Join Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst) Founder & CEO Melinda Briana Epler with Victor Calise for strategies on how to make disability accommodation the new norm in the working environment. 

Victor Calise shares his disability journey and how he turned it into a strength, becoming one of the most innovative advocates for disability. In this rich conversation, we learn about:

• The forward-thinking work New York City is doing in collaboration with other cities to build inclusive working environments
• The need for "accommodation" of the disabled community and how COVID-19 has helped accelerate the workplace's transformation
• The impact of outdated regulations on the community 
• How we should not separate disability from the other movement fighting for a more inclusive working environment.

Some of our favorite quotes from the conversation with Victor Calise:

“People with disabilities who didn't have the opportunity to get to work because of their disability didn't allow them to for transportation or immune reasons, whatever that might be, now is the opportunity. It is important because people with disabilities live in poverty and a way to get them up from poverty is through work”.

"The reality is that people with disabilities aren't really disabled. It is our environments that disable us. If we can fix those environments so we can live our lives there is no such thing as disability."

Additional Resources

• Watch Commissioner Calise’s talk from Tech Inclusion New York in 2016 on our YouTube channel
• NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities' Digital Accessibility Guides 
• NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities' Accessible Virtual Meetings Guide 
• Check out #DisabledTwitter to learn more about current issues and follow thought leaders with disabilities
• Empowered Cities Initiative by the National Disability Institute 
• World Enabled by Dr. Victor Pineda 
• Smart Cities Library for resources and innovation in accessibility at

[image description: image of Victor Calise  (a White man with  grey hair, smiling) and Melinda Briana Epler (a White woman with red hair and glasses, smiling), with the text "Episode 27: how to make disability accommodation and inclusion the new working norm" against a black background with red and white text]

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Producer: Juliette Roy

Project Manager: Sally Moywaywa

Finance & Operations: Renzo Santos

Diversity & Inclusion Specialist: Antonia Ford

Created by: Melinda Briana Epler

For more about Empovia, and to join us for a live recording, visit changecatalyst.co/allyshipseries

YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empov

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