Episodes

Joyce welcomes Holly O’Donnell CEO and Jennifer Mathis, deputy legal director of Policy and Legal Advocacy for the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and Eve Hill, a leading disability and civil rights attorney with Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP. Discussed on the show will be the mission and various programs of the Bazelon Center for America in Washington, DC. Also discussed with be how the Bazelon Center and its partners reached a groundbreaking settlement agreement with the St...

Joyce welcomes disability rights leader, Helena Berger and president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to the show. Ms. Berger will share her feelings about having Ted Kennedy, Jr. as chair of the AAPD, as well as discuss many of the programs and services provided by AAPD, including planning for the ADA’s 30th anniversary.

Joyce welcomes PA State Representative Dan Miller, Allegheny County’s 42nd District to the show. Representative Miller will discuss his duties as chair of the Allegheny County House Democratic Delegation. He will also discuss his recent appointment to co-chair the National Task Force on the Future of the Workforce. The initiative is designed to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The task force is bipartisan, bicameral collection of legislators, agency heads, and advoc...

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 29th 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.

Joyce welcomes Karen Hanlon, executive vice president and COO of Highmark Health, Inc. Ms. Hanlon will discuss her new role as COO. In addition, she will also discuss the corporate culture that David Holmberg, CEO has instilled throughout the organization, as well as the leadership beliefs she instills in her leadership team. Ms. Hanlon will explain why she believes Highmark Health is committed to an inclusive company for people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Jeremy Shapira and Kiersten Crosby to Disability Matters. Both guests are on the new Pittsburgh, PA-based Disability Inclusion Consortium. Jeremy Shapira is strategic manager, Inclusion and Diversity for Giant Eagle, and Kiersten Crosby is managing director, Corporate HR Service Delivery, Diversity, Diversity & Inclusion for FedEx Ground. Led by Giant Eagle, FedEx Ground, and the United Way of Southwestern PA, the Consortium is made up of 30+ Western PA employers who are making it...

Joyce welcomes Christine Griffin, immediate past chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Also included will be Ari Ne’eman board member of the AAPD. Discussed on the show will be the overall mission of AAPD and an in-depth discussion of their roles within the organization.

Joyce welcomes two members of the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council (PaRC), David Mann, current chair of the PaRC and Claire Senita the organization’s vice chair. The PaRC is a statewide citizens group created to advise the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) about how well its programs and services match the needs of people with disabilities. The mission of the Council is to inform and advise the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the State Board of Vocational Rehabilitat...

Joyce welcomes Larry Kleinman, executive vice president, chief human resources officer for Highmark Health. Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA based enterprise that employs more than 40,000 people who serve millions of Americans across the country, is the second largest integrated health care delivery and financing network in the nation based on revenue. Highmark Health is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, and HM Health Solutions.. Mr. Kleinman will discuss the compan...

Joyce welcomes Erik Jimenez, disability leader and senior policy director in the Nevada State Treasurer’s office. He will discuss his political career and his work on the legislative committee for the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Gerald Homme, recruitment specialist for Bender Consulting Services, Inc. to the show. Gerald will discuss Bender’s Career2B initiative. The Careers2B initiative is a program designed to increase the professional level experience and marketability of early career professionals with disabilities. Founded in conjunction with Bayer Corporation and Bayer MaterialScience LLC, the objective of Careers2B is for people with disabilities to gain the work experience required to increase the...

Joyce welcomes Claudine Malone, director of programming for the Beau Biden Foundation and Joshua Alcorn, its chief operating officer, (COO) in Wilmington, DE to the show. The Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children was created to honor Beau Biden's life's work: ensuring children are free from the threat of abuse. Each guest will discuss their role with this foundation and the programs and services it offers.

Joyce welcomes Allegheny Health Network (AHN), Orthopaedic surgeon, Robert Schilken, MD, and Matthew Aaron, president and CEO of Special Olympics Pennsylvania to the show. Both guests will explain their roles with the Special Olympics of PA (SOPA) and how being a part of the Special Olympics program is beneficial for the staff, volunteers, and athletes with disabilities alike.

