Disability Advocate, Laura E. Randa

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.

Good day everyone and welcome to our show. You know what, Disability Pride Month is over. But Disability Pride is year-round, right? And that is why I love the guest we have on this show. Before I start, special shout out Yoshiko Dart. Yoshiko, think of you all the time. And Richard Roberts in Okinawa, Gangyung in South Korea, Cheryl Harris in Tunisia, and Veniamin in Kazakhstan. Let me tell you what, they're all with the— all but Veniamin is with the State Department. Veniamin works with the State Department, but my other friends are with the State Department, and I've done some time presentation for them, the majority in person. But with COVID this year, we had to do Tunisia and Libya by Zoom, but they are awesome. They are great friends. I just love them all. Keep fighting the fight. And hey, we have 17 countries with listeners. China, number one. Anyone in that country, keep spreading the news. And I always tell people, I don't care if there's only one person, like Saudi Arabia, that one person, One person can make a difference. You need to spread this news to other people. And I mean it. You're all champions to me that you're listening to the show. You need to tell other people about this show so we can get an employment revolution going on. That's what we need, an employment revolution. And thank you, Highmark. Oh my God. Highmark has been a sponsor of this show for years. The CEO, David Holmberg, is just so awesome. Couldn't do this without Highmark. Thank you so much. So remember, you heard me say about these great people I've had on the show and these powerhouses I've had on the show. Wait till you hear today's guest. Wait till you hear her. Laura Randa, Chief Commercial Officer at Curo Digital Therapeutics, Prior to that, she owned her own business, her own consulting company, and prior to that, just incredible success in the pharma industry. But most importantly to us, she is a disability rights leader. Welcome to the show, Laura.

Joyce, I am absolutely thrilled to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Well, we're thrilled to have you. And you know, a couple things. First, since people are listening, United States and around the world, maybe you could start by just telling a little bit about your story, you know, and, and how that all led to pharma, and then how you became a disability advocate, just so people will know who Laura Randa is.

Love to.

Well, disability Unfortunately, in the early days, was identified to me, you know, as somebody that was impacted in my family. And it's always impacted my daughter. And she's had hearing loss since she was diagnosed at age 6. And from that point, I've always been involved in advocacy, policy, and operational support for the Hearing Loss of America. There's been so many twists and turns in our disability journey. My daughter actually was an ice skater. And early on in her days, she was skating in a very competitive ice rink. And one of the coaches told her that she should join the Special Olympics. She shouldn't go on the normal kind of skating track and national competition. It was at that given moment that I knew, I knew this daughter of mine had what it takes. Just give her, turn the music up a little bit, make the accommodation, and she thrived and survived. She went off the boards. She was amazing. And so all throughout her years, she's inspired me to do that in my workplace, but most importantly, all I knew is I had to open up those doors for her throughout her school years to get her those accommodations, and then she was off to the races. So now that she is a sophomore in business school, I wanted to make sure she has the same opportunity in the workplace. And that's how, you know, I met you and many others on AAPD because I am really, really committed. As you had mentioned, I've been in 25 years a pharma executive. I've been at GSK, Novartis, and Abbott, and I've also been at small companies, even a small company like Regeneron when I started, but now, you know, quite a large-sized, mid-sized biotech company. So my commitment now is really focused on how do we help the— my daughters of the world in the workplace, something that, you know, hasn't been so structured as it was, at least in the school school years for her.

Well, I know when you told me this story, wow. I mean, ableism at all ages. I mean, that just is— well, you know what, she's lucky she has you for her mother. I always say, you know, if a child with a disability has a mother who knows what's going on, she'll, she'll be fine. But if not, it's such a hard walk for many children with disabilities that do not have that support. But no surprise to me that you were able to move that forward. And you mentioned how you had this incredible background in pharma, which you do. How about this new position you have, which is, by the way, everyone, very new, at Curio Digital Therapeutics.

