Barãta A. Bey: Driving Mission of African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania

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Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show. I am so excited to be with you on my 20th second year. How is that possible? Wow, time goes so fast. I always tell people, when you're growing up and you're like complaining, oh, it takes so long, you know, I, I don't want to have to go, I want to get to the summer vacations, I mean summer off, school is taking so long, and your parents say to you, when you get older, you're going to say Oh my goodness, time goes so fast. So enjoy it now. And I'm thinking, ah, get so tired of hearing that. Well, to my late mother and father, you were both right. You were right. Because I get going here in January, and before I know it, it's Christmas. I mean, I feel like I'm on this jet plane. But you know what? I've got the greatest passengers on the plane with me. And you listeners are some of those people. Well, if you're a listener, you are in, period. And to everyone around the world, from Saudi Arabia to Australia, all 134 right now countries, you know, and, and Perry knows this, I used to say 17. Remember that, Perry? 17 countries. Yeah, we've come, we've come a long way. And a special shout out to my friend Richard Roberts in Brazil, Gang Young Cho, who is in South Korea. And I have to give a shout out to, uh, Ambassador Guy Ogus, who's the chair of the board of the World Institute on Disability, which I was just on a board call, because he He is just an awesome, awesome person. We're so lucky to have him as the chair. And then a special shout out to my loving, wonderful, great friend Yoshiko. Yoshiko Dart, I want to hear it. Lead on. I want to hear it in my mind. Okay, I know you're shouting it. And of course, our great sponsor, Highmark. Joyce Bender, who has been the lead sponsor for years. And by the way, everyone, this is Highmark Year. We had Highmark Month— excuse me— with David Holmberg and Karen Hanlon, then Deb Rice, then Larry Kleinman. And why I started off that way— this is the 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services 30th anniversary. And how did I get started with Highmark? So that's why I started off with them, and we'll be talking about them throughout the year. So I want to tell you, I am so excited with our guest today because from when I met him twice, I could tell He's got the fire. And that's what he sort of comes across as if he's more quiet till you get to know him. But see, he's deceiving you because he is a fireball. He just has that hidden. And just a wonderful person. And of course, my great Perry Jude Radesik, my news anchor, who is with us. So Barreita, it is a pleasure. Barreita Bey, Chief Executive Officer of the African American Chamber of Commerce in Western PA, welcome to the show.

Thank you, thank you, Joyce. Thank you to your listeners for having me join you all and have this little chat. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm excited. Well, this is Black History Month. And you're hearing it right. This is Black History Month and we are celebrating it. And that's why I'm so excited to have him on. So, Breda, as you heard, we have listeners around the world and even in the United States that don't know you, but especially around the world, people sometimes don't understand. Well, what is that? What does that— what is that job? What does that mean? So let's start with, uh, you telling your story a little bit about like where you grew up, your family, where you went to school, all of those really important things. Let's hear it.

Yeah, so I'm excited to always walk down memory lane. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was born in Sewickley Hospital, uh, then we moved to Bellevue If those that aren't familiar with Pittsburgh, when I tell you that these aren't very big leaps, they're literally like right, right next door to one another. We moved to Bellevue, then we moved to Mount Vernon, and then from Mount Vernon we settled in East Liberty, and then from there to Wilkes-Barre, where I went to high school there and graduated. The joke is with my dad, he was a Marine. And so we said that once he got out of the Marines, he never got out of being deployed in many different places. So he just bounced from one town to the next town that happened to be next door to one another. Uh, in '86, I graduated from Wilkes-Barre High School. I ended up joining the military. I was stationed in Hawaii with the Army. Uh, so I know that you have some listeners from, uh, South Korea and Australia. I spent a lot of time in Australia, in Townsville. Uh, would go back there quite often. There was an exchange where they would take a battery of the military from Australia and swap them out with the US military. So I spent a couple months as an Australian, uh, military person integrated into their military. And then in Korea, South Korea, I spent some time in Seoul, Ulsan, and Pusan. And so made it back to the States after spending some time there. So kind of a world traveler. In terms of where I live now, I live in what we call Kennedy Township, close to Montour, going out toward the Pittsburgh airport. My family and I live there. My wife and I, we have 3 daughters. We have Taylor, who's the youngest. She's 26. And we have Hope. Hope is our middle child. Hope is 30. Then we have Ayanna, who is 31. And then I have my son Ryan, who is 36. Uh, we have a grandson. So Ayanna has given us our first grandson named Donovan, who's the pride and joy of me and my wife's hearts, and we just love him to death.