Joyce welcomes Elijah Armstrong, a student at Penn State University in Pennsylvania, who has started an organization called Equal Opportunities for Students. The organization teaches self-advocacy by informing people of their rights under federal law and also explores issues of social justice. Elijah will discuss when his self-advocacy began, what made it necessary for him to stand up for himself and what led to his passionate stance that anybody with a disability needs to learn the skills to ad...

Christine Griffin is a disability rights leader and search consultant at Bender Consulting Services, Inc. She will discuss her background at Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) within the federal government, the Disability Law Center of Massachusetts and her work at the White House.

Joyce welcomes, Dustin Gibson, another 2019 American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Hearne Emerging Leader Award Winner to the show. Dustin works beside community members and grassroots organizations to lead campaigns and build coalitions to eliminate police violence, address community needs, end the criminalization of students -specifically African American disabled students. He advocates for the implementation of policy and legislation to reduce harm. He will discuss his work i...

Joyce welcomes Frances West, an internationally recognized thought leader, speaker, author, strategy advisor, and women-in-technology trailblazer known for her work in innovation, technology, and business transformation. She is the founder of FrancesWestCo, a global strategy advisory company focused on operationalizing inclusion as a business and technology imperative through her unique Authentic Inclusion™ blueprint. She will discuss her work in depth during the show.

Joyce welcomes Laurie Henneborn a managing director within the Accenture Research organization. She has operational responsibility for the global teams dedicated to supporting the research and thought leadership needs of the Digital, Technology and Operations Businesses and their related initiatives. This includes managing program budgets and related third-party content subscriptions. Laurie's research capabilities include market research and competitor intelligence, thought leadership creation,...

Joyce’s honored guest is disability advocate, Sarah Blahovec. Sarah is a recipient of the 2019 AAPD Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award given out at the 2019 American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Leadership Award Gala on March 12th in Washington, DC. Diagnosed with severe Crohn’s Disease at age 15, she has always had a passion for politics and focuses her advocacy on civic engagement and issues that intersect the chronic illness and disability communities. The AAPD Paul G. Hea...

Joyce welcomes Todd Bankofier, CEO of AudioEye, Inc. AudioEye provides enhanced web access and usability for its customers. AudioEye’s custom and proprietary Digital Accessibility Platform testing suite automatically detects Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) access criteria violations and details best practices to remediate issues. Mr. Bankofier will discuss how AudioEye is helping companies improve digital accessibility.

Joyce welcomes Laurie Henneborn a managing director within the Accenture Research organization. She has operational responsibility for the global teams dedicated to supporting the research and thought leadership needs of the Digital, Technology and Operations Businesses and their related initiatives. This includes managing program budgets and related third-party content subscriptions. Laurie's research capabilities include market research and competitor intelligence, thought leadership creation,...

Joyce welcomes Colleen Starkloff co-founder, with her husband Max, of the Starkloff Disability Institute. This 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is dedicated to helping people with disabilities participate fully and equally in all aspects of society. Founded in 2003, the organization works on changing social attitudes and perceptions about people with disabilities through activities that send a positive message about living with disability in order to create a world that welcomes them. Ms. Stark...

Joyce’s honored guest is Pittsburgh’s own, Rob Pratte. Rob is a long-time NewsRadio KDKA host and former Pittsburgh cable TV host. Rob will discuss his career in broadcasting, and why his compassion for people with disabilities is important to him. He will also explain how and why that compassion compels him to feature topics affecting people with disabilities on his shows.

Joyce welcomes Robert Wong, CEO of Control Bionics to the show. The mission of this company is enabling communication for people living with paralysis or loss of speech. The company has developed a truly innovative way to accomplish this. It's greatest reward is returning the joy of communication to people who have lost their ability to communicate. Mr. Wong will discuss the various products and services provided for this population.