what challenges I had to face and what things I would like to see different that would allow people with disabilities to be more productive citizens of our communities.
Center for Community Inclusion, University of Maine, May, 1998 - June 2001
Practicum, UNUM Life Insurance Company of America, Portland, Maine Jun. - Aug. 1997
Panelist at the Diversity Summit in Portland, ME, September 23, 1997
Web site
Managing my four businesses
- The Maine Youth Leadership Board of Directors invited me to be a Keynote Speaker at the 06, 07, 08 Maine Youth Leadership Seminar. It was to a group of 120 students from all over the state of Maine and 50 staff members of their all volunteer organization. The Seminar Co-Chair said “every year the segment of the seminar was rated WOW on all of our surveys and was number one all over." So they asked me back for 09.
- Miami, Florida at TASH’s national conference, I discussed post-secondary education from a personal perspective as a student and as an employee on a grant designed to increase opportunities for success in higher education for students with disabilities.
- University of Maine, Orono and other universities: A variety of presentations to undergraduate and graduate students about disabilities, special equipment and augmented communication devices in regard to my educational experiences in public school and two colleges.
- Awareness talks at Maine K-12 schools.
- Worked with Alfond Arena Management to get fair seating for people with disabilities.
Public Speaking: Presentations and Talks 1994 - present
- Showing people and businesses a new way to shop which will save them time and money.
Landlord 2000 - present
- Landlord of my college boarding house. 2000 - 2003
- Landlord of my eight unit apartment building. 2004 - present
Unique comedian 2006 - present
- I set up
this foundation to educate about people with disabilities and inspire them at
the same time. This was a great idea but I am not a good grant writer so I
started to change my focus to stand up comedy three years ago.
- Over 50 performances at
- Comedy Connection in Portland, ME
- Comedy Connection in Boston, MA
- The Funny Bone in Pittsburgh PA
- Mount Ida College Newton, MA
- And more
- Over 50 performances at
Management Experience 1988 - present
- Advertising for, and management of, my Personal Assistants including hiring and dismissing employees and keeping payroll records.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- National Honor Society
- Alpha Phi Omega-Fraternity
- The Union Board
- Friends of the University of Maine Women's Basketball
INTERESTS HOBBIES
- I enjoy listening to music, watching the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and going to comedy shows
- To busy for hobbies
REFERENCES
- Available upon request