Oh, that is so wonderful. So were you in the military then, Barreto?

Yes, I was.

Oh, well, thank you. Thank you for your service to our country. I didn't know that until you just now told that story, so I too learned something. And as I know you know, I was very close to Doris Carson Williams. I knew Doris from the early '80s. Guess what she was doing when I knew her? This is a little bit of trivia for the Pittsburghers. She was an IT manager at Dollar Bank. Who would think that? She actually hired people from me, not people with disabilities, because before my accident, as you all know, listening to the show, I live with epilepsy. Which is why I started this company to help people with disabilities gain employment, because what I was doing was employment, executive search, and I used to place people in IT. And so I'd be with Doris somewhere and she would say, "I bet you don't know I have a computer background," but she did, and we became good friends and friends ever since. I just, you know, love her. But I wondered for you, you know, like she called and told me about you right away. You know, what did it mean to you to have her as a mentor, you know, before she left?

Yeah, it was a pleasure. I got to— I knew Doris outside of our professional settings. She's really close friends with the family, my in-laws. And so I got to know her and her late husband, Jimmy, from that perspective. But coming to the Chamber was the first time that I got to know Doris from a professional perspective. And, you know, as a mentor, I got to work with her for 13 months before she officially retired on December 31st, 2024. And what I've learned, there are some takeaways that, one, I will say this, I've always been inspired by Doris and I admire her because at the time the Chamber when she took over and started the Chamber, that was at a time when for African American women, one, they weren't in the space, and two, to come in from, like you, you explained Joyce Bender, her background to now coming into an organization that's going to help small and minority businesses scale and grow and navigate some of the challenges. To be led by a woman, that was a big task in itself. So I've always admired her for her tenacity and to be able to navigate that space. As a mentor, she just taught me, you know, one, you know, she's always— I recall being in our meetings and she would always say, no matter what, you're the leader. The chamber is the leader. We step out front and we figure it out. If there's no answers, we will make it happen. We'll figure it all out. And so that's always resonated with me because, you know, we are in the space where we're constantly solving problems and helping businesses scale and look around that corner that it's kind of difficult to do. And we're being asked to kind of do that for them. So we are a leader. We do step out within faith and we own it, right? And it's all about collaborating and just being that voice for those that sometimes don't have a voice. So I learned that from her and I carry that with me today and I make sure that no matter what I'm doing each and every day, I'm re— I'm revisiting those words that she told and shared with me because I think that it's pivotal into maintaining the success that the chamber's had.

Yeah, yeah, she is. That is really good advice. I— when you were saying about her being a female Black woman, a Black woman, not just a female, a Black woman. Here she is when she first started, you know, with the Chamber. She's gone meeting with like CEOs at all the big corporations, you know, from PPG to US Steel, and telling them, hey, you need to do this. You need to join. And, you know, can't you hear her saying that? But that is what she would say. And no fear. No fear. And she knew how to have that business acumen that they liked her, you know, and they, they, they were— they worked with her. But that takes incredible talent as to what she did. But anyway, let's hear about it. Uh, Breda, tell us about the African American Chamber of Commerce. Like, when did it start? How large is it today? And I'm proud to say I've been a member, our company. For many years. But tell our listeners about the Chamber.

