Disability Matters

Joyce welcomes Samuel Estes, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors at the Hundley Foundation and Board Director at the Bender Leadership Academy. Samuel will discuss advocacy for disenfranchised youth and children living with disabilities. We are so proud to have Sam Estes on the show, as we celebrate Black History Month.

In recognition of February as Black History Month, Joyce welcomes Evan Frazier, President, and CEO of The Advanced Leadership Institute back to the show. The Advanced Leadership Institute is an organization aimed at cultivating Black executive leadership to strengthen companies, institutions, and communities. Mr. Frazier will share the ways this organization works to build African American Leaders in the region.

Joyce welcomes Ardana Jefferson, Executive Director of the Homeless Children's Education Fund (HCEF) to the show. The HCEF 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization was established in 1999 to support the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. Over the years, HCEF's role in the community has developed and expanded to meet these needs. HCEF relies on support from community foundations, corporations, and individuals and receives no governmental funding. Ms. Jefferson will share more about the mission of the nonprofit organization and its accomplishments under her leadership.

Joyce welcomes Doris Carson Williams, President & CEO from the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western PA, (AACCWP) to the show. In celebration of Black History Month, Doris will discuss the mission of the African American Chamber of Commerce, and its role in helping advance the lives of African Americans.

Joyce is honored to bring back to the show, Richard Roberts, Deputy Cultural Affairs Officer and the American Presence Officer for Northern Brazil at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia. Mr. Roberts will introduce Guilherme Braga, CEO and Founder (Employment of People with Disabilities) of Egalite. Egalite started as a small project inside a University in Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil. They provide recruitment and consulting services for companies that want to hire people with disabilities. Mr. Braga will explain their mission in detail and share his company's experience with hiring people with disabilities.

Joyce is honored to bring back to the show, disability rights leader, Ted Kennedy, Jr. As an amputee and childhood bone cancer survivor, he has been an active leader in the disability rights and independent living movements nearly his entire life. Mr. Kennedy is Co-Chair of the Disability Equality Index (DEI), the leading corporate social responsibility, accountability, and ESG benchmarking tool that scores and tracks businesses on their disability inclusion policies and practices. During the show, he will discuss the power of the DEI, how investors have responded to studies about disability inclusion, and how the DEI continues to open the doors to employment for individuals with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Alisa Smith, Accessibility Evangelist, at AudioEye and Scott Hammerstrom, Manager of Programs and Partnerships with Bender Leadership Academy. The guests will discuss AudioEye's partnership with Bender Leadership Academy as a sponsor of the DigitalAccess@Work program to increase job opportunities in the field of digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities. DigitalAccess@Work provides students with disabilities an overview of the impact of digital accessibility on the lives of people living with disabilities, while offering an opportunity to explore digital accessibility testing as a career opportunity. DigitalAccess@Work is currently offered as a summer program to individuals living with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Temple Grandin, Professor at Colorado State University (CSU) within the Department of Animal Science to the show. Dr. Grandin is the most celebrated adult who is autistic in the world. She is an American academician, animal consultant to the livestock industry, and author. Among the topics she will discuss will be her latest book and her first breakthrough in the treatment of livestock in a humane way that made an international impact. She will also share her passion for helping young people with disabilities and her love of teaching for 30 years at CSU.

Joyce is excited to start 2023 with the returning champion of competitive employment for Americans with disabilities, David Holmberg, President, and CEO of Highmark Health and Chairman of the Board, Highmark, Inc. Mr. Holmberg launched an initiative in 2020 to hire 30 people with disabilities from Bender Consulting Services to honor the 30th anniversary of the signing of the ADA, called the Highmark 30/30. He has continued this initiative, with an increased commitment for each anniversary, 31 in 2021 and 32 in 2022. During the show, David will talk about the initiative and how it happened. Additionally, David will discuss how the company plans to continue its unprecedented record of hiring people with disabilities in 2023. Highmark is a $19 Billion-dollar integrated health care delivery organization with headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA.

Joyce welcomes back to the show, Maria Town, President & CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD); Holly O'Donnell, President & CEO of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Peri Jude Radecic, CEO, of Disability Rights Pennsylvania. The guests will discuss disability rights in 2022.