Connie Feda: Proprietor Partners with Bender Leadership Academy

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.

And welcome to the show everyone, and welcome to National Disability Employment Month. Anyone that knows me, why don't I call it National Disability Employment Awareness Month? We've had enough awareness. Okay, we've had enough awareness. Let's hire people. That's where the rubber meets the road. And I do want to thank the Office of Disability Employment Policy for all they're doing this month to see people get employment. So first, I have to have a shout out to all of my listeners around the world, from China to Saudi Arabia. Thank you so much, and thank you for your dedication, uh, all these years. You know, it's because of you I continue this broadcast around the world. In some of the countries, guess what? There's one person. That's it. But you know what I say? One person, one, can make the difference. So thank you so much. And now to the United States. Wow. You know what? You're listening to the show right now. I just want to tell you, I love you. You're wonderful. Such great listeners. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to have Listeners of the year. That's what I'm going to do. So if you're listening to the show today, I'm Joyce Bender at joycebenderconsult.com. And if you are ready to be heard in Brazil, send me your email. And Richard Roberts in Brazil, how are you, Richard, my friend? I love you. He's with the State Department. He is the best of the best. I can't wait to see you. Can't wait. And Carla and Gangyang Cho in South Korea saying hello to you. You are so awesome. And all my friends, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Japan, Panama, all around the world, you know I love you all. Keep spreading the news to everyone. And last but certainly not least, a special shout out to Yoshiko Dart Yoshiko. Yoshiko Dart is just a disability rights giant, and she is the widow of the late, great Justin Dart Jr. She is a wonderful leader. Yoshiko, lead on! I know you're shouting back to me from your room. Lead on, Yoshiko. And my sponsor is Highmark, Highmark Corporation. You know what I say about them? I say Highmark sets the high mark for other companies to follow. Do you know this is my 21st year on the air? How is that possible? Time goes so fast. But again, would I be on without you? No. So thank you so much for your constant listening to the show. So now I have a guest today. I love the guest, love her. She is the co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream. She is innovative. She has won awards at the Heinz History Center from the Bender Leadership Academy, She is just a force to be reckoned with. Connie Fada, welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you on as we celebrate National Disability Employment Month. So, you know, there are people around the world and the United States that don't know how awesome you are. So could we start with you sharing your story?

Well, sure. Thanks, Joyce, first for having me. This is such a thrill. I grew up in Pittsburgh. My dad was in the Navy, so we were always exposed to a lot of different types of people. I guess that's where my foundation of just accepting people where they are comes from. I went to Point Park University with the idea that I was going to become a journalist. That did not happen. Instead, I got married, had 6 kids. Adopted one with a disability, and then of course my daughter Hannah, who helped us start Cookie Cookie, was born with Down syndrome. And I just considered myself to be a mom until I was in my late 50s. Uh, here we are now, completely different story 10 years later. So I started this with my son. I know, right? 6 kids.

I didn't know you had 6 children. Wow, I don't know how you do all of this that you do.

And all of these kids grew up to be disability advocates. Every single one of my kids is more remarkable than the last, so I was truly blessed in that, in that way.

Well, they are blessed to have you. They're blessed to have you, obviously, with what you've done. Um, but you know what, Very few people successfully become an entrepreneur. So what led you to being an entrepreneur? What I mean is, what made you decide, I can do it, I'm gonna do it, I can do this? What was it?

I was gonna say it was a lot of little baby steps. It started with little projects, uh, little cottage industries, but you know, I did laser engraving and t-shirts or whatever. But when Hannah was 8 She said she wanted a doll that looked like her, and American Girl dolls were very popular then. And she said, "No dolls look like me." And I looked and looked and couldn't find a doll with Down syndrome that was attractive. And so I said, "Well, gosh darn it, we're going to make one." And that was about a 5-year project. She doesn't play with dolls anymore, so I don't sell dolls anymore. But that was very successful, and now there are several dolls on the market that are beautiful with disabilities of all sorts. And I'm proud to be part of that movement. But I think that, that little bump allowed me to see that how big the potential really was. So when Hannah got to the point where she needed a job and we couldn't find the training for her, we realized there were a lot of kids in the same situation, capable, smart, motivated kids who just didn't have the opportunity And coincidentally, at the same time, my son was looking to leave IT and moved back to Pittsburgh. So we said, what the heck, what's the worst thing that can happen, right? We get fat from ice cream, we're going to give it a try. And it's been just going great guns ever since. It's fantastic.

Yes. And so you all know this, before we go to break, Connie actually had, uh, Bender Leadership Academy She had— you can make a donation. The only problem is the ice cream kept selling out when people went to buy it. But she is doing the same thing this month. So if you're listening to the show, go early before the ice cream is gone. Go to Cookie Cookie, buy ice cream, and this will make a donation to the Bender Leadership Academy. And I want to tell you, the first time around she had purple, which as you know is my favorite color. But her— although she's also known for her coffee, okay? Scott told me, "Wait till you taste the coffee." Very rare to have excellent coffee and ice cream at the same time, but we'll talk more about that in a minute. But first, we're going to go to break. And if you just joined us, we are talking to Connie Fada, co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream. We'll be right back with Connie. Don't go away.

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At Highmark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diverse skills which complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com.

Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender Services include disability employment consulting, training, and technology accessibility through their HI-TEST line of service. For more information, please visit www.benderconsult.com.

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You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Well, welcome back to the show with Connie Fader, the co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream and a real disability rights advocate, because yes, She employs people with disabilities that we're going to talk about in a little bit, which all started with her daughter Hannah, who lives with Down syndrome. But because before we talk about any of that, Connie, why don't you tell our listeners about Cookie Cookie Ice Cream, like where you are located? Uh, I don't know if you have a website, like how people they can find out more about you. But if you live in the Pittsburgh area, where are you? How do you get there? And could you share with our listeners about those delicious goodies you sell?

So we're located in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, which is just outside of Pittsburgh. Uh, we're located at 1815 McKees Rocks Road, right in the heart of Kennedy Township. We're in a little strip mall, so we're kind of in a neighborhood setting, which we love. We are, uh, just celebrated our second year anniversary. Very exciting. We sell homemade cookies, mostly from my mom's recipe book. My mom passed away in 2014, but her cookies live on, and lots of people who love them then can love them in a bigger format because our cookies are huge. My son makes all the ice cream, small batch, in a gelato machine, so it's got a texture Unlike most ice cream with all-natural flavors, it's— I would put our ice cream against anybody's ice cream. And then of course we carry a locally roasted 19 Coffee Company coffee, which is fantastic. And any of those 3 things together, you can't go wrong.

Well, hey, let's hear about the ice cream. What flavors are we talking about here?

So our signature flavor, by accident, is stracciatella, which is Italian-style chocolate chip. We learned about it, my son and I went to Italy, we met the guy, a guy who was making this gelato, and we said, "Oh, this is so delicious." We don't speak Italian, so we put it into our Google Translate, "How do you make this?" And he looked at us and he said, "What? It's chocolate chip." And we thought, "Oh my gosh, it's not like any chocolate chip that we ever had." So we were taught how to make it, and it's made by pouring melted chocolate into the ice cream machine, and then it shatters. So instead of getting chunks of chocolate, you get these tiny little flakes to just melt in your mouth. It's phenomenal. Our chocolate is second to none. It's 3 different kinds of cocoa blended together. All of our fruit flavors are made by in-house-made purees. Like, we try and do as much as we can, as small as we can, to preserve the— I don't know— the integrity of great food, you know, as you know. And incidentally, the Bender flavor for the fundraiser will again be purple. It's going to be a blueberry Bender parfait, and everyone who buys a parfait will be donating $1.50 to Bender. And last year, as you said, we sold out every single one we made. We're working on a blueberry cake to go in this parfait. It's going to be beautiful. And there should be pictures on our website, probably not until Friday, but that is Cookie Cookie Ice Cream. At, uh, .com, cookiecookieicecream.com.

Now, when, when are you there? When does this— I mean, when does it open? What time does it open?

Okay, I open at 7 in the morning. If my lights are on, I'm open even if it's not 7 in the morning. I get here early to start baking before the student cohorts come in to start with me, and then we close every night at 9 except for Mondays. We're starting to close at 5 on Mondays because we realize after 2 years we probably need a nap sometime. So, um, but we're here every day, 7 days a week.

