Doro Koch, Daughter of President George H.W. Bush, Shares Insight into What Signing the ADA into Law Meant to Father

At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster a variety of skills to complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition as the Best Place to Work for the 10th year for individuals with disabilities in a survey by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN. We'll continue to celebrate and benefit from the inclusion of all people. To find out more, visit highmarkhealth.org.

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 hi everyone, this is Joyce Bender on Disability Matters. Welcome to the show everyone in the United States. You know how I appreciate how loyal you have been to the show. Do you know that only a couple of months ago I had my 1,000th episode? Isn't that amazing? Over 22 years I have been on the air. And you know what has done this for me? You. All of my listeners, you're so awesome. And not just here, around the the world. I read all of the countries the other day. Oh my goodness. You know, on the Earth, over 70, and some countries like Saudi Arabia, there would only be one person listening. And then Canada and Germany, like at the top, other than, of course, the United States. But these are countries in Africa, China, throughout Asia, Russia. Amazing. And I so appreciate— I just want to say something. If you're in one of those countries and you're the one listener, you know, one person can make a difference. What you need to do, every country has an American Center at the embassy. And you go to that American Center so that you can find out where there are English-speaking stations where you— they could hear this show. But I mean it, you know, one person. There are people that feel they have no quality, they don't matter, um, but you letting them hear this show can make such a difference. And that is why I have to have a special shout out to Richard Roberts from the State Department, my friend, and Gang Yong Cho from South Korea. Actually, I met them at the same time when I went with the State Department to South Korea as an expert on the employment of people with disabilities. And then, hey, special shout out, Yoshiko Dart, Every show, every show for years, you know, I tell this on every show. We people with disabilities, we do not have enough history in the history books. You know, like if you went out today, you're interviewing people, who's Justin Dart? You'd be lucky to find one person that knows. And yet, He was such a great man. So that's why I do that. And hi, Mark. Oh my God, what a great company. Thank you for also not only hiring people with disabilities, which I'll talk a little bit more about in a little bit, but also being the sponsor of this show. This is a very great special show today because we have— can you believe it? Now hold on. Doro Bush Cook. Doro Bush Cook. Doro is the daughter of the late great President George H.W. Bush and sister of President George George W. Bush. How about that background? Not to mention Doro and all the great things she has done, which we'll talk about. She's an entrepreneur, a best-selling author, national disability rights leader, philanthropist, most important, my friend, and on the Bender Advisory Board. So Doro, wow, here we are celebrating Disability Pride Month. 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Think about that. 35 years ago, South Lawn of the White House, there was your father signing this greatest piece of civil rights legislation for people with disabilities. Thank goodness he did that because it wouldn't happen today. So thank goodness he did it then. But your family Talk about a legacy. Father, brother, presidents. I, in my wildest imagination, cannot imagine what that is like. But welcome to the show.

Oh, Joyce, thank you for having me. I, I love you. I love what you do. You're a, you're a point of light, as my dad would say, in the world, doing good things. And so, and I love being on your board. So thank you for having me.

Oh, it is wonderful to have you. And your father, thanks to you, sent me a note card and a picture, and I have it all framed, uh, saying, my daughter Dora told me about you, uh, thank you for helping people with disabilities, and you are a point of light. Oh, this is a treasure to me. Um, and I, I am, uh, love him, as you know. Loved him so much and still do to this day. So, Doro, how did this happen that your family became so much on a crusade for Americans with disabilities that this became a passion of your father to make this, uh, you know, the law of the land? How did that happen? How did it happen with your father?

