Episodes

Joyce welcomes John Kavanaugh, the vice president of finance for CSC's North American Public Sector. In addition to his executive role in the finance organization, John is also actively involved in CSC's Abilities First Network as one of its co-executive sponsors. Discussed on the show will be the CSC Abilities First Network, which serves people with disabilities working at CSC and their supporters, and is one of nine employee resource groups available at CSC. This group focuses on educating and...

Joyce welcomes Allegheny County executive, Rich Fitzgerald to the show. Discussed on the show will the Allegheny 365 program. The program is designed to ensure that all individuals, including those with disabilities, can engage fully in the broad spectrum of county services, year round. Allegheny County has complied with the spirit and requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, in many cases, exceeded the legislative mandate. Still, the Allegheny 365 program strives to ensure...

Joyce welcomes Jen Gilliland, who was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania 2014, during the annual pageant on Saturday, March 22, 2014 in Bradford, PA. She will discuss living with Transverse Myelitis, and her journey to become Ms. Wheelchair PA; she will also discuss how she plans on using her title to help all residents of PA who are living with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Sarah Triano of San Jose, California to the show. Sarah was appointed in 2013, by California Governor Edmund G. Brown, as the executive officer of the California Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities. Sarah was executive director at the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center since 2009. She will discuss her background and how she plans to use this appointment to help the governor advance the initiative of hiring people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Dr. Mark Boxer, executive vice president & Global Chief Information Officer for Cigna. Cigna (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. All products and services are provided exclusively through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and Cigna Life Insuranc...

Joyce welcomes Maureen Cahill senior vice president of Total Rewards at Highmark Health. A native of Western Springs, Ill., Ms. Cahill comes to Pittsburgh from Chicago, where she served in similar roles with the Career Education Corporation and Hewitt Associates (AON Hewitt) after being director of human resources for the Illinois Child Care Bureau for 11 years. She will discuss Highmark’s commitment to hiring people with disabilities as part of their diverse workforce strategy, and her role sup...

Joyce welcomes Robert B. Noll, PhD from the University of Pittsburgh’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Related Disabilities (LEND) program. Dr. Noll’s research has focused on gaining a better understanding of the impact of medical challenges for children, their parents, and siblings. The fundamental premise for this body of work is to identify specific domains of functional vulnerability so that clinical trials could be initiated with a specific target; and second, to utilize medical ...

Joyce welcomes Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is the nation's premier civil and human rights coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Mr. Henderson will discuss how the Leadership Conference works toward the goal o...

Joyce welcomes William Kiernan, appointed the dean and research professor at the School of Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMASS Boston. He is also the director of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCED). He will discuss his expertise with transition, employment and public policy development, workforce development and systematic change.

Joyce welcomes Doris Carson Williams, president and CEO of The African American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) to the show. The mission of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania is to continuously improve business and professional opportunities for African American business owners and professionals. Guided by the core values of equity in opportunity, economic advancement, self-sufficiency and entrepreneurial excellence, the organization seeks to advance economic parity for ...

Joyce welcomes comic book writer, John McLaren and creator of the comic book superhero “Toteman”. The production team of “Toteman”, created a comic book designed to enlighten the public about epilepsy awareness, including the dangers, the symptoms, the myths and the first aid response. Mr. McLaren will discuss what led to the creation of this comic book and why it is important to him.

Joyce welcomes Amy Lott, nurse, musician, and person living with epilepsy. Amy will discuss her life with epilepsy, and how that led her to meet the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Tony Coelho. Through her personal story, she hopes to inspire other young people living with epilepsy.

Joyce welcomes Katherine Archuleta, director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), with the federal government. On May 23, 2013, President Obama appointed director Archuleta to lead the agency responsible for attracting and retaining an innovative, diverse and talented workforce to make the federal government a model employer for the 21st century. Ms. Archuleta will discuss the hiring successes associated with President Obama’s Executive Order to increase employment of Americans with disa...

Joyce welcomes Robert DeLucia, owner of Veterans’ Taxi Service to the show. Mr. DeLucia discusses this relatively new company to the Pittsburgh, PA market which offers a choice to patrons who have only had one cab company, Yellow Cab, for years. Veterans’ Taxi offers the public an affordable service that is on par with Yellow Cab. That means its drivers — military veterans — are independent contractors who lease the vehicles and charge the same rate as the Yellow Cab taxi service. Several of the...

Joyce welcomes Edwin Black, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling international investigative author of 120 award-winning books in 14 languages in 65 countries. He has also written scores of newspaper and magazine articles in leading publications of the United States, Europe and Israel. With more than a million books in print, his work focuses on genocide and hate, corporate criminality and corruption, governmental misconduct, academic fraud, philanthropic abuse, oil addiction, alternati...

Joyce welcomes Judy Painter, retiring executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Western/Central and Pennsylvania (EFWCP), to the show.

Joyce welcomes Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president and CEO of RespectAbility, USA to the show. Jennifer will discuss the mission of this non-profit organization and its on-going efforts. RespectAbility, USA is helping the 57 million Americans with disabilities achieve the American dream. In RespectAbility’s version of that dream, Americans with disabilities are respected members of the workforce and wield significant political power.

Joyce welcomes to the show, David Morrissey, executive director of the United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD), Tony Coelho, former congressman and author of the ADA, Tom Ridge, former Pennsylvania Governor, Jill Houghton, executive director of the United States Business Leadership Network (USBLN), and Dick Thornburgh, former PA Governor and former U.S. Attorney General. Each guest will talk about the recent efforts to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Di...

Greg Smith, host and founder of the nationally syndicated On A Roll talk radio, is one of the most dynamic voices in the disability movement today. Born in Bay Springs, Mississippi in 1964, Smith was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Smith started On A Roll as a local AM radio program in Phoenix in 1992, expanding it to include more than 70 national stations in the next 11 years. During the show, he will talk about his extensive career in the disability rights movement.

Joyce welcomes Dr. Suzanne Mellon, President of Carlow University since July 2013 to the show. Dr. Mellon comes to Carlow University from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she had served as Executive Vice President and Professor since 2009. She will discuss her mission and goals for Carlow University during her tenure. In particular, she will discuss her continued commitment to students with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes William Kiernan, appointed the dean and research professor at the School of Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMASS Boston. He is also the director of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCED). He will discuss his expertise with transition, employment and public policy development, workforce development and systematic change.

Joyce welcomes to the show, David Morrissey, executive director of the United States Council on Disabilities (USICD), Tony Coelho

Joyce welcomes 13-year-old Autumn Bishard to the show. Autumn, who lives with cerebral palsy, was named National American Miss Pennsylvania Junior Teen for 2013, while also winning the spirit award and being named the fourth runner-up for the spokes model competition. She will discuss her recent title, and how she plans to use the platform to empower all girls to be the best they can be no matter what struggles or obstacles get in their way.

Joyce’s special guest this week is Santa Claus, whom Joyce will be interviewing about his preparations for this special holiday. During the hour, Joyce will share Santa’s perspective on the importance for all of us to share our time and resources with everyone in need, not only during the holidays, but year-round, and discuss how important it is for us to love one other and work together for the common good.