Yeah, so we just talked about Doris as a dynamic leader. She inherited the Chamber in 1998, and at that time there were 28 paid members. And the Chamber has grown under her leadership. When I came on board, we were at 642. Now we are at this current day, we are at 674, 675 members and we're growing. We had 6 new members join in January and right this beginning of February we're already 3 new members in. And so the growth is tremendous. The Chamber, you know, continues to be that, that I like to consider it like that, that beacon of light. Right. We are there to really add value to helping small businesses figure things out. And there's a lot of things that they need to figure out. Right. And so we're there to really lift them up, encourage them to be that support, to be their advocate, and to really help them continue to move forward. And because we've been doing a really good job at that and the word is starting to spread, I think that that is lending itself to the growth of what we're seeing in membership.

Well, that is fantastic. When did you say it started?

Uh, 1998.

Yeah. And how big was it then?

It was, uh, it officially started in 1998 when Doris took over. Uh, I would say other than that, it was a group of business owners coming together, meeting and trying to figure this thing out. And then when they started realizing that they had more than 10 members, that it should be a full-time thing. And when Doris took over, it grew to 26 paid members and then over the course until just 2023, we had 642 members. And like I said, today we are at about 674, 675.

Yeah, and congratulations to you, Beretta. I love the chamber. I spoke there once and I'll have to come back and speak again, but when I spoke, The chair went back up and he said, I have a new name for you, Reverend Bender. That's gonna be your name, Reverend Bender, because I was preaching to them about hiring people with disabilities. But you know, I love the— is that the annual meeting where you have that big luncheon?

Yes, we have two of our biggest events as we have our We have our annual members meeting where that's where we really set the tone for what we're going to address, the direction that the chamber is going to move in, and then we lead that into a luncheon. But the annual business luncheon, which takes place in December, is where we really bring in dynamic speakers to address, to talk about some of the things that have been going on. But mainly we use that as a platform to really talk about what is going on across the country in our state and in our backyard.

Wow, you get a lot of people at that, and it really is great. But let's take a minute here. Uh, what is your website, Barreto?

So our website is, uh, aaccwp.com.

Would you repeat that?

Yes, it's aaccwp.com.

Okay, so why am I having him do it? I'm having him do that because A, you can go and make a donation, which is always good. You know, everyone has something. I always tell people, I don't care. Of course we want it to be large, but I don't care how small it is, but you can help make a change in this world. And the second reason is you should join. So, you know, if you're listening to this show right now, Even if it's that you're working at a company and you're thinking, oh, I wish our company would join, then you've got to get information from Barreda from that website, uh, because I encourage you to join. You know, the only way we can really be together in this country is if we are all together in this country, not separate, together. So I really would encourage you to join the Chamber. I mean, they do so much to help small businesses. It is really a tremendous organization. So let's talk about some of those services. Hold on a minute. We are almost at newsbreak. I think it's 2:27, and I don't want to miss this. But before we do the newsbreak, Perry, don't you agree with me how important it is for us to all support each other right now.

Oh, absolutely. There hasn't been a more important time in recent memory where we need to come together and make sure that we are uplifting each other.

And as Perry knows, when disability community has intersectionality, so you can be African American and have a disability, woman disability, Asian disability, Latina disability, LGBTQI disability, so You know, it's intersectionality. So that means we should all be supporting each other. It isn't just in these compartments, it's across the board. So we have our news break now with the dynamic Perry Jude Radesic, who has been doing this parade at like 6, yeah, maybe 7, 6 to 7 years. Yeah, I have to check it out. Yeah, a great job too. Just so you know, everyone, well, first of all, I get compliments about the Newsbreak frequently with Perry, but we are the only ones in the country doing this. I always say we people with disabilities, you know, we don't have CNN or MSNBC talking about, and this is what's happening in the disability community. You're never going to hear it. But you'll hear it here. So with that, take it away, Perry.

