Disability Matters

Disability Matters Joyce welcomes Maria Town, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and Christine Griffin, DisabilityAdvocate and former employee of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Personnel Management to the show. Each guest will share their perspective on the status of the disability rights movement as we close out 2025.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

Joyce welcomes Lisa Scales, President and CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to the show. Ms. Scales will share the mission of this organization and impart upon the listeners the heightened importance of donating to the food bank during the holiday season as well as year-round.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

Joyce welcomes Aaron Keller, Owner, VoiceAmerica Media and Producer/Engineer for Disability Matters with Joyce Bender at VoiceAmerica. Along with discussing his career, Aaron will share his reflections on having the pleasure of working with Joyce to bring her show to her loyal listeners for the past 20 years.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

Joyce welcomes Dr. Calvin Troup, the current President of Geneva College. Among the topics discussed will be the direction he has taken the college under his leadership.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

Joyce welcomes Charlie LaVallee, former CEO of Variety the Children's Charity back to the show. Mr. LaValle will discuss his long career with this vital organization. With a mission to empower children with disabilities to live life to the fullest, Variety the Children's Charity provides life-changing mobility and communication equipment to ensure its most vulnerable kids are no longer left out, behind, or excluded. Mr. LaVallee will also share his special friendship with Fred Rogers tell how that friendship influenced his passion for helping children in his career and even into retirement.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

In recognition of November as National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Joyce welcomes Colleen Fulkerson, Senior Manager, Special Events and Andrea Zonneveld, Director of Community Education & Outreach from Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA (EAWCP) to the show. Joining them will be Logan Huwalt, a Baldwin-Whitehall high school junior living with epilepsy. He is a valued advocate for people living with epilepsy and works hard to raise funds for the EAWCP. He will talk about his experiences living with epilepsy and what it means to him to have EAWCP's support for himself and for others living with epilepsy. The guests will discuss the importance of educating others about epilepsy and supporting those who live with epilepsy.

Joyce welcomes Nanette (Nan) DeTurk, executive level leader with financial, strategic, and operational expertise in health care, insurance, and consumer product/service industries, to the show. As the retired Executive Vice President, CFO & Strategy, Highmark Health, she will be discussing her extensive career in the healthcare industry. Additionally, Ms. DeTurk will discuss her commitment to finding talented people with disabilities to fill roles in the healthcare field.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

ENCORE PRESENTATION of May 27, 2025, Joyce welcomes Dr. Louis Olander, Ph.D., Director of Research and Veterans' Initiatives at Disability: IN. As a veteran and advocate, Dr. Olander will share his work with Disability:IN, and the ways in which the organization supports veterans with disabilities, in honor of Memorial Day.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

As we enter National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Joyce welcomes Landis Wiedner one of the leading voices in epilepsy today. She's the founder and host of What the EF?, a top 10% global podcast which, was recognized by the California State Legislature with a Media Excellence Award. She will be discussing the latest advances in the treatment of epilepsy for those that are living with the condition.

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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.

Responsible Joyce welcomes Molly Burke, a multi-hyphenate creative and advocate who uses her voice—on stage, on screen, and on the page—to educate, entertain, and drive meaningful change for the world. With over 5 million followers across social media, she has built a globally recognizable brand as a speaker, content creator, author, consultant, and model. Diagnosed at age 4 with Retinitis Pigmentosa—a rare degenerative eye disease—Molly began public speaking just a year later, sparking a lifelong mission to amplify the voices of the disability community. During the show, Ms. Burke will share her passion to be an advocate for others 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.
• Recipient of the 2024 Visionary Award from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC.