ANCOR Links

It's National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)!

First up, your host André Floyd is joined by Alli Strong-Martin, ANCOR's Communications Coordinator, for a quick review of NDEAM. They unravel its history, many changes, purposes, initiatives, and wins, but also share data on how far we have to go.

Then, André welcomes Maya Cox, Associate Manager at Public Consulting Group LLC in the Aging and Disabilities Center of Excellence. Maya is a Certified Employment Support Professional, a LifeCourse Ambassador, currently serves as the Board President for APSE, and has more than 14 years of experience in disability services, with a focus on improving employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Maya and André look at the employment of people with disabilities and all of the ways it intersects with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) work. From accommodations that can be useful for a wide range of people, to cultural benefits, they touch on it all!

Then Donna Martin, ANCOR's Senior Director of State Partnerships & Innovation, chats with Jeannine Pavlak, President and CEO of New England Business Associates (neba). Donna and Jeannine talk about challenges that drove the development of NEON, the National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network, a Department of Labor initiative to collaborate with national provider organizations to develop strategic plans to improve disability employment.

Episode transcript!

This podcast is produced by ANCOR, the leading voice in Washington, DC, for providers of services for people with disabilities. To learn more, visit ⁠ancor.org⁠.

Show Notes:

Check out NEON: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/neon

Check out Public Consulting Group: https://www.publicconsultinggroup.com/

Check out APSE: https://apse.org/

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In this episode of ANCOR Links you’re going to hear all about advocacy!

Our first segment is a conversation between ANCOR’s Sean Luechtefeld and Lydia Dawson, our Senior Director of Government Relations. They discuss the importance of public policy in securing key rights for people with disabilities, and preview our upcoming Policy Summit & Hill Day.

Then Noah Block and Josh Rael, Executive Director at Alliance (Colorado), chat all about direct advocacy. Josh, who has been an advocate on the state and/or federal level for over 20 years, discuss the importance of advocacy, how it’s changed, and ways interested people can begin their advocacy journeys, at-home, in-person, or both.

We wrap up with an informative conversation with Alexia Kemerling, the REV UP Coalitions Coordinator at AAPD, who talks about voting rights for people with disabilities. She shares frustrating data on how many votes from people with disabilities are missing, as well as details about the barriers confronting voters with disabilities, how those barriers are being addressed – and how you can help!

Episode transcript: https://www.ancor.org/ancor-links-season-1-episode-2/

This podcast is produced by ANCOR, the leading voice in Washington, DC, for providers of services for people with disabilities. To learn more, visit ⁠ancor.org⁠.

Show Notes:

If you have questions about guardianship and voting, the Protection & Advocacy organization in your state can help you.

Find yours here: https://www.ndrn.org/about/ndrn-member-agencies/

Learn more about REV UP: https://www.aapd.com/about-rev-up/

State guides for disabled voters: https://www.aapd.com/voter-info/

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Welcome to Episode 1 of ANCOR Links!

In our inaugural episode, you’ll hear from our CEO, Barbara Merrill, and COO, Gabrielle Sedor, as they share why we’re excited about this podcast, and what to expect in this and future episodes.

Then we welcome Joe Macbeth, President & CEO of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, for a chat with Elise Aguilar, ANCOR’s Director of Federal Relations. Joe and Elise discuss the importance of having a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for DSPs—and how you can lend your advocacy to legislation making its way through Congress.

In our final conversation of the episode, we are delighted to share the important perspective of Monique St. Clair, ANCOR’s 2023 National Direct Support Professional of the Year. In a conversation with Noah Block, ANCOR’s Advocacy Manager, Monique tells us why she became a DSP, the challenges and triumphs of the job, and how best to support DSPs now and in the future.

This podcast is produced by ANCOR, the leading voice in Washington, DC, for providers of services for people with disabilities. To learn more, visit ancor.org.

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Welcome to ANCOR Links, a podcast produced by ANCOR, a nonprofit organization whose 2,000+ members work all across the country to make inclusion a reality for people of all abilities.

There are intersections and connections everywhere, and through the Links podcast, ANCOR aims to connect the dots between a range of conversations.

Join us as we examine topics related to disability and disability services in a more holistic way. Be sure to subscribe to get new episodes, every other Wednesday, as soon as they're released!

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Intro music provided by YouTube Audio Library

Intro Music ⓒ V for Victory - Audionautix