Thanks, Joyce Bender. I've enjoyed the conversation with you so far. So today we want to talk about the first 21 days of the Trump administration. If you've been following the news, you may think, oh my gosh, has it been 21 days already? Well, yes, it's been a whirlwind of the 21 days of the new Trump administration, and it's absolutely been marked by rapid actions and executive orders that have carried significant implications for various policy areas, including disability rights and services. One of the administration's initial actions, we're gonna talk about a few of 'em, but one of 'em was the introduction of an extensive package of executive orders. And these executive orders have been aimed at stopping federal, nonprofit, and private diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs. Now, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs have ensured nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for people with disabilities in many other communities. So this has sparked a need about the— a debate about the need to maintain safeguards for us in all of our underserved and disadvantaged communities. So there have been a bunch of executive orders aimed at that. How do they work? Well, they mandate that government contractors and grantees and federal agencies stop DEI training. That's number one. The second thing it does is it orders federal agencies to go through all of their grantees and look at us. I'm a federal grantee. Look at us to determine whether we're still even using the language DEI in our personnel policies or in any strategic plans we might have around it or on our website. So people are signing up for newsletters and they're checking websites right now to see if this language is being used. And the Trump administration claims it's an unequal a playing field. Well, we know that's not true, and so we have to digest what this all means and, and read our Notice of Awards as they come through. So you've got to read your contracts, you've got to read your Notice of Awards, and you have to evaluate what's important to you and how you can continue equal opportunity in the workplace. There was also an executive order that targets individuals with disabilities who work at the Federal Aviation Administration. Administration. Now, the Trump administration claims unfairly that people who work for the FAA, people with disabilities, make air travel less safe. There is no correlation, no data, no evidence to support that claim, but nonetheless, there is an executive order that now sits out there until another president comes and removes that executive order. Another action the president took was to freeze the payment of congressionally authorized funds to contractors and grantees. This created a chaotic several days as payment management systems were shut down, leaving states and organizations unable to access funds that had already been authorized by Congress. So if you were a local health clinic, or if you were a major hospital, if you were a nonprofit like my own organization at Disability Rights Pennsylvania, we could not access payment that Congress had authorized for us. The administration's budget proposals are also signaling potential changes in funding for disability programs. Now, their stated goal is to streamline government, and eliminate inefficiencies, but we in the disability community are gearing up to protect programs like Medicaid, vocational rehabilitation, independent living services, and other supports. These are programs that help people with disabilities achieve independence, pay taxes, and participate fully and equally in our communities. So Joyce, advocacy matters. It's really important to let our members of Congress know that any cuts to Medicaid, independent living, vocational rehabilitation, or other services are not okay and that they impact people with disabilities who are trying to pay taxes and participate fully in the community. So there is a link that I have on our website at disabilityrightsPA.org If you click on the link, uh, which you'll find this Advocacy Matters program about halfway down the page, click on the link and you'll find a way, an action alert, to make your views known to members of Congress. Please take that action today. Let's not wait. It's really important that we let our members of Congress know because I'll tell you why. Members of Congress who are already in vulnerable districts, Republicans who, like Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, out on the eastern side of the state, who represents Bucks County among other places, his district is a swing district. He needs to hear from us that Medicaid is important, these programs are important, so that he can have that to go to the Trump administration and say, "Hey, don't cut Medicaid." Don't, don't make there be work requirements. Don't block grant Medicaid. Don't do per capita cuts. Uh, so it's really important, Joyce, more than ever that we contact our members of Congress.

Yeah, you have to be a citizen. You have to be— you are a citizen, so you have to act like a citizen and let Congress know how you feel. As you probably recall, Several years ago, when there was the threat to Medicaid, there was a protest by the disability community at Congress, in the halls of Congress, and they were carrying people out that were not in the wheelchair, and people would not stop. And you know what? They didn't do it. That's right. Do you remember that, Perry?

I do. People with Disabilities Protected Medicaid, not just for us in the disability community, but for all people. There's 80 million people in America that are on Medicaid and everybody deserves protection. And yes, the disability community protested with their physical beings, with their bodies to protect Medicaid for 80 million people. And it worked.

