ADALive!

Jay Burks, Director of Supplier Diversity at the Comcast Corporation, shares about the importance of ensuring that large companies like Comcast buy goods and services from diverse suppliers, including Disability-owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs).

Jim Sinocchi, Former Head, Disability Inclusion JPMorgan Chase, lays out four principles of disability inclusion in the workplace: attitude, assimilation, accommodations, and accessibility. He notes that these are principles that extend to life itself, where people with disabilities have lives that cost more and are deemed socially inferior.

Carol Glazer, President of the National Organization on Disability, discusses how companies are interested in increasing disability inclusion but struggle with how to encourage employees to disclose their disability.

Finn Gardiner, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Autistic People of Color Fund, talks about intersectionality from personal and professional perspectives. He explains why single-identity politics are problematic. It is important to recognize how race, disability, gender, and sexual orientation work together as policies and practices marginalize certain people.

This sixth episode features a conversation with Debra Ruh, CEO, Ruh Global Impact and Executive Chair of Billion Strong. Debra reveals the policies that prevent people with disabilities from seeking employment and the changes that need to happen. Debra also shares insights about the changing perception of corporations when it comes to hiring people with disabilities and how to help organizations identify qualified candidates with disabilities.

This fifth episode features a conversation with Doug Kruse, PhD, Professor at Rutgers University. Doug discusses some of the misconceptions that employers have which prevent them from hiring people with disabilities. He also discusses how telework has benefited workers with disabilities and how to prepare those workers for the future of work.

Rebecca Cokley, U.S. Disability Rights Program Officer for the Ford Foundation joins the program for this fourth episode. Rebecca shares the importance of economic justice for people with disabilities. Rebecca also discusses some of the challenges that young people with disabilities are facing when it comes to employment and what motivates her in her work.

This third episode features an interview with Dr. Nicole Maestas, Associate Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and Research Associate in the National Bureau of Economic Research. Discover the impact of the social security system on the economic well-being of people with disabilities. Nicole also shares trends and potential policy solutions.

Taryn Williams, Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy for the U.S. Department of Labor, joins the program for this second episode. Taryn shares the Department of Labor’s overall vision for a more inclusive workforce and the steps needed to achieve this vision. Discover the holistic view of what policies are needed to advance competitive integrated employment.

In this first episode, Peter Blanck, Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, joins the program to discuss the history of disability inclusive employment policy, as well as his own background and how he came to his current position. Discover how the changing nature of work and an evolving view of individuals in the workplace has impacted disability inclusive employment policy.