Well, I think, you know, my dad believed deeply in the inherent dignity and worth of every human being. So he used to say when he was alive, um, he died in 2018, he used to say that the Americans with Disabilities Act was one of the proudest achievements of his presidency, if not the proudest achievement of his presidency, and he really meant it. He had seen the discrimination and barriers that people with disabilities faced, and he really was determined to do something about it. For Dad, the ADA wasn't a charity. It was about justice and civil rights. I think what made it even more meaningful was later in life, my dad experienced disability himself. He had a form of Parkinson's. Which left him in a wheelchair, but he never let it define him or diminish his spirits in any way at all. And he continued to show up at public events, at baseball games, at, you know, anywhere and everywhere. And I think it gave people hope seeing a former president roll confidently into a stadium or a public event in a wheelchair. And Dad was amazing in so many ways, and he carried himself with grace. And I think he reminded people that ability can come in any form. And so I think that might have— well, I think he just knew inherently that people had the right to, to, to live like anybody else does.

I can't imagine how he felt that day once he signed that bill. I'm sure you remember all of that. Yeah, what was that like for him?

Well, for him, you know, it really defined his presidency in so many ways. I mean, it was a landmark bill.. And he was, he was the one who worked on it and signed, signed it. So I think it was pretty remarkable for him, for his career, for his life. And it really was one of the most moving days cuz I was there. I don't know if you remember, I was working at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Um, Ed Eckenhoff was the, um, founder of the hospital. He himself was in a wheelchair, so he really walked the walk and knew how important it was for people to rehabilitate and get back into the mainstream of life and to live and to, you know, it was a civil right for people to be able to live and, and with a disability. And, but that day, the South Lawn was filled with people from across the country. Lots of them, you mentioned one of them in your introduction, who had fought for decades to be recognized, included, and respected. And when Dad actually signed the bill, the ADA, you could feel it. You could feel a wave of emotion run through the crowd. I mean, there were cheers, people were crying, people were hugging. It was pure joy.

Yeah, Jenny Thornburg still talks about it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And of course, in case you don't know, listeners, her late husband is the governor of Pennsylvania. But while Dora's father was president, he was the attorney general. So he was the enforcer. But she always talks about the prayer or the blessing, whatever you want to call it, that was given that day. She always talks about that. And, and so people that were always asked me what it was like, which I don't know, but I, I understand it was a sunny day on the South Lawn of the White House. And I'll bet you saw all these people with disabilities so thrilled.

Oh, it was amazing. I mean, and I had the good fortune to be at many White House events because not only was Dad president, but of course George was president, my brother, for 8 years. And so I, you know, I had the privilege of seeing history from a front row seat. And I have to tell you, that day was the most moving, the most joyous, the most memorable. Event I think I ever attended at the White House.

Wow, that is— I mean, even thinking about it, uh, and yeah, not that long ago. 35 years is not that long ago when you're putting in a perspective to Civil Rights Act, you know, or other bills, uh, that were signed. Now if we could just get people to hire people.

Yeah, exactly. And you're at the forefront of that. And, um, I And thank the Lord for Bender Consulting and for all that you do, Joyce, to get people working. And it's pretty amazing because I've, you know, been able to see what you do. And I know I'm grateful for it. And I know so many people are too.

Well, I'm definitely on a crusade. I must tell you, I started the company 30 years ago as that my listeners know I live with epilepsy. And Bender Consulting is a for-profit company that focuses on the employment of people with disabilities. For-profit because no pity. You know, I always say people with disabilities need paychecks, not pity. But when I started the company, I must tell you, if you had said to me, do you think 30 years from now, 70% of people with disabilities will not be counted in the workforce. Do you know what I used to say? Well, I'll probably be in another country. Yeah, I'll probably be— I used to say this all the time. I'll probably be in another country because by then there won't be as much of a need for what I do. In the meantime, I don't have one competitor that does exactly what I do. You know why? Because it is so hard. I don't understand it. I mean, it is Well, now, once they hire someone, then it's good. Then, you know, you're good to go. And as I told you, Doro, Highmark, that is also the sponsor of this show, is phenomenal because they helped me get started. And, well, you met David Holmberg. Yeah. Every CEO up through to him over all those years has stood behind me. And hires people at all levels, including the executive level. And I know you admire them for that.

