Disability Matters

Joyce welcomes Jason Fonner, Vice President of Forge Solutions, a company that provides digital, print, and fulfillment customer communications solutions. He will discuss his current role and share why he has such a strong commitment to hiring people with disabilities as part of the workforce.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Gerald Homme, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition and Technology at Bender Consulting Services.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Cardell Velez, Chief Operating Officer for Health Network Provider Organization, Allegheny Health Network (AHN). Among the topics discussed will be the growth and expansion of AHN since he joined the organization in December 2025, and his commitment to hire people with disabilities.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Dr. Kelsey Harris, CEO and Founder of NeuroAxis Rehabilitation Services in Canonsburg, PA, which provides home- and clinic-based rehabilitation for complex neurological conditions. Also, Dr. Eugene Lipov, Pain Medicine Expert Witness, Medical-Legal Consultant, SGB and Autonomic Nervous System Expert, Digital Toxicity Researcher, and author, will join the show. They will discuss their healthcare expertise and its impact on people's lives, including people with complex neurologic conditions and Post Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSI).

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Albrecht Powell, Managing Director, Accenture, for its Pittsburgh office and Diversity Advocate to the show. Mr. Powell will share his experience developing leaders within organizations. He will talk about how one of the most rewarding parts of his career has been helping leaders grow and achieve not only for the organization they serve but for themselves as well, including people with disabilities.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Randy Dearth, an executive with over 35 years of experience in the chemicals industry to the show. Mr. Dearth will discuss his extensive career with various corporations and his non-profit support for organizations that support the community. Particularly, his work as a member of the board of the Bender Leadership Academy, which is committed to expanding opportunities for employment of people with disabilities from youth through adulthood.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Ms. Preety Kumar, Founder and CEO of Deque Systems to the show. Ms. Kumar established Deque Systems in 1999 with the vision of unifying web access from both the user and technology perspectives. Under her leadership, Deque has grown into a market leader, serving enterprise and government clients such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Education, Humana, Intuit, HSBC, and Target. During the show Ms. Kumar will discuss her commitment to providing accessible websites for all people with disabilities.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner, and Abby Mayerhoff, Director of Programs for the New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD), to the show. Among the topics discussed will be the various achievements of the MOPD and the long-term goals for the MOPD in the areas of transportation, employment, and the importance of voting rights for New Yorkers with disabilities.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes iDisability's®, Chief Executive Officer, John F. Walsh III and Co-Founder, Andrew Houghton, back to the show. Discussed will be the mission of iDisability® and its growth since its founding in 2016. Recent product enhancements, including an artificial intelligence solution, AskJoyce AI, will also be discussed.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.

Joyce welcomes Allegheny County Disability Advocate, Chaz Kallem, to the show. Chaz will discuss his latest appointment to PA Governor Josh Shapiro's newly established Governor's Advisory Commission on People with Disabilities and what it means to him to be a part of this prestigious group impacting the lives of Pennsylvanians with disabilities. The Commission's purpose is to recommend policy changes across the disabilities spectrum, engage with federal/state/local agencies, communicate Administration initiatives to the public, and compile information on programs, funding, and additional supports to create an inclusive resource for individuals with disabilities and their family members across Pennsylvania.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

• Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and Board Chair and Founder of Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the transition to work for youth and young adults with disabilities.
• Founding partner of iDisability, an eLearning solution.
• Named a 2024 Woman of Influence by The Pittsburgh Business Times and 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award Recipient from the Viscardi Center.