You know why I'm asking you?

I got it because you're coming to visit.

No, I want to know when I— oh, I've been there, remember? And it was—

that's what I'm saying. I thought you were coming back.

I am, except I want my ice cream. So that's why I'm finding out what time do you open so I don't get there and my ice cream is not there. Because all my friends would call me. I went there and got your ice cream, but they didn't have your ice cream. It was sold out. I said, well, go back.

Well, I like to think we learned from last year and we will make twice as much to begin with. We didn't anticipate the, the power of the Bender words to get people in here, but it definitely— it's going to be something that people aren't going to want to miss.

Oh, No, you won't. So if you're listening to the show, you better go there. Cookie Cookie Ice Cream. You better go, better go buy that ice cream. Remember, it's purple, my favorite color. So what more could you want if you do that? So you opened this great place because of Hannah. What did Hannah think when you told her you were going to do this?

Um, I think Hannah has a pretty good track record for knowing that it takes me a while to do things, but if I say I'm doing it, I'm going to do it. And everyone jumped on board so quickly in my family in general that once COVID ended, the train went pretty quickly. So, Hannah was in here with Addison, myself, my youngest Reese, my husband, making, you know, scraping up floor tile and peeling off drywall like the best of us. And she initially, I think, didn't really understand the difference between doing this really neat thing and working here. But now this is her— like she belongs here. Not just because her family's here, but because now this is where her friends are and this is where everyone in the neighborhood knows her and she knows everyone in the neighborhood. And it's turned out to be a great thing for Hannah. She— I think she's living her best life right now. I know I'm living my best life right now.

Oh, that's wonderful. Now I gotta ask you, so how did you come up with this idea?

My son came back from Wisconsin quite despondent one holiday season saying, you know, IT is just killing me and I really want to do something different and I don't know what. And in that conversation he said, "What was the best job you ever had?" And I said, "You know, the best job I ever had was when I was in college and I worked at an ice cream store." So that got us kind of thinking about it. And then we thought, you know, you have to do what you know. He was talking about soup. We don't make soup, but we do make cookies and a lot of cookies. And so we thought, well, what goes together? What goes with cookies and ice cream? And so it just sort of evolved into this idea. And then my son was drawing on a napkin and he wrote "cookie" and "cookie" on the napkin and put ice cream in the middle and we went, "Ah, ice cream sandwiches, that's brilliant." And that just kind of, you know, brainstormed it into being. And we were both at a place where we were ready to move forward and do something different, meaningful. You know, I was— I'm in the— most people are retiring when I started, but the time was just right for everyone. So it was sort of a collaboration of ideas.

You know, I mean, I think it's just amazing. How the heck did you know how to make ice cream? I mean, how—

We went to Penn State, we took a class, and then we got a bunch of books, and then we met this Bulgarian guy who sold us our ice cream equipment, and we went down to North Carolina for a couple of days and he showed us some of his little secrets. And, um, turns out ice cream making is not hard. Being creative is the hard part, coming up with ideas. Like, we make a caprese salad, we call it Crazy Caprese Salad. It's a basil ice cream with a tomato jelly and a balsamic ribbon. That's the hard part, going Hey, what, what sounds like it would be good ice cream? But the actual day-to-day operations are just fun. They're easy. All the people that work here are friendly and happy because it's not a hard place to work. It's a happy place to work. So it's— I can't tell you enough good things about not just how it's ended up, but because of the people that we have here, the environment that we've created here is Truly something, something wonderful.

Um, do you— so at Halloween, or for Halloween, do you have pumpkin ice cream? Is that what you do?

Oh, we have that pumpkin out now. We have pumpkin spice. My son takes apple cider and cooks it down for about 3 days with cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger and then makes an apple cider ice cream, which just came out in the case yesterday. That if you like apple cider, you— this won't We take that apple cider ice cream and we put it into a cup of hot chai tea. I'm telling you, oh, it's a beautiful thing.

Well, I love pumpkin, so that sounds really good to me. I, I figured you were going to have that out for, uh, this time, this time of the, you know, this time of the year. Um, so Connie, you also employ people with disabilities And we're going to talk about that a little bit more, but before we go to break, what is your favorite ice cream?

Oh boy, I think still my favorite that he's made is the Chili Fig. It's a light fig ice cream and it's got flecks of chili pepper in it. So when you eat it, you get this beautiful burst of sweetness and then this little, um, after sort of wave of heat. It's, it's lovely. Wow. I had never had one. That's the one I'd pick.

Wow. Well, okay. Well, obviously I'm going to pick my ice cream, and when they don't have my ice cream, the next one is going to be that chocolate. You know that chocolate ice cream?

Oh my goodness.

Oh yeah, I'm all about chocolate. So I know—

I gained 3 pounds just talking to you.

Well, I— and the cookies. We haven't even got to the cookies. Cookies yet. But you know what it is about you? You're such a nice person and you're so happy. I just want to tell everyone, you can't imagine how wonderful she is and how she's been so kind to us and so wonderful to work with. Really, you've got to go.

Oh, thank you.

Cookie, cookie ice cream in McKeesport in Pittsburgh. PA. So if you're not, gotta come to Pittsburgh, go straight to Cookie Cookie Ice Cream. And with that, on the way home from the airport, yep, we gotta get ready to go to break. If you just joined us, we have been talking to the co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream, Connie Fata, who, as you will be hearing in a few moments, is also a disability rights advocate for employment. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. If you're in Pittsburgh, hey, purple ice cream, Bender Leadership. We'll be right back with Connie Fata. Don't go away.

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Are you currently receiving SSDI or SSI and wanting to work? Did you know there is a free Social Security program called Ticket to Work to help you try work without risking your benefits? My Employment Options is an authorized SSA Employment Network. Specializing in work-at-home and local job placement in 47 states. Our clients receive a personal counselor to help find the best job fit and a staff-certified benefits counselor for help with Ticket to Work protections. Ready to try working? Apply for free job placement help at myemploymentoptions.com.

At Highmark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diverse skills which complement each other. Creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to Work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com.

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You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Welcome back.

And if you've been listening to this show, I'll bet you're hungry, because we've been talking to Connie Fata, the co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream, and you live in Pittsburgh. Gotta go. And you can go to— is it cookiecookieicecream.com or is it cookiecookie.com?

What's your— no, cookiecookieicecream.com.

Cookiecookieicecream.com. And you know, it's National Disability Employment Month, and this wonderful person is having a fundraiser for the Bender Leadership Academy. So you've got to get out there, go buy that ice cream, Bender Leadership Academy. Ask for it when you go, and you should let me know that you went. You know how you could let me know? When you go there, take a photo. Take a photo with the ice cream and send it to jbender@bender consult.com. So Connie, you employ people with disabilities. Could you talk about that? Because even when I told someone, they said, really? I said, yeah, really, really and truly, she does. So how about if you explain that to everyone?

So we started the business knowing that that was our endgame.. And I guess that makes us a little different from existing businesses that eventually, hopefully, everyone will catch on that this is a completely underutilized part of the workforce that brings so much to the workforce. But I knew from Hannah that the energy that a person— well, I specifically work with individuals with intellectual disabilities because that's where Hannah falls. Although we do have other disabilities represented. Present it here. In fact, we have a gentleman who is deaf who teaches the sign language here on Tuesday nights and also works for us on Fridays. We started— Wow, that's awesome! Oh, he's great. That's the benefits. And I'm learning sign language. It turns out I can learn numbers in sign language. I don't always give back $900 and change. We started we knew that we would have Hannah, that that was always going to be part of it. But as we were building out and roughing out the idea of the pro— of what we envisioned, we realized that we wanted to hire more people with disabilities and give more people an opportunity to truly shine for who they are. But training for Hannah was impossible to find. So we turned our vision more to starting a training program because we knew, and we were right, that if we train the individuals to work in our environment, that we can then hire them. But we also know that we can't hire everyone because we're not big enough yet. I wouldn't rule it out, but we have successfully helped individuals who've come through our training program source work in other places because they've gotten the soft skills that they need to do that. We've just been very fortunate that if a person loves to work here and they're good at working here, then we attempt to cross-train them in every single thing they can do. So there's not one person that just comes in and they only wash dishes. That's crazy. I mean, lots of places have a dish washer. I'm not saying that that's not a viable thing to do, but I'm saying that we're small and we have a lot of things to do, and so everyone learns to do a lot of things. And what we have discovered through that process is specifically one individual comes to mind who started with us as part of the Bender cohort system that we set up with you, actually. He came through a high school in his transition years, and he was functionally illiterate. He graduated high school unable to read. And he was with us for a while before we discovered this fact. And we began to help him and modify what we do here to accommodate for him, to make up for that. So, for example, we changed the color of our flower bin. So now our flower bin is yellow. So now he knows that. And it actually— any accommodation we make for anyone helps everyone. There's no— it's not— you're not doing something for one person. Anything that makes it easier for one person makes it easier for everyone. Really. That kid said to me one day when I was decorating a cake, "You know, I always wanted to try that." So, we put a cake bag in his hands, and that kid now, 6 months later, is the kid who keeps the cake orders going with Hannah. Between Hannah, one other person, and Lionel, they keep that cake case full. They do the orders for people, and they do a fantastic, beautiful job. Just phenomenal. And it just goes to show you that if you get the opportunity to try something that you want to try, well, then the sky's the limit.