Yeah, you know, I couldn't be more thrilled. I recently did take this new role. In fact, I'm on week 3 as Chief Commercial Officer at Curio Digital Therapeutics, and we're very focused on women's mental health. I joined because of many reasons, you know, beyond even, you know, the leadership, the board, the technology, the innovation, the science. But the mission, and I've been very mission-driven throughout my whole, you know, whether it was my work career or my personal career. What we know is women put their health last. And one of the things, our first area is going to be focused on postpartum depression. And then we'll ultimately address all circles of a woman's life, menopause, infertility, and contraception. It's going to be so critical, especially even post-COVID. You know, we, we've seen the numbers, the mental health numbers just go skyrocketing. You know, before COVID we saw postpartum depression at 13%. Now we're seeing numbers even going into the 20% and even higher. Wow. And I am just so excited about the opportunity to serve and really help women.

And you know what? As I will be mentioning, you know, we're so thrilled to have you as our new board member at the American Association of People with Disabilities, which I'll talk about that a little more. More in a minute, but with our new chair, Susan Diegelman, who has talked about her mental health disability, wow, that's just like a perfect area there.

Yeah, absolutely. Couldn't agree. Couldn't be more excited to be part of the mission.

Well, you talked about postpartum depression. How do you see that digital therapeutics could help people with that disability?

Yeah, it's a great question. You know, I think a lot of learnings from COVID right? And I almost think of, you know, digital therapeutics is definitely a new era that we're going to see this big boom. I almost equate it to like pre-1994, before Amazon days. But certainly during COVID we know it was absolutely the way that we got so many of our deliveries. But digital therapeutics, what we know is women with postpartum depression, you know, they come home, they had a baby, they're either focusing on the neo— neonate, they're focused on the children's long-term health, maybe their partner's health, they're focused, but they're never focused on themselves. And we all know that when mom goes down in the house, you know, all goes down. You alluded to it, that, you know, everybody needs a mom to be able to help them with the disability in those early days. You know, when mom goes down, you know, a lot a lot of the extra cost to society really go up, whether it's economic or even society and the outcomes. So I think what's really critical here is with a shortage of mental health providers and with the increase of mental health that we know that's happening, we're able to actually predict who's gonna have postpartum depression because we have a predictive analytic tool. And then we can actually put them, connect them with the cognitive behavioral therapy, whether it's prevent or treat, that can actually help them and they could do it right in their home, which is going to be significant because, you know, what we find is that there's going to be such a shortage. So, you know, we just want to be able to really impact the whole, you know, women, family, the children, and I think, and I'm just so excited that, you know, we're going to be launching this in fourth quarter.

Well, Laura, what then is the main business? Like if someone would ask you, what does Curio do? What's the answer?

What we are able to do is predict which women will have mental illness and link to that, create, you know, and give an app, you know, cognitive behavior technology that will address and get them back on track and get them healthier. So addresses the postpartum depression so that they can go back and, you know, be part of the family and not have to deal with, you know, the blues and the sadness. So really, really addressing women's mental health.

And you're saying this can predict, if you have a psychiatric disability, this could predict that?

Hey, yeah. Is that what you mean? Yeah, we have a, the first part of this is a predictive analytic tool that, for example, if, you know, my employer could butt it up against their employer base, we could actually predict which patients are going to have postpartum depression, and then we would be able to, you know, serve them and give them an application that would actually— they could do some modules that would address their postpartum depression and really get them back, you know, to actually being functional, to being happy, to being part of the family again. So combination of predictive analytics with cognitive behavioral therapy really addressing the postpartum depression as our first indication.

Wow, that is amazing. I always say, you know, a lot of times people say, look how long people are living today. And I'll say, yeah, we didn't have all this healthcare technology, you know, in the 1920s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s. I mean, it's like all the time it's something new, just like this. Who would ever believe that you could do that? I mean, that's mind-boggling to me that you can—

Amazing how technology, right, I think, right, can help healthcare, but it also can help manage all these costs in society, right? So I think getting people healthy and also doing it in an economical, cost-effective way, which is very exciting.

Yeah, being able to do this from home. Yeah, as you were mentioning before, uh, this telehealth is so great. I mean, it is so great. The person can get, you know, faster response. They don't have to go anywhere. I mean, it's just— all of this is so, so awesome. And this, of course, will help people with disabilities. Absolutely. Absolutely. Now let's talk for a minute about Curio. How, how would you just— first of all, where are you headquartered?

