April 20, 2026

Danny Combs: Building Opportunities In Autism Employment

28 minutes

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Danny Combs on Buildable, TACT, and Expanding Trade-Based Careers for Autistic and Neurodivergent People

Host Tony Mantor welcomes Danny Combs to discuss progress since their last conversation on creating meaningful employment pathways for autistic and neurodivergent individuals.

Combs shares receiving a Congressional Mentor of Honor Society Citizen Honor Award and being appointed by Colorado’s governor to the new Colorado Disability Opportunity Office, funded through reissued historic license plates that generate sustainable revenue for disability-focused grants statewide with disabled-led oversight.

He introduces Buildable, a new Tennessee-based initiative launching workshops in Nashville in March with Belmont University, aiming to expand TACT’s trade-skills transition-to-employment model toward full-time programming in the fall, supported by corporate partners like Subaru.

They address challenges including staffing, costs, facilities, and job availability, discuss policy barriers and data gaps like autism prevalence needs assessments, emphasize nonprofit collaboration, employer education, ROI-focused messaging, and the urgent need for future supports as aging caregivers can no longer provide lifelong care.

00:00 Show Introduction

01:02 Meet Tony and Subscribe

01:21 Introducing Danny Combs

02:39 Colorado Disability Office

03:14 License Plate Funding

04:25 Grants and Inclusion

05:05 Buildable Comes to Nashville

06:00 Workshops and Timeline

07:09 Partners and Workforce Shift

08:04 Scaling Beyond Colorado

08:34 Consistency and Franchising

09:30 Startup Challenges Ahead

10:37 State Role and Policy

11:37 Legislation and Data Gaps

15:14 Nonprofits Need Unity

16:56 Nashville Hub Vision

18:52 Employer Perception and Language

21:39 Rethinking Education and Training

22:38 Five Year Future Vision

23:46 Parents and Long Term Care

26:32 Final Message and Wrap Up

27:22 Closing Credits

INTRO/OUTRO: T. Wild

Mantor Music BMI

The content on Why Not Me: Embracing Autism amd Mental Health Worldwide, including discussions on mental health, autism, and related topics, is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.

The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect those of the podcast, its hosts, or affiliates.

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intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
Why Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)

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By Tony Mantor

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