You know what? That is a— isn't that a great story? That is just such a great story. And you know what that's all about? Giving someone a chance. So would you mind explaining to our listeners you hire people with intellectual disabilities, and what have you found? What difference have you found between them and other people you've hired?

Okay. So, the first year that we were working with the individuals with the disabilities through the schools and through OVR and the programs we've done, that part was pretty much a learning curve for me. How much is too much to expect someone to know how to do before they come in, and how much of what they learned is something that they will be able to take somewhere else. But I very quickly discovered that that was the same question regardless of whether the person had a disability or not. So everyone, when they come here, pretty much starts, I think, on equal footing. They don't know how to scoop ice cream. They don't know how to Some kids in our neurotypical population don't know how to crack an egg or count change. These are all the things that we do with our program kids, but also with our neurotypical high school kids. But what I did learn was that when we first started, we hired kids based on, not our program kids, but our neurotypical kids based on, you know, their job interview and what we thought we were looking for as a skill set. And we quickly learned that we should be hiring people based on their personality and their tolerance for people with differences. So the first year was bumpy, but this year we have a solid, I would say, family of kids that all work together. And the kids that are in our IDD population and the kids that are in our neurotypical population work and learn side by side with, I would say, no difference. Sometimes You have to think about the way a person gets information in and puts information out. But just like Lionel, when you— if you can make a cake border, you can make a cake border, and that doesn't matter who you are. Some people can do it and some people can't do it, and it has nothing to do with your IQ score. It has everything to do with whether or not you have a knack for doing that. And I think that goes across the board for competitive employment in general. Competitive Competitive employment means a person can do a job. End of story. They can do the job. So when people come in here and they are waited on by an individual with an intellectual disability, in the first year they might have been like, oh, you know, they feel sorry because whatever reason. If they didn't grow up with Hannah, they grew up with Hannah, they would know that feeling sorry is an irrelevant emotion to have. But when they are just waiting on somebody who's just taking their order and taking their money and giving them ice cream, then it changes the way that they perceive the IDD population. And in turn, the rapport that we have with our customers is more positive. So I would say the number one thing about hiring people in the disability population is we have a more positive work environment here than most places I've worked. Wow. I think that's a big part of it. I think a big part of it is that my— and I say kids not because they're not young adults, it's because I'm in my 60s. When these kids come in, they come in ready to work. I'll tell you one more small short story. You'll appreciate this because this is a kid who also started in the very first Bender cohort. This kid's name is Donnie. We love Donnie so much. Donnie, we had to get the summer off because real life demanded that he, as a young 20-year-old, go have a life and go on vacation and whatnot. So the school year just started back up, and he came back to work, and we hired him. Now he's just an employee now, but he walked in the door the other day, his first day back, with a backpack on. He walked through our front door, through the little gate to the back, stopped before he even put his stuff down to pick up a rag from underneath the— where we keep our cleaning rags. One more step to pick up the sanitizer spray. By time he got to my station, which is another 30 feet, he'd already said, oh my gosh, Miss Connie, what a mess you made back here. Dropped his backpack behind him, didn't even put it in the employee area, was already cleaning. He wasn't in the store 5 minutes and he was right back there, right back to work, happy to be there, chatting, just part of, you know, his life. We're just part of his life, and he's just part of our life. And so for us here at Cookie Cookie, it's got such— it started out as a mom-and-pop store, right? But it's, it's bigger than that, and it's, it's bigger than that for our, for our employees. It's bigger than that for our community. And hopefully, eventually, we will have a footprint large enough that it'll be bigger than that for a lot of people, which I didn't realize was my dream until last year when I met with you guys at Bender and talked about how big the world can be, starting one at a time. So, again, thank you, Joyce, from the bottom of my heart for just sparking that bit of belief that I didn't know I needed to— that's a flame I didn't know I needed to fan, and that allows me to fan that in other people, and hopefully that just spreads.

Well, that is awesome. I'm glad you're thinking this way because you can get bigger, and you are— I want to say again, You have no idea what a big difference you're making, Connie, because you are showing everyone and everyone listening to the show hearing you talk that people with intellectual disabilities can do the job and do not need to be in subminimum pay. People with disabilities can work, they can perform, and they can do a great job. If you give them a chance. That is what people are learning from you as they're listening to this show today. And hey, Cookie Cookie isn't like this slow area. I mean, slow moving. I mean, it's a fast-moving environment and you've got to keep up with it. And her employees do keep up with it. They do. Sure. Well, yeah, they do, but we'll talk about them more in a minute. But But first, we have to go to break, our last break of the day. We have been talking to Connie Fata, co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream and a wonderful advocate for the employment of people with disabilities. And folks, she's doing it herself. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice. Where Disability Matters at voiceamerica.com. Don't you dare go away unless you're going to Connie's to get ice cream. We'll be right back.

A little birdie told me Voice America is on X. Follow us. And Voice America TRN. Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender Services include disability employment consulting, training, and technology accessibility through their high-tech line of service. For more information, please visit www.benderconsult.com.

Are you currently receiving SSDI or SSI and wanting to work? Did you know there is a free Social Security program called Ticket to Work to help you try work without risking your benefits? My My Employment Options is an authorized SSA Employment Network specializing in work-at-home and local job placement in 47 states. Our clients receive a personal counselor to help find the best job fit and a staff-certified benefits counselor for help with Ticket to Work protections. Ready to try working? Apply for free job placement help at myemploymentoptions.com.

At Highmark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diverse skills which complement each other. Creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to Work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com. The internet's number one talk station.

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You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

And welcome back. Boy, if you just joined us, wow, you missed out. We're talking I'm talking to Connie Fata, the co-founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream right here in Pittsburgh. And you can go to cookiecookieicecream.com and you can hear all about it. And let me tell you, this wonderful woman has a partnership with us at the Bender Leadership Academy and brings on to work people with disabilities, intellectual disabilities. You know, I'm telling you, people with intellectual disabilities— parents tell me all the time, "Oh Joyce, could you find a place? Do you know of any way I could find a place for my child to work? Because when I die, I don't know what will happen. We can't find work anywhere." Well, look what this mother did. The mother of Hannah. So obviously, Connie, you do believe that they are equal workers to non-disabled workers. So I have a question for you. Why do you think people have such a stigma toward people with disabilities?

I think at the very heart of it that We live in fear generally of things we don't understand. And we have an idea in our head about what it must be like to be that person in a wheelchair or be that person with an intellectual disability. But we don't have a frame of reference for what it's really like to be those people because people like my Hannah, that's just who they are. So, if you don't have experience personally, one-on-one, and have an opportunity to meet someone who's just presenting themselves as who they are, then you don't necessarily have the capacity to— the words are escaping me— you don't necessarily have the capacity to live outside of your own fear or your own false narrative. So that's why when I, when I started this, I felt like this was so important because people see individuals with disabilities just doing their job here. And I think the stigma ends by personal interaction, one-on-one personal interaction.

I think you said it all when you talked about the fear and lack of understanding.