Uh, Princeton, New Jersey.

And how would you describe the culture of the company?

Well, I will tell you, that was the fourth bullet when I looked at companies to really decide, because culture makes or breaks companies, and it's all about the people, right? It's our our biggest, biggest investment. So I am just absolutely thrilled. The culture of this company is exactly what I was looking for. You know, I think culture is something that we can't just, you know, write on our mission value statements, but we have to live it every day. We have to be able to see it. People have to know what it is. It has to be led by the top and pulled through throughout the whole organization. But everybody cares about people, and it starts there.

It does. There was a CEO here in Pittsburgh that had a technology company. This is way back in time. He was like way ahead of his time and very successful. And he used to always say, all my assets leave at 5 o'clock. And isn't that the truth? Because people are your assets and that culture will either motivate people, make people keep their job, be able to recruit people, or the opposite. And I agree with you. I, to me, I always ask in executive search, I always ask companies, could you tell me what the culture is like? Because that will tell me, you know, so much about the company. So let's talk about AAPD, one of my favorite topics. Uh, and before we do, I'll tell you that last Last evening, another board member that sadly will be leaving, because I love him and I've known him forever, Will Riss and I, and our new board member Jackie from Comcast, we did a session with the AAPD interns, and it was so awesome. You know, I really, really believe in the young people with disabilities because we need leaders. You know, we've had the older leaders, but we need new leaders. And it was just a pleasure at that meeting. But Laura, what does this mean to you? And go back a minute, why did you want to be on the board? I know you really wanted to join AAPD. Why is that?

Yeah, well, first of all, congratulations on all the work that you've done with internships, interns, and, and for many, many years, Joyce. I think You have been the light and the trailblazing this work for many, many years and inspired me and is probably one of the, you know, one of those key areas of why I did want to join because what you stood for in giving people equal opportunity and be able to have that thrive and survive, just, you know, give them some accommodations, right? And they'll thrive and survive and, you know, they'll go to the races is exactly what why I'm part of this. You know, I've always been very dedicated to community service. It's been in my DNA, my family's DNA. But I have to tell you, this is my passion project. And it— for so many reasons. You know, I think just from an awareness perspective, I think when somebody hears the term disability, it tends to paint a picture in their head. They might think of someone in a wheelchair. Someone with a hearing impediment, or maybe an elderly, you know, grandma or grandpa that has lost some of their mobility over the years. But disability is so much more than that and affects all people, all walks of life. So I think right now, even, you know, while I've always been committed to it, I think COVID has re-committed me to the mission because Before COVID we knew 60 mil— 61 million adults are living with a disability in the United States. Think about that. 1 in 4 adults in the entire country. Is it that mind-boggling? Yep. Isn't that mind-boggling? Yes. And now we know that mental health and, you know, last week the executive order that President Biden signed with long haulers, you know, recently added in the disability community. This number is going to be more than that. You know, we need to address it and we need to make it a priority. And that's why, that's my why. You know, I have that, my guiding thing with my daughter. I have inspirational people like what you've done with placing people in jobs, the interns programs. And I just wanted to be part of that, that exciting mission that you guys have for so many years laid such a strong foundation.

Well, I am so thrilled to have you, Laura. You're already adding so much. And I, as a woman living with epilepsy, I wanted to get— here I am, a for-profit company with a social mission. And I really wanted to be involved with AAPD. And I got involved a long, long time ago. And I love the organization and how it has grown. I love Maria Towne. You know, our new CEO, she's doing a phenomenal job. And Ted Kennedy, our retired chair, and our new chair Susan Digelman. But I also love what we just talked about, the emphasis on young people, the Paul Hearn Award, the internship program. You know, I think that is so wonderful and so important and how Businesses— here you have an organization where you have these true disability rights advocates like Judy Heumann who are then paired with business leaders like you. And to have these two giants working together is absolutely the perfect blend. That's what we need. Corporations with the disability advocates. And speaking of that, that leadership roundtable, how do you, how do you feel about that leadership roundtable? And in addition, what do you think that will do for AAPD and actually outside of AAPD in the community and business community?

