Episodes

Joyce welcomes Jeniece Davis, attorney and board chair, of Disability Rights Pennsylvania (DRP). Also, on the show will be Peri Jude Radecic, chief executive officer of DRP. The organization protects and advocates for rights of people with disabilities so that they may live the lives they choose, free from abuse, neglect, discrimination, and segregation. Both guests will discuss the mission of this organization in-depth.

Joyce welcomes The Honorable Tony Coelho, former democratic congressman from California and author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to the show. As we get ready to celebrate the 28rd anniversary of the signing of the ADA into law, on July 26, 1990, Mr. Coelho will discuss the progress we have made since the ADA was passed, but he will also discuss the dangers facing the ADA if HR 620 ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 passes the U.S. Senate, and what we can do to prevent its passag...

Joyce welcomes Dara Baldwin, senior public policy analyst for the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP). Collectively, the P&A/CAP network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States. NDRN’s mission is to promote the integrity and capacity of the P&A/CAP national network and to advocate for...

Joyce welcomes Andy Imparato, executive director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). AUCD is a membership organization that supports and promotes a national network of university-based interdisciplinary programs. These programs serve every U.S. state and territory and are all part of universities or medical centers. They serve as a bridge between the university and the community, bringing together the resources of both to achieve meaningful change. Mr. Imparato will ...

Joyce welcomes Judy Heumann, senior fellow with the Ford Foundation, since September 17, 2017, to the show. Ms. Heumann will discuss her role in this capacity and her long career as an internationally recognized social justice leader, and longtime human rights advocate, especially for people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Lydia X. Z. Brown a disability justice advocate, organizer, and writer whose work has largely focused on violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people, specializing in institutionalization, incarceration, and policing. She will discuss her career in depth with Joyce.

Joyce welcomes John L. Tague Jr. to the show. Mr. Tague is Principal owner of Disability Consulting Services, LLC in Pittsburgh, PA. Also, on the show will be Anne Madarasz, director of the Curatorial Division, Chief Historian, and director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum and Mary Anderson Hartley, project director for the Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium. Each guest will discuss Western Pennsylvania Disability Rights history.

Joyce welcomes Staci Dojonovic-Schutzman, Transition Coordinator at Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, PA to the show. Ms. Dojonovic-Schutzman will discuss the Bender Leadership Academy Program and the Pay Checks Not Pity® training that students with disabilities have been going through since 2001. The Bender Leadership Academy welcomes high school juniors and seniors with disabilities from four high schools in the area to attend four classes, held quarterly throughout the school yea...

Joyce welcomes Debra Ruh, Founder and CEO of Ruh Global Communications. Ruh Global is strategic communications and digital marketing firm helping corporations strategically include people with disabilities. The firm encourages organizations to connect and integrate the community of people with disabilities and other stakeholders. Ms. Rue will explain how her daughter, Sara, living with Down Syndrome, inspired her to start the firm.

Joyce welcomes Johna Gravitt and Jim Homme to the show. Johna has served as an Accessibility Consultant at Bender Consulting Services, Inc. for over 3 years. Jim has served as a Digital Accessibility Consultant in various capacities with Bender Consulting for over 20 years. Both guests will discuss their roles as valued team members delivering in Bender’s HighTest Accessible Technology Solutions line of business. The HighTest team ensures web applications, proprietary software, business processe...

Joyce welcomes Secretary Curt Topper from the Pennsylvania Department of General Services to the show. Appointed on January 20, 2015 by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe and confirmed by the state Senate on March 12, 2015, Secretary Topper’s duties include, but are not limited to, spearheading the commonwealth’s diversity, inclusion, and small business opportunity efforts within the commonwealth, including encouraging the hiring of people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Kathy Martinez, Senior Vice President, Disability Market Segment & Strategy, Wells Fargo Bank to the show. Ms. Martinez is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary at the Department of Labor, in the Office of Disability Employment Policy. In her current role, she works with line of business leaders and channel leaders, and network of Wells Fargo team members with disabilities, as well as customers, communities, and advocacy groups to expand the company’s capabilities and programs dedicat...

