Disability Matters

Joyce welcomes Dr. Suzanne C. Smeltzer, professor and director of the Office of Nursing Research and Evaluation at Villanova University to the show. Dr. Smetzer is a nationally recognize health care expert, nurse and author. She will discuss her views on the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Sharrelle Barber, ScD, MPH to the show. Dr. Barber is the national advisor and coordinator for the Poor People's Campaign COVID-19 Health Justice Advisory Committee, comprised of a group of public health experts from Harvard (FXB Center for Health and Human Rights), UCLA (Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health), and other academic institutions across the country. During the pandemic, she has provided expert commentary on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in black communities for local, national, and international media outlets. During the show she will discuss The Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington, which will be the largest digital gathering of poor, dispossessed and impacted people, faith leaders, and people of conscience on June 20, 2020.

Joyce welcomes Marcie Roth, executive director and CEO of the World Institute on Disability (WID) to the show. WID's global mission is to continually advance the rights and opportunities of over one billion people with disabilities. Since 1983, WID remains committed to advancing promising disability inclusion policy and practices globally. Ms. Roth will further explain this mission and discuss how the organization is addressing the needs of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joyce welcomes Cliff Jurkiewicz, vice president of Strategy at Phenom and Parker Bettis, product manager, specializing in accessibility at. Phenom to the show. Phenom is a global HR technology company with a purpose to help a billion people find the right job. This is accomplished through an AI-based SaaS platform called Talent Experience Management (TXM). Each guest will provide an in-depth explanation of the Phenom TXM platform, the importance of career site accessibility, and the recent launch of HelpOneBillion—a site with a curated network of jobs and employers to help recently laid-off and furloughed individuals get back to work.

Joyce welcomes Liz Weinstraub, senior advocacy specialist for The Association of University Centers on Disabilities ( AUCD), located in Silver Spring, MD. The AUCD is a national, nonprofit organization that promotes and supports the national network of interdisciplinary centers advancing policy and practice through research, education, leadership, and services for and with individuals with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities. Ms. Weinstraub will be discussing COVID-19 and how it affects people with intellectual disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Peggy Beem-Jelley, president and CEO of the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA to the show. She will discuss what people living with epilepsy should be aware of as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joyce welcomes Dr. Cynthia Maro, Cranberry Holistic Pet Care in Cranberry, PA to the show. The veterinary clinic provides an integrative approach to pet care, utilizing conventional surgery, dentistry and medical veterinary services, cutting edge diagnostics, like CT scans and complementary acupuncture, herbology, animal chiropractic, massage, craniosacral, STEM Cell/PRP, prolotherapy, water treadmill and rehabilitative care. Dr. Maro discusses the effect of COVID-19 on pets. .

Joyce welcomes Karen Tamley, president and CEO of Access Living to the show. Access Living serves the city of Chicago Its staff work alongside people with many disabilities including intellectual, psychiatric, physical and sensory disabilities. All programs and services revolve around one central belief - that people with disabilities have the right to live the lives they choose for themselves, in an accessible, integrated world. Ms. Tamley will discuss those programs and services and how the organization is addressing the needs of the disability community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joyce welcomes Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). In this capacity, he oversees the operations of the NAD to carry out its mission of preserving, protecting and promoting the civil, human and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States. He also serves as the legal director overseeing the staff lawyers as they engage in policy advocacy and litigation work within the NAD Law and Advocacy Center. Mr. Rosenblum will continue the discussion of addressing the needs and rights of the deaf community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joyce welcomes back to the show, Peri Jude Radecic, CEO of Disability Rights Pennsylvania. Disability Rights Pennsylvania is an independent, nonprofit corporation authorized by the U.S. Congress and designated by the Governor of Pennsylvania's as the Protection and Advocacy System in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Their mission is to advance, protect, and advocate for the human, civil, and legal rights of Pennsylvanians with disabilities. She will discuss issues affecting Pennsylvanians with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.