I think we're ready for— I think you said employment revolution in the beginning part, and I think that's what we're setting ourselves up for. We look at all the amazing work in progress over the last years in the LGBTQ community. I believe that with the leadership roundtable with a focus on disability, you know, what are best practices in interviewing? How do you want board, you know, how do you train, how do you include disability in all functions of work, you know, what's the advocacy needed, what's the policies. I believe that creating an infrastructure with a community that's very focused on this, that we're going to create that similar inclusionary pathway for more disability people for jobs and upward growth just as we did with other movements like the LGBTQ and other movements that we've seen over time. I think what's been remarkable to me is, you know, I started working, you know, early this year on this, and I was introducing and had the opportunity to introduce the roundtable to many, many of my colleagues that I've worked with. And it was in February, and I started the conversations, and, you know, we had a bolus of companies join, you know, in the 4 to 6 period And that was off-cycle, off-budget cycle for many of these companies. But as I was talking about what our mission was, what our values were, what we were trying to accomplish, what we were trying to move forward for their organizations and support them and the work that they're doing, it was amazing how many people jumped on the band right away. You know, I went back to my CEO at Regeneron and had a conversation. And again, disability had affected his life, and he spoke about it at the gala. We had, you know, companies are extremely interested. I think that the connection that AAPD is opening up and saying, we're going to help, because everybody's trying to do it right now, and people are doing lots of amazing work, but creating a community and an ecosystem that that brings all this together and that 1 1 doesn't have to equal 2, it can be a much higher number together.

Right. Yeah, that is so true. And how about corporate America? How do you think this leadership roundtable would impact them?

Yeah, I think, you know, again, in those early conversations and throughout this, you know, my journey with talking with people, I think what we know is that companies that are more inclusive are more successful. And that means inclusive of all people in our ecosystem. And I think that's over and over and over again, and we've seen that in reports that have recently been released. So I'm excited to take this to a broader level, to have it impacted in more organizations. And then when we come back in 5 years, say, wow, look at all the progress we've made. But I think this is going to be game-changing, and I think that we're going to see amazing results and be able to change culture and impact in organizations.

Well, I'll tell you what, Lori, you are the real deal, okay? As you all know, Bender Consulting Services focuses on the employment of people with disabilities, digital access, and we have a software product, iDisability.. And when I met Laura, she says, "I want to help you because you're helping people with disabilities." I cannot begin to tell you how fast this all happened. And you know, I have met people since I founded Bender 25 years ago, all of which tell me, "We're going to help you. We know you help people with disabilities," and they don't. But she did. And that is how I know she's the real deal. And to all of you with disabilities listening to the show, whether here or around the world, you need to follow her because you know it takes a lot for me to endorse someone on this show, and I endorse her. She is the real deal. You wait till you see what she's gonna do at AAPD. You know, you have not seen it yet. She is gonna be— she is a mover and a shaker. There is no doubt about it. Laura, we have a question that was sent in to us by a listener, and the question is, Laura, what would you suggest companies do to see more people get hired?

Yeah, I, you know, first of all, I love the question because that means you're thinking about it, right? And, you know, I think that, you know, one of the things, quite honestly, and, you know, as I think back to my daughter, is is how do people match? You know, how do people, employees and employers, find the right place? You know, you had talked to me about, you know, what's the culture like? Is it a good match for you? So one of the things that is important to somebody that is disabled is to make sure you have those accommodations so you thrive and survive. So I think part of this is being, you know, join the roundtable for those companies that want, you know, that are open and are committed to hiring all, walks of life in their organization, because I believe this roundtable is going to be a forum that says, hey, my hiring practices include disabled people. My hiring— my onboarding has a training product that, you know, like I Have Disability, when they're interviewing, that Joyce Bender has been working with, or that we have an onboarding kit that addresses whatever disability folks are facing. So I think it's going to be critical to make sure employers are going to be part of the community where I believe employees are going to come to and say, "I want to be part of a company that does have hiring practices not just to hire, but also to train me, to actually give me opportunities, upward growth in an organization so I can sustain and learn and grow and make an impact inside the organization." So reach out to us, join the roundtable, because I think we're creating an ecosystem that's something very, very special.