Yeah, and I think— and I don't fault people for that. There was a point in my life where I think I might have resented people somewhat for that, when I would— they'd find out Hannah had Down syndrome and they would say, "I'm so sorry," and I said, "Well, you know, if you knew her, you wouldn't be sorry." You know, I'm sorry about a lot of things my kids do, but that's not on the radar at all, you know? It doesn't make any difference. When Hannah was born, they told me she probably wasn't going to make it through the night. They said, "She has Down syndrome, but that's not important right now. She's probably not going to survive the night." She had holes in her heart, she had collapsed lungs, longs, you know, she was blue. And, you know, now here we are 25 years later, and they were right. The Down syndrome was never the important part of that equation. She was just a baby. She just ate and pooped and slept like every other baby. And, you know, her, her trajectory for doing things was a little less predictable, but she got there, you know. So I think it's just a lack of understanding. And I think that we can change that. Like you say all the time, one person at a time, we can change that.

Yeah. And you know what? Don't say that to someone. I mean, that's like me. I live with epilepsy. And I've had people look at me and say, "Oh, I'm so sorry." And I said, "Why? What are you sorry about?" You know, I'm successful. Well, that you have this. I said, well, then you think that is a bad thing or something I should be ashamed of. And I am not. I am not ashamed that I'm living with epilepsy. I am proud of who I am, and Hannah is proud of who she is. And before I forget, would you mind— that story was so great. About the person that wanted to learn to make coffee.

Could you tell that story? Oh, Sasha. Sasha started in the vendor cohort program, and we have a tiered program, which is they work for 13 weeks and then 13 weeks and 13 weeks. And if they want to learn more skills or whatever, we just keep them. Well, one day— she was always in the kitchen— and one day she said, do you think— we have a big espresso machine, said, "Do you think you could teach me how to make coffee?" So we showed her how to make coffee. About a week later she said, "Do you think you could teach me how to make a milkshake?" Like, sure, we can teach you how to make a milkshake. The third day she said, "Do you think you could teach me how to scoop the ice cream?" And we said, "Hey, hang on a second, Sasha, do you want to work in the front?" She said, "Yes, I do." And now we hired her for the front. So she works evenings and she's being trained by our longest-standing neurotypical trainer. She's not a trainer of— she's a trainer for all the kids. She's the teen that we give all the teens to. And so now Sasha is being trained by Sophia, who is just a coworker. She's just being trained by a coworker like everyone else, and they're becoming friends, and it's great. Now she can work any shift she wants, and she can bake the cookies in the back and do all the stuff in the front.

You know what I love about why I made you tell that story? Who she is trained by. She's trained by an employee of yours that is neurodiverse. Right.

That— she's not trained by someone who needs special training to train someone. She's just training someone to do a job.

By another person with a disability. I mean, that makes it so great. That is a great story. Well, Connie, we're soon going to be coming to the end of the show, but before we do, first of all, thank you for everything you're doing for the Bender Leadership Academy. You are being heard all over the world. So if you're in an English-speaking country, what does this show you? This shows you that people with intellectual disabilities people with disabilities such as Down syndrome can be successful and work. How about that? And if you're here in the United States, well, really anywhere, go to CookieCookieIceCream.com and you can read all about it and see the menu and everything they have. And if you're in Pittsburgh, you better go there and you better get the Bender Leadership Academy ice cream, that's a donation to the Academy. So, Connie, what message would you like to leave with our listeners today?

I would like to tell your listeners today that even the smallest things can make a huge difference, so don't limit yourself. To doing what is expected of you. Instead, decide what the right thing to do is and do that. Reach out to that person who has a disability and just say hi to them. Don't, you know, just treat them like a person. And I know the people who listen to your program already are people who have compassion and understanding for diversity in general, or a heart work for it. But, you know, be the one who helps other people see that there's nothing to be afraid of, I guess, is what I'm saying.

That's right. What great advice that is. Wow. We end every show with a quote, and today that quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt, who said, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. This is Joyce Bender at voiceamerica.com. I have to end with a quote. Well, not a quote, but it is. It's the words of Mary Brooker. So in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out today, when you go out tomorrow, whenever it is, Remember, choose joy. Talk to everyone next week. Happy National Disability Employment Month.

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.