Remember I said usually we're not on the news? That was on the news. Rachel Maddow did a little segment about that. I still remember that. So don't just sit back. I always say this. Don't sit back and say, oh no, pick up the phone or get on your email, get in touch with Congress. I agree with you 100%. So getting back to you, Mr. Barreto, we were talking about the chamber and I was mentioning that you're there to help the small businesses. What services do you offer? Because I think a lot of people don't know how much you do. So what services do you offer?

Yeah, we offer a lot of services. Some of the services that have been a part of the chamber from the very beginning is that we have what we call the Business Institute, and through the Business Institute we facilitate facilitate workshops. So these workshops vary. If you are interested in learning how to enter into the procurement process with one of our corporate sponsors like Walmart, UPMC, PPG, we give them a platform to come in and talk about what they're looking for, how to get into the procurement process, but they actually use that time and that space to walk you through every step through the process and what that looks like, expectations, things of that nature, what's your— what's needed, what's required, right, to help them be successful. The other thing that we do with that workshop is that we'll do— we'll bring in experts around AI, the new technologies that are impacting businesses and how businesses could use them. We bring in experts around HR because we also know that small businesses, the cost to have an HR team is sometimes beyond your reach. So we are bringing in experts that can provide that, provide legal support, whole wraparound services around that. We also, we provide space for some things that businesses don't really think about, and that could be if there's a unique problem that they have and they— there's only a select group of individuals, maybe someone from Governor Josh Shapiro's office that can really come in and help that. We provide that platform to bring those speakers in to really address those unique, unique needs.

Yeah, and I, I know that it makes also businesses aware of opportunities, business opportunities, uh, to, you know, to get services such as construction or whatever it would be. And that's really great you're doing that with AI, Morita. What, what are you doing with that?

So not only are we introducing, uh, several workshops, we've had several workshops. What we did is we understood that The whole— this whole thing about AI is new to a lot of small businesses. So we brought in a speaker that was very dynamic and he went from the macro level and then we rolled it to the next phase, which was the micro level. And then we brought in some, some vendors to talk about it from their perspective, their expertise on how they can work with it. We have a workshop coming up in about, I think, a month or so out from here, but this one is going to be unique in that we are going to do a survey of our members to ask them ask them to give us some real-life challenges, some problems that they're facing today. We're going to provide that to this AI, uh, company that we're bringing in, and they're going to utilize AI to begin to address these real-life situations, uh, that these businesses are dealing with so that they can see how you can actually put this to a practical use in that it's really tangible. Uh, one of the other things I want to talk about as well too is that we're going to be rolling out that are new services is that when I first came into place, we talked to a lot of our members and we asked them what are some What are some of your challenges? What are your pain points? We always get access to capital, right? So a lot of them aren't bankable because when you have a small business, a lot of the entrepreneurs don't understand that their business is so small that their credit line, their creditworthiness is tied to their personal credit. So that's a challenge. So we're helping them navigate through that, but we're also bringing in alternative lenders, CDFIs, microlenders, angel investors to really give them a diverse lending pool that they can go to if you can't get banked. The other piece that we're doing with that is we're making sure that that alternative lending is tied to a banking institute so that they can, once they get the capital, then they can work with the banking institute to better understand what are the best ways to deploy that capital to get them to where they're, where they're trying to go. And then at the same time, along that journey, as they make the right moves with that capital, make the right investments, then we're putting them on a path to where they're going to be bankable. So then they can go and have a banking relationship with a solid banking institute, pay back that loan that they've received, and that puts the money back into the ecosystem to help the next small business that's coming up. The other thing that we're really spending some time on is figuring out the two different spectrums of the two different ends of that spectrum. We have the B2Cs that are startups. We have a lot of businesses that are doing business out of their house, their kitchen, their garage. But they, they have, they want to aspire to be a full-blown business, having a brick-and-mortar location, having an online presence. We're providing wraparound services to help them figure that piece out and move. And then on the other end of the spectrum where we have businesses that are doing extremely well, we have businesses that are members that are in 5 different countries, have patents, they're doing really well, but they want to scale. We're helping them to think about that, how to scale a little differently, and that rather than landing that big contract that everybody wants and they think they can take that those revenues and pour it back into the business. We're talking about M&A. There's a lot of baby boomers that have a lot of solid businesses that they don't have an exit plan. There's not a succession plan, and their siblings and their kids don't want the business. So what's going to happen? They're going to move on to retirement. And if that business is not purchased, then it just goes away. And these businesses already have a team, they already have a banking relationship, they already have customers, and they're successful. So think about your business differently. As a CEO, you can acquire that and begin to build this portfolio of businesses, but operating it from a CEO seat where you can manage different businesses at the same time, very profitable, and use that revenue, that P&L coming, that positive P&L coming in to begin to scale and grow other businesses. That's what you should choose to do, or more importantly, to help start creating generational wealth.

Wow, that is great. That is really great, Breda, because that example you gave from working in your house to being a global company, boy, I mean, that just covers both ends. That is really, really great. And again, if you're listening, remember we're located in Pittsburgh. Where all do you work? Do you cover Western PA, Breda?

Yes, we're in Western Pennsylvania, all 10 counties.

Okay, so make sure you get in touch with Breda Bay, B-E-Y. Go to the website. I'm sure there's a Contact Us, Breda, is that right? Okay, and, and you'll be able to find out what you need. So that is one question I had. Actually, I've been asked this question. Do you— the answer must be yes, but you have members that are very small businesses to large corporations. Isn't that correct?

That is correct. We're a very diverse chamber in that the ethnicity of our business owners vary. We have African American, which probably makes up about 72 to 73%, and then everything else is from Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic. So we're a very diverse chamber, not just diverse in the different business sectors, but again, the cultures and the backgrounds. So makes it exciting place to be.

Yes, that's right. Well, Beretta, obviously you have a passion that somebody gave you, and you have such a young age, how successful you already are. So my question is, you? Who impacted you? Who was your role model?

Yeah, I would say, you know, early on, if I was asked this question a few years back, you know, Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. Du Bois, they were huge role models for me just from afar. And in such that they all have one unique thing in common, and that is that they are members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. That inspired me to join that fraternity. Because of these great men. Today, my, my role models have changed a little in that my role models are the people that have faced adversity, challenges that have been pushed upon, stepped upon, kept from being inclusive, included into different spaces and places. But they, they have the tenacity to keep pushing forward. They see a barrier, they either go around it, under it, or through it. And everyone that finds themselves in that particular situation, they're my heroes because if they can get up and continue to push forward, so can I. And sometimes a lot of them are dealing with situations that are a lot more dire than my situation, but yet they get up every day with the focus that they're going to be successful, they're going to live their best life possible for that day. And those are my heroes because I get inspiration from them. Everything that I do is because I want to help individuals like that. To realize their dreams. And so those are my heroes.

And boy, Perry, don't we have a lot of those in the disability community. I mean, when he's talking, I'm thinking about Judy Heumann, I'm thinking about Justin Dart, I'm thinking about Marcia Blanco. I mean, still, still doing this today. But so many people that were totally, totally pushed down. What do you think about that?

Oh, absolutely. And the directors that we have running our organizations, like Marcy Roth and Maria Town, and folks that have served government and done it so well on behalf of all of us, are, are true leaders and mentors to all of us.

Yes, and some of those people have gone through what Breda said and got back up. That is the key. The key is the getting back up again. So Breda, as I said, in your very young life, what do you believe over the past several years are some of your greatest accomplishments?