Yes, that would be my best answer. What Laura said, and the ending, icing on the cake, join the Leadership Roundtable at AAPD.com. And with that, it's time for our news break on the half hour with our newscaster, Perri Jude Radesik, CEO of Disability Rights of PA. Perri, are you with us?

I am, Joyce. Thanks for having us.

Well, Perri, before you begin, all of us at Voice America and all of our friends, you know, very sorry about your mother passing away. And I know that St. Jude Hospital is a place that you can make a donation in honor of Perry's mother. And of course I did, but I just want you to know we all love you, but we're certainly glad you're back because if you weren't back, we wouldn't know what's going on. So lucky that you're back, Perry. We're lost without you, Perry.

Well, thank you, uh, for your gift and, and for, uh, speaking about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It was very important to my mother, and I appreciate—

um, well, whatever is important to your mother, whatever is important to your mother is important to us. But Perry, you have no idea. Do you know I had people call me and ask me where my newscaster was? Because everyone listens to this part, so we're ready for you.

I really do appreciate this space, I do, and I'm happy to be back. And really today it's about expiration of Centers for Disease Control eviction moratorium. You're hearing about it on television, on tele— in the newspaper, but we need to talk about it too. This was an effort to create— stable and affordable housing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it's hit a major roadblock. The moratorium on evictions related to COVID-19 expired just days ago on July 31st. Here's the number: 6.5 million households are behind on their rent, and eviction notices are going out. So we all know the CDC had issued a series of temporary eviction moratorium orders under its authority, and It did it to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. So it— and the policy wanted to limit the number of people who became homeless, moved into congregate or shared living settings. That was the policy. So here comes the Delta variant, and we have no extension of that moratorium. Now, Congress provided state and local governments nearly $50 billion in emergency rental assistance to help renters and property owners pay their rent. The problem is some communities have been so slow in releasing the federal emergency rental assistance. In fact, I think the number is only $3 billion out of that $46 billion has really been spent. So pressure is mounting on Congress and the White House to do something to extend this through the end of December, but no action has been taken. Now, at Advocacy Matters, we always tell you ways you can get involved. There are two ways. First, if you know anyone, please refer them to state and local resources that have been set up to help individuals facing eviction. Like I said, state and local governments have money to provide, uh, this emergency rental assistance. The money has to be spent to help those facing evictions. You can go to disabilityrightspa.org We have a link where you can send people to find their state and local resources. Second, as advocates, we have to keep asking our state and local governments to act by extending their own eviction moratorium until Congress or the White House can figure this out. Now, Congresswoman Maxine Waters has introduced legislation, uh, to extend the moratorium. However, there haven't been enough votes to get this on the floor and pass it. The White House is reviewing their options. We will be sure to update you on this eviction crisis as soon as we get more information on the direction our leaders are headed. But in the meantime, go to disabilityrightsPA.org, click on the Advocacy Matters segment for today, find the information to help people with their rent and utilities, and be sure to stay tuned to advocacy matters in the future.

Well, what I have to say, this is terrible. You're saying that ended July 31st, so would this start now then? People are being told they're being evicted now?

Yes, eviction notices are going out, and so there's lots of concerns, right? The local court systems are going to be overwhelmed by a lot of eviction notices, and the And the sad part is there's money out there to be spent for landlords and for renters who are facing eviction.

And talk about hurting the economy. Envision all of these people unable to buy anything, you know, because the little money they have, many of the people had to pay rent Now, just think of this and think of the impact on the city. Think of everything, Medicaid, everything else involved here. It's terrible. But most importantly, remember disability and poverty go hand in hand. So many of these people have a mental health condition, have epilepsy, have some type of disability. And when you are homeless. It's a horrible, horrible thing. So, Perry, this is really frightening.

It is, and the other, you know, terrible thing is that eviction will stay on people's records for 7 years, and it'll be hard to rent once resources come available again for people.

Oh my goodness. Well, Perry, I'm really glad you gave us that update, and again, your website?

