Episodes

Joyce welcomes Eric Hargis, president and CEO of the National Epilepsy Foundation and Darla Templeton, executive vice president of the Epilepsy Foundation of the St. Louis Region. This show begins a two-year series where executive directors of Epilepsy Foundation, affiliates and the national office talk about how people with epilepsy can be helped by working together.

Joyce welcomes Michael Strautmanis, Senior Counsel, to the Obama-Biden Campaign and another campaign representative. Discussed on the show will be Barack Obama’s disability policy.

Joyce welcomes Donny Weber, deputy chief of recruitment and staffing, as well as other representatives from the National Security Agency (NSA). Discussed on the show will be the agency’s commitment to hiring people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Kareem Dale, The National Disability Director for the Obama Campaign. Discussed on the show will be his success founding the Dale Law Group, as a person with a disability, and Senator Obama’s views on the employment of Americans with disabilities. www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities

Joyce’s honored guests are Tony Coelho, author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Sandy Finucane, vice president of legal & government affairs for the National Epilepsy Foundation. Discussed on the show will be both of their extraordinary efforts to get the ADA Amendments Act signed into law, which restores the ADA to its original intent when signed into law in 1990. The ADA Amendments Act was signed by President Bush on September 25, 2008 at the White House.

Joyce welcomes Sally Atwater, executive director of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, as her guest. Topics on the show will range from her past work with former President George H.W. Bush and her experience at the National Advisory for Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council at the National Institutes of Health, to her views on how people with intellectual disabilities are vital members of the community.

Joyce welcomes Cindy Mancuso, career counselor and diversity advisor at Canada’s McGill University, Deborah L. Kennard, founder and board member of the Metropolitan Montreal Independent Living Resource Centre and Bob White, its acting executive director. Discussed on the show will be working for freedom and independence in Montreal, as well as a discussion of the McGill University programs and the Independent Living Center programs.

Joyce welcomes Nan Hawthorne, author of the book, An Involuntary King: A Tale of Anglo Saxon England on Disability Matters with Joyce Bender. This author who is blind will discuss her book on the show and Bookshare.org. Bookshare.org believes that people with print disabilities deserve the same ease of access to books and periodicals that people without disabilities enjoy. The Bookshare.org library provides print disabled people in the United States with legal access to over 40,600 books and 150...

Joyce welcomes Jenna Martin, Western Bureau Director of Media Services for One Economy Corporation on Disability Matters with Joyce Bender. Discussed on the show will be the One Economy Corporation and their disability work.

Joyce welcomes Christine Griffin, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioner. Discussed on the show will be LEAD (Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities). This is the EEOC's initiative to address the declining number of employees with targeted disabilities in the federal workforce. The goal for this initiative is to significantly increase the population of individuals with severe disabilities employed by the federal government.

Karen McCulloh, Executive Director of the disabilityworks initiative in Chicago, Illinois, will discuss her work to increase the employment of people with disabilities in the state of Illinois. Additionally, as founder and immediate past-president of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities, Karen will offer advice to young people with disabilities searching for employment in the nursing field.

LaVerne Baker Hotep, Director Community Education and Outreach, for Pittsburgh, PA’s Center for Victims of Violent Crime (CVVC), discusses the violence prevention programs sponsored by the organization.

Joyce welcomes Emily Malsch, account manager on the CESSI Ticket to Work Recruitment and Outreach Team, and Kenneth McGill, an independent consultant and trainer on Social Security and disability employment support programs, currently working extensively with CESSI to assist with the 2008 “re-launch” of the Ticket to Work program. Discussed on the show will be the Ticket to Work program and the CESSI mission, which is a culturally diverse organization that is proactive in employing and promoting...

Joyce welcomes Christine Griffin, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioner. Discussed on the show will be LEAD (Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities). This is the EEOC's initiative to address the declining number of employees with targeted disabilities in the federal workforce. The goal for this initiative is to significantly increase the population of individuals with severe disabilities employed by the federal government.

IDAR Dart, daughter of the late Disability Rights Leader, Justin Dart, will be discussing her father’s life-long mission to ensure that people with disabilities obtain civil rights.

Joyce welcomes Ann Sommers, Policy Council for the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Discussed on the show will be the upcoming National Forum on Disability Issues to be held in Columbus, OH on July 26, 2008. The venue allows the AAPD to welcome over 1000 Americans with disabilities to attend and commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Presidential candidates have been invited to present their vision for disability policy in America.

Joyce welcomes Andy Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, (AAPD) as her guest. Discussed on the show will be a range of topics, some of which include the mission of the AAPD; the nature and purpose of the ADA Amendments Act; the purpose of the Ticket to Work Program; and how to make sure people with disabilities are noticed by the next Presidential Administration.

Joyce welcomes Jean McCrawley, Founder of the Stevens Johnson Foundation, Mark Boxer, Board Member, and his daughter, Elizabeth Boxer. Discussed on the show will be the nature of this disease and this foundation which supports people with the disease and their families.

Dr. Buzz Mingin will discuss his company, Buzz’s Bookworm Inc.

Joyce welcomes Marcie Roth, Executive Director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA). Issues discussed on the show will range from health care and people with disabilities, disabilities and the Presidential Campaign, and high school transition for people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes actor, director, and one of the most acclaimed magicians in the world, Bradley Fields, who will discuss his unique craft.

Kathy Kerestes, long-time Pittsburgh, PA public relations practitioner, will discuss living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Trudy Lobban, Founder and CEO and Rebecca Smith, Executive Director of STARS are guests to discuss this national non-profit organization which is committed to improving the quality of life for individuals and their families coping with Syncope (unexplained blackouts).

Alan Toy, Actor and Associate Director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge in the School of Public Affairs, discusses this organization’s mission, and his work as a life-long activist in the disability community.