Joyce welcomes Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at U.S. Department of Labor to the show. ODEP is the only non-regulatory federal agency that promotes policies and coordinates with employers and all levels of government to increase workplace success for people with disabilities. Ms. Sheehy will discuss the mission of ODEP to develop and influence policies and practices that increase the number and quality of employment opportunities...

Joyce welcomes Jennifer Cobb, Director, Diversity Products at Cox Communications to the show. Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment company, providing advanced digital video, Internet, telephone, and home security and automation services over its own nationwide IP network. Cox Business is a facilities-based provider of voice, video, and data solutions for commercial customers, and Cox Media is a full-service provider of national and local cable spot and digital media...

Joyce welcomes Kelly Buckland, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). NCIL is the longest-running national cross-disability, grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Founded in 1982, NCIL represents thousands of organizations and individuals including: Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), individuals with disabilities, and other organizations that advocate for the human and civil rights of ...

Joyce welcomes Kurt Kondrich, father of a beautiful daughter, Chloe, who was born with Down syndrome. Kurt became aware of the 90+ percent abortion rate for children diagnosed with Down syndrome before birth. He embarked on a mission to be a loud voice for children like Chloe and make sure people see abilities and what a precious gift these individuals are. He will discuss how he speaks frequently to policymakers, community groups, students, and church leaders about the silent prenatal eugenic m...

Joyce welcomes David L. Casey. vice president, Workforce Strategies and Chief Diversity Officer at CVS Health to the show. CVS Health is a national leader in pharmacy innovation. A Fortune 7 company with net revenues of over $140 billion and approximately 240,000 employees throughout the United States, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. Mr. Casey will discuss CVS Health’s commitment to hire people with disabilities as part of its diverse workforce.

Joyce welcomes Regina Heyward, senior vice president and head of Supplier Diversity at Wells Fargo & Company and board member of U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN) This financial institution is a diversified, community-based financial services company that was founded in in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco. Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,600 locations. Ms. Heyward will discuss this company’s ...

Joyce welcomes Jill Houghton, president and CEO of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN). The USBLN embraces the full inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor force and marketplace; assists in career preparation for, and employment of, people with disabilities; improves customer experiences for people with disabilities; and promotes the certification and growth of disability-owned business enterprises. Ms. Houghton will discuss the USBLN Disability Supplier Diversity Program (DSDP...

Joyce welcomes Jeffrey Hawting, president of LC Industries to the show. Mr. Hawting will discuss the mission of LC Industries to provide meaningful employment for people who are blind. As one of the nation’s largest employers of individuals who are blind, the focus of LC Industries is to offer opportunities, skills, and training to people living with blindness and vision disabilities to help them cultivate a job into a rewarding career. Since 1936, the core of LC Industries has been manufacturin...

Joyce welcomes Michael Gamel-McCormick, disability policy director, Special Committee on Aging for Senator Bob Casey, Ranking Member and Kelly Buckland, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) to the show. Both men will offer their perspective on the U.S. House of Representatives recent passage of HR-620. The House bill is poised to gut title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act by removing any incentive for businesses, organizations, and anyone who provides...

Joyce welcomes Andy Houghton, co-founder of iDisabilityTM along with members of the iDisability™ production team for a closer look at this enterprise-wide eLearning Solution. Launched at the 2016 US Business Leadership National Conference, iDisability™ educates organizations and ensures employees have the foundations required to: effectively communicate with, interview, hire, accommodate, and engage people with disabilities in the workforce; build and implement an effective and measurable strate...

Joyce welcomes Barbara Merrill, CEO of ANCOR, which is the American Network of Community Options and Resources headquartered in Alexandria, VA. Ms. Merrill will discuss the ANCOR Foundation and its mission. ANCOR is conducting a three-year national public awareness campaign to convey the value and importance of community services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, highlight the support networks that enable them to succeed, and shine a positive light on the successes of ...

Joyce welcomes Emmy award-winning video journalist, Stacia Kalinoski, to the show. Stacia, whose career has taken her to local news stations in Nebraska, Oregon, and Michigan, will discuss how being diagnosed with epilepsy after a seizure in 2014 led her to produce Brainstorm, a documentary about her journey with epilepsy.