Yes, please go to disabilityrightspa.org, click on the link for today, and let's help our friends and neighbors find the resources to stay in their, uh, stay in their homes.

Amen to that, Perry. Well, we'll look forward to talking to you next week, Perry.

And thank you, Joyce Bender.

There you go, Laura, what you were just talking about. You know, about women and mental health issues, imagine this situation.

Yeah, horrific, right? And I think which also just talks about, you know, I think with everything that was just discussed, we just tied a bow around, right? How do we empower people that are qualified to work to get them into the workplace and to be able to find that right match so that they actually can, you know, be productive, impact, you know, impact to the society, but also be able to afford housing and all the, you know, all the other things that they're struggling with. So creating that equality to make sure that they don't get displaced in housing is so critical.

Yeah, I agree with you. Yep, that's what changes the whole world for people with disabilities. And with that, we have a caller on the line, Tony. Are you on the line? Hello? Hi, Tony.

Joyce Bender.

Hi, can you hear me?

I can.

Okay, good.

Laura?

How are you today, Tony?

I'm great. Great. Laura, congratulations on getting on the board of AAPD. You're going to be great on that board, and those of us in the disability community appreciate all your efforts. And I know that you're also working with Joyce Bender, and that's a personal thing with me, and so thank you, and you're making a big difference. So love you and appreciate it.

I couldn't be more thrilled to be part of the legacy that you've established. It's remarkable. And just hoping that I can live up and create for the next vision for the next decade or two the impact that you, both of you, have leveled and grounded us on. That's why we're here today. That's why my daughter has been able to be where she is today. So I think it takes a village and it takes a huge ecosystem, and I think that's why this roundtable is going to be such a impactful thing, creating an ecosystem to create people to get to work, right? So that the housing issues that we just talked about aren't going to be the problem.

Right. That's exactly right.

Tony was the chair of AAPD, and actually, difficult time, and he moved it to a great position. But Tony, I have to tell you, I was thinking about this when we were talking about AAPD. I still remember when you would be up front, you know, emceeing a gala dinner, and what would happen if someone talked too long?

I used the hook and got them off.

You bet you did.

I don't care. You know what? It could have been the— Laura, it could have been the President of the United States. If he goes back the time, out comes Tony. Okay, thank you very much. We enjoyed hearing you. I'd be sitting there, and if someone was talking for too long, I would say to Mary and Paula, who worked with me, "Uh-oh, they're gonna get it any minute now. Tony's gonna end their discussion." And he did. But Tony, I have known Laura for a very long time, and he has done so much for AAPD and of course the whole, whole world with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But I know, Tony, that you also know the power of a business. Disability rights advocates are very important, but so are business leaders. And don't you agree with that?

Oh, I totally agree with that, Joyce Bender. Business leaders can make a huge difference for our community, as well as religious leaders. There is— business leaders can basically, particularly CEOs, can and basically mandate that their company hire people with disabilities who all have ability. That's the most important thing here. We're not looking for a care package. We're looking for legitimate jobs that we legitimately can do and make a difference for that company. So you're absolutely right. Business leadership is critical for our community. Now, I said religious leaders because Religious leaders, you know, there's a stigma in regards to a lot of religions that if you have certain disabilities, it's because of you're possessed or whatever. But if religious leaders would aggressively treat those of us with disabilities not as health problems, but as individuals who can participate in in society like everybody else. It would be a major turnaround for our community. So, but I, Laura, I just want to make one comment about what Joyce Bender said and my cutting off people. When we started the, we started the galas, the gala would end up at 11:30 or something like that, 11 o'clock. There were very few people left because everybody walked out. So, when I took over, I said, okay, the gala is not going to go beyond 9:30. And when it got, when it got close to that point, if I saw people talking too much, I interrupted them. And we finally got it down so we were leaving by 9:15 at the latest. And that way people could talk afterwards. They didn't have to rush home because it was 11 o'clock. They could talk afterwards. And people came because it wasn't an all-night affair. So, we dramatically turned that around and that process has continued since then, which I happen to agree with any organization that any of these programs can go on too long.

Yeah, and it has stayed that way ever since, Tony, ever since you instituted that. And I agree with you 100%. And Tony, thank you for taking time to call in. I know how busy you are, so I really appreciate you taking time to call in.

Anytime, Joyce, particularly when you have somebody like Aura on that I can applaud her work. So thank you very much for all you do as well.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tony.

More to go, right? And I'm excited and thrilled to be part of working with both of you, quite honestly delighted and honored. And, you know, for all the people in the United States and the world, you know, just thrilled that you guys, that you have set up and established everything, and I just look forward to taking it and expanding on what's been built so far.

Great, great. All right, talk to you later.

Bye. Okay, thank you, Tony. Hey, Laura, Laura, I'll bet you didn't think that at some point you would be having the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act calling in to talk to you, huh?

You know, I have to tell you, I think that's the most humbling experience, part of this. I remember the first time when I spoke to Tony and Tony told me his story, and it brought me back to a place. I remember when my daughter was diagnosed with moderate to severe sensory with neural hearing loss at age 6 and sitting there at schools and being able to get the accommodations that my daughter needed to thrive and survive. And here was the person that was responsible for that.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

I tell you, I still get chills when I talk to him because, you know, thank— the thanks that I could say to him And for all the work, because I know, right, we all know changing policy and, you know, hurting both sides of the aisle to make that happen, you know, was a massive, massive undertaking. And, you know, there's more policy work that needs to get done, you know, as we continue to level and grow this movement and, you know, moving it forward. But I just think every single day— thankful every single day because of that legislation. You know, we all have legislation that happens, you know, every single day, some that impacts us, some that doesn't. But what a remarkable piece of legislation that impacted my family and so many more.

Yeah, everyone. I always tell people, at some time in your life, you will have some type of disability. Think of the ADA for you as future insurance. But let's use me. First of all, I'm so honored to have Toni Coelho as the chair of the Bender Advisory Board. And by the way, this wonderful woman is a new member. But I want to mention that I would have gone on an interview, I would have to write down that I take Lamictal, you know, for epilepsy. This is how it was before. And people could have asked me on the interview, "What is your disability?" So I don't know that people realize how much the ADA did and does today. But wow, Tony's been working on all of this. ADA Amendments Act, census, getting us in the census, so many things. And he still is. He is unbelievable. He is absolutely unbelievable. So, Laura, now, you know, we're always talking about how, oh, we know companies can help us, like with that leadership roundtable, getting people employed. But my question for you, and I really want to hear it from you because you're very astute and you've been in an executive role in pharma throughout your career. Joyce Bender, why do you think the unemployment is so high for people with disabilities?

Yeah, I think, you know, it's a very complicated issue, right? I think where we have fallen down is a little bit of, you know, things such as that could be solved by using Using things like Joyce Bender that you've built and developed and, you know, have been able to provide organizations with, like Eye Disability, like how, how do you adjust your interviewing so that, you know, making those different changes and those different accommodations that people are able to thrive and are able to show what value they'll bring to organizations. Everybody, I think whether it's our daughters, our brothers, our parents, or our grandparents. I think your message just a moment ago was spot on. Everybody is going to be impacted by a disability at some point, but we just need to, as good employers, make those accommodations so that people can really, you know, use their talents, their treasures. And so I think that goes through all facets of our workplace. In the workplace, whether it's the early stage of hiring people, whether it's the early parts of recruiting and being open and being transparent that we're open to hiring people. And then quite honestly, it's getting people that are disabled in the workplace, having them be successful, setting them up for success, and also then saying, this is a great place to work. I wanna tell my sister, my friend, my cousins that this is a great place to work and that they should think about coming there. So I think it's a little bit of, you know, really doing a self-assessment, like are we ready? Are we, you know, how can we accommodate, you know, the mental health issues? How do we accommodate the long haulers? How do we accommodate the autistic? How do we, you know, how are we accommodating? Do we, have we really done a really good job a really good report card and been really critical in assessing, are we ready? And because that's our workplace, we just said 1 in 4 prior to COVID, it's gonna be a much higher number post-COVID. And I don't know about you, but everywhere I look these days, the signs out there, we're hiring. I know.

Everywhere.

Disability people are there to work. We just need to make sure we make that connection. Get them in the door, make sure we set it up for success, and we're not going to have the shortage of employees, and we're not going to have, hopefully, if we do a little bit of this front-loading stuff, we're going to create solutions that we don't have people evicted, unable to afford food, and all the things we were just earlier speaking of.

Oh, I agree with you. You know, when you were saying about, people out there ready to work. That's why now when I hear people say, "Oh, what are we going to do? We can't find people. Where are they?" I raise my hand and I say, "I know." Yeah. Hey, there's this untapped pool of people that are blind, that are in wheelchairs, who are deaf, who have epilepsy or mental health or MS, whatever, that want to work. And are ready to work. But you know, you just have to be willing to, you know, open those doors. You have to be willing to include people with disabilities. And about that, when I go speak at a company and they say, "Well, we brought Joyce Bender in because we want to start hiring people with disabilities, and Joyce, could you talk about that?" The first thing I always say is, okay, Hey, let's start here. You've already hired people with disabilities. Yep, they're sitting in the audience right now. They have depression, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, diabetes, and I go through this big list. You already have hired them, and they are some of your top performers. PTSD. I could go on and on. It's just they aren't telling you, and I am telling you All of you listening, businesses, if you work to make this a disability-friendly company, if you get involved with organizations like AAP.com and this leadership roundtable, if you are willing to take off those blinders and realize there are people that want to work for you, you know, I'm telling you, they're there. They are there. Everyone's looking and they tell me about that. I have to give kudos to Highmark who sponsors this show. Here's a multi-billion-dollar organization that owns, I don't know, 14 different hospitals and of course their insurance, their provider. And they've been working with me since 1995. But right now their president, and by the way, he's gonna be on the show next week, Mick Malek, He's the president of the, the healthcare solutions part where they provide services to companies that, you know, need healthcare services in IT or whatever it is. He told me, Joyce, we can't find enough people in IT, so send them, send them on, bring them on. And you know what? One of the people, Laura, was referred by Tony Coelho, and she is already hired as a project manager. You know, they're putting their money where the talk is, and the only way you can change the workface of America is hire someone. That is where the rubber meets the road. So, Laura, what do you plan on doing over the next few years for your advocacy work and your work with AAPD?

Well, I think we hit the nail on it, right? I think first of all that we've got to have more conversations like this. So thank you so much, Joyce Bender, for including me in this conversation, getting the word out, right, that it's so critical that there, you know, that we do have this roundtable. They could be a part of it. You can be a disability-friendly company. And so my commitment is really getting that, you know, helping build that ecosystem with lots of companies that they don't have to— every company doesn't have to do it alone. We can do it as a team. We can build something remarkable. And we can build an amazing place that's inclusive of all people, and workplace will be more productive, more happier, more satisfying. For so many people. And I'm just so excited. That's really my mission and my focus over the next couple years is to make sure that we forward that, we progress it, and we're successful in doing so.

Well, you know what, Laura? You're going to change lives. Because without employment, you are never, ever, ever free in this country. Can't rent a house. Can't live the American dream. And you need digital accessibility. You need all of this. And once again, that's what I love about AAPD, telling companies, "Hey, you need to be inclusive. You need to include disability, and this is how you do it." Laura, thank you so much for being with us today. I just love you. I think you're wonderful, and I am so thankful that you're working with us at AAPD.

Very happy. This is one of the happiest parts of my life because, you know, so many people that we discussed, all the work, Toni, the work that you did have set my family up for success, and I just can't wait to impact so many other families. Very excited to be part of this conversation, and I look forward to learning and hearing more from your other speakers over the next coming weeks and months.

And hey, Well, first of all, thank you. But you made me think of this. If you heard the show today and you're thinking, oh, I wish so-and-so could hear this show, remember, go to Spotify, Apple, Voice America, or benderconsult.com. If you go to Spotify, you can subscribe to the show, to the podcast Disability Matters with Joyce Bender, so you can tell everyone else about this show. And we end every show with a quote quote, and today that quote is, "Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up," said Thomas Edison. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Join us next week and hear Mick Malick, my guest.

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.