Wow. I— that's a very interesting question. I tend to focus on— and I'm being very sincere about this— I tend to focus on the work that needs to be done at hand. So if there's a project, if there's a problem, if there's an ecosystem that needs to be built that people can get into, that's going to help them progress to where they want to be, that's what I'm focusing on. I've been blessed over my career. I've done many different things. I reinvented myself many times. But for me, For me, it's about working with great partners, great individuals, collaborating and creating something that's going to have a lasting impact. And I've been able to do a lot of that work. I've been blessed to work as a community development officer in the state of Michigan when Detroit was coming out of the bankruptcy. So we've been able to really help that city and help individuals figure that out. And then I also had the unfortunate opportunity to be boots on the ground when Flint suffered the water crisis. And so from there in the community development space, I was able to kind of spearhead working with some other great financial institutions, community development teams to create, to raise the seed money for that healthcare fund that many of the residents of Flint, Michigan rely on. You never heard about us because we were kind of the heroes in the background. Once the seed money was there and you had Beyoncé and the celebrities come in and make huge donations. They got all the press, but that's what it was designed to do, to have something that was going to be lasting, and it needed a starting point, and we were the catalyst to make that happen. So done a lot of different things over my career that I'm proud of, but it's hard to just pick one or two to say that that's where I would pin my flag in.

I cannot imagine what that was like. What is that where you were like, what were you doing before you went to the chamber?

So I spent some time in higher ed running student finance offices and business offices, and then I transitioned. I went back to school, I got a degree in accounting with an MBA in finance, and then I transitioned into banking. Started off in retail banking with Fifth Third Bank, and then from there, after a year and a half of having success, I, I transitioned into community development in the I went to go work for a bank based out of Akron, Ohio called FirstMerit Bank, and I went to the state of Michigan to be the community development market manager for the state of Michigan and for UP. Did that for almost 2 years, just a little under 2 years. And then in 2016, Huntington Bank acquired FirstMerit. So that brought me back to Pittsburgh where I continued on as community development officer for the bank for probably about about 6 years, 5, 5 and a half years. And then in '22, May of '20, March of '22, I left to go work for a fintech called Seednote out of Oakland, California. I was the director of community finance for North America. I did that for 2 years and then the opportunity came about for me to come in to lead the chamber. So always wanting to help my backyard, it was appealing and I thought that this would allow me to take everything that I learned in community development and have a laser focus just on small businesses. And so that's what led me here today.

Wow. I cannot imagine what it was like to be in Flint, Michigan. Talk about it creating a lot of people with disabilities, you know, from surviving all of that. But I'm sure that was one of those things that gave you the feeling of Man, this is what it's like to be in poverty, and this is what it's like to have racial disparity. But it's people like you that help us. So, Perry, do you have any comments you want to make before we close the show? Well, let's start with you telling people again how to go to that website.

Yeah, disabilityrightspa.org. Is where you can find today's segment, and then you'll be able to click on a link that will take you to that congressional advocacy. And I think Barreto's background makes him the perfect person to lead the African American Chamber of Commerce for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is lucky, so is Western Pennsylvania. It's been great to hear his story.

Thank you, Perry. Yeah, yeah. Well, I think you're awesome. Barreto. And once again, if you're here in Pittsburgh, my headquarters, even though we work around the world, go to the African American Chamber of Commerce website one more time.

Barreto? Yes, it's aaccwp.com.

Okay, and one other thing. If you were listening today and you said, oh, I wish this person had heard the show. No problems. Go tomorrow to Spotify or Amazon or Apple or almost every social venue and you'll be able to hear the show. Uh, do you have a message for our listeners in closing, Barreto?

No, I would just say again, thank you all for giving me the platform and to give it up for your time to listen to what I have to say. But I would say it is so imperative that no matter where you live, no matter what part of the world you're in, we all have one thing in common, and that is that we small businesses in our communities. It is so imperative that we support those small businesses. Go in and buy, just spend a few bucks, give them words of encouragement, ask them how you can help them be successful. And I think that just that little pebble in that pond creates such an amazing ripple effect that has a positive impact rather than a negative one.

Yes, great advice. Well, we end every show with a quote. And today, this is actually from one of my favorite historic heroines. And I want to say she too lives with epilepsy. Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world, said the great Harriet Tubman. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you all next week as we continue celebrating Black History Month. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out today, remember, Choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America variety channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.