Disability Matters

Joyce welcomes back to the show, legendary morning radio host and story-teller, Jack Bogut. During the holiday season, Mr. Bogut will share more heart-warming stories of his experiences in broadcasting first with KDKA Radio and its Children's Hospital Campaign, then his work with the Make-A-Wish Campaign in Pittsburgh while working with Wish 99.7-FM WSHH.

Joyce welcomes Pastor Scott Stevens, Lead Pastor at North Way Christian Community Church in Wexford, PA. Pastor Stevens will discuss the missions of his church as well as his work on the board of the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation, an organization in the Pittsburgh area dedicated to training and developing youth pastors throughout the region as well as partnering with orphanages in Haiti. His heart for global missions has taken him to Honduras, Haiti, and China to observe orphan care ministry around the world.

During this season of giving, Joyce welcomes Jeff Fields, site manager for World Vision's Global Distribution Center in Sewickley, PA. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tracking the causes of poverty and injustice. Mr. Fields will discuss the programs of the organization, and how important it is for people to give and get involved, not only during the holidays, but year-round.

Joyce welcomes Bob Smith, chairman of the national board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation. To close out of National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Mr. Smith will discuss the programs and services of this organization and what is being done nationally to improve the lives of people living with epilepsy.

Joyce welcomes Charlie LaValle, president and CEO of Variety the Children's Charity, and board member, Todd Edmonds. The guests will discuss the programs and services of the organization. They will be discussing their "My Bike" and the "My Voice" programs. The "My Bike" program provides accessible bikes for children with disabilities and the "My Voice" program provides augmentative communication devices for children who live with disabilities impacting speech.

Continuing with the recognition of November as National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Joyce welcomes The Honorable, Tony Coelho, author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to the show. As a person living with epilepsy, Mr. Coelho will discuss his experiences and how he has overcome the stigma often associated with epilepsy.

Joyce welcomes motivational speaker, Michael Kalberer a Long Islander with cerebral palsy. In addition, he lives with Leber congenital amaurosis (a retinal degenerative disease which slowly causes loss of usable sight). Michael earned his BA in Psychology and Speech Communications from Hofstra University along with his Master's degree in Social Work from Adelphi University. Michael will discuss his passion to empower all individuals and embraces every opportunity to educate, inform and interact with family, friends, students, and audiences. Professional colleagues have expressed strong endorsements of Michael's ability to connect his audience "because everyone's humanity matters". Mr. Kalberer specializes in helping others reach their full potential.

Joyce welcomes David Holmberg president and CEO of Highmark Health, a national health and wellness enterprise based in Pittsburgh that serves an estimated 40 million people nationwide. Mr. Holmberg will discuss the Highmark, Inc. commitment to employing people with disabilities through its involvement in the Careers2B program in partnership with Bender Consulting Services, Inc. Founded in conjunction with Bayer Corporation and Bayer MaterialScience LLC.

the Careers2B program is designed to address the lack of experience barrier for people with disabilities and increase marketability of this talent to perspective employers.

Joyce welcomes Robert James, supplier diversity program manager for Highmark Health, Inc. Mr. James will address the importance of Highmark Health's supplier diversity program, the results being achieved, components of how the company carries out its supplier diversity program, and its new mentor-protégé pilot program.