Key Points
• Synergies Work hosted its third EDDIE Awards ceremony at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on Sept. 25.
• Five winners received awards, and one “Entrepreneur of the Year” received a $10,000 grant.
Synergies Work, a nonprofit organization that bolsters entrepreneurs with disabilities, held its third annual EDDIE Awards ceremony on Sept. 25 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.
Fifteen finalists in five categories were selected from hundreds of applicants across the country. In addition to a winner in each category, one entrepreneur was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” and a $10,000 grant to further their business. Synergies also announced a Lifetime Achievement award-winner.
The winners:
Lifetime Achievement: Ambassador Andrew J. Young
Techpreneur: Rebecca Rosenberg, ReBokeh Vision Technologies
Creativity: Alexandra Adlawan, Amazing Artist LLC
Social Impact: Russell Lehmann, Russell Lehmann
Community Champion: Fernando Olivarez, Speak 4 Hope
Newcomer: Marissa Ditkowsky, National Disabled Legal Professionals Association
Rebecca Rosenberg and ReBokeh Vision Technologies took the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. The company provides more than 115 countries — and several Atlanta institutions, including the Fernbank Museum and the Georgia Aquarium — with tools that enhance and support functional vision.
“I had always really felt left out of the disability conversation. I have low vision that really is quite invisible most of the time,” Rosenberg said. “I really felt for so long there was nothing in terms of accessibility that was really available to me … I got to college and said, [there has] to be a better way to do this.”
In addition to a cocktail hour and seated dinner, the awards included performances by Deshaymond Solomon, a finalist, and Dom Kelly, who has performed with the Indigo Girls, and music by DJ Enman “Small Eyez” Twe. There was also a silent auction, and speeches by Aarti Sahgal, Synergies Work founder and CEO; Maria Town, President and CEO of American Association of People with Disabilities; and Steven Braskamp, Executive Vice President of Financial Services at Capital One. Former “Good Day Atlanta” host Karen Graham emceed the event.
People with disabilities were at the forefront of the event, speaking, performing, and even announcing the winners. Multiple television screens provided closed captions and amplified a live ASL interpreter, and several speakers gave live image descriptions. The venue provided ramps and a sensory break room.
“It is not just a party,” Sahgal said. “This is the first time somebody has thought about founders with disabilities. When we invest in margins, the center grows.”