Totally. I mean, I especially love David Holmberg. He's such a wonderful man, and, um, and I love him for what he's done for people with disabilities. But I think when, you know, people, people have— there's fear. It's fear. People are afraid. Oh, they're You know, people with disabilities aren't going to produce and they're not going to, you know, whatever. But what I've seen through you is no, that is wrong. You put, you know, there's training. These people are trained just like people who don't have disabilities and they're just as productive. You know, they're just as smart. They're just as everything. And the fact that people are afraid is, is, is, is a shame because they're, they're missing out on, on good people.

Yeah, it's a business investment, I tell people. Yeah, for example, retention, retention. I've placed people at Highmark that have been there 28 years. Never left. And you know what? It's not because they're a superhero. It's called gratitude. It's called, you know, no matter who you are, if you're left out and you're given a chance, you appreciate it. Do you know what I mean?

Totally. You appreciate it much more. And therefore you're working harder than the other guy. And therefore you're, you know, contributing more than anyone else. And so, as you say, it's an investment. It's a mistake that people don't do this. And, um, and we're trying— we're trying to change that, and you're trying to change it, and it's really important. And the fact that you, that you have no competitors, it kind of makes me sad, really, the fact that nobody else wants to do this work.

And well, well, they do parts of it. Like, some people do minority recruitment and disability, or they're not-for-profits that do this.. But a for-profit run by a person with a disability, which the majority of my employees even in our office are people with disabilities that do exactly what I do, no. Whereas, whereas when I was in executive search in IT here in my hometown of Pittsburgh, I had to hurry up and get resumes out because I had so many competitors. Yeah, right here in Pittsburgh, let alone nationally, you know, all trying to fill these jobs. And when I think about that, I think that would be as if I had all these competitors in Pittsburgh, let alone in the United States. Now, there may be someone somewhere I don't know about, uh, but I guarantee you, if you go to AAPD or Senator Harkin or any of those groups that say employment, people with disabilities, they're going to say Joyce Bender.

Yeah, 100%. Who, who are some of the— I know you're supposed to ask me questions, but I have one, one for you. Who are some of the champions now? I mean, a lot of the people 30 years ago, um, that we, you and I both knew, um, some of them aren't alive. And who, who are the champions for disabilities now?

You mean the people that I've placed over the years? Is that what you mean?

No, I mean the people that are out there, um, you know, trying to legislatively make a difference, or that are, you know, demanding for the rights and civil rights.

Oh yes, yes, people with disabilities. Right, right, right. Well, Tony will never stop, as you know. I, I always say you are the only retired congressman that retired because he just fought 2 years ago or a year ago to get digital accessibility a law of the land. So hopefully that will stay. But you have Senator Tammy Duckworth who is always out there, you know, trying to make a difference, trying to make things happen. And, you know, she stands out. Sadly, the person that was doing the most was Senator Casey. I mean, he was the champion. He was, you know, unfortunately he lost in the election, but he was like, first there was Ted Kennedy, then there was Tom Harkin. I mean, on the Democratic side, then It was Bob Casey. But right now today, I think if you were thinking, where can I go or who should I go to, it'd probably be Tammy Duckworth. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Because I mean, what the statistics on disabilities are still— I mean, the statistics of the people that have disabilities in America is pretty big, right? It's— I was looking around. I mean, I think it's over 70 million people in the US have disabilities. I mean, this is a huge population of people that, you know, are going to need a job. And, you know, we need to get them in there. We need to get them in these companies because they're assets.

The other person in office that has never stopped, that's presently in office, is Steny Hoyer. He is always still trying to get, you know, something moving. But then there are a lot of people outside, uh, that were in positions that are still fighting the fight. Um, and you have some young people that are coming up. That's what we need to see, are young people with disabilities going into office. That's what we need. That's what we need to see. But takes people like you to speak up, Doro, and you do. So, Doro, you have a great book. I have it right here, My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush. And it is a great book. It really is. It's a great book. So first of all, what made you write that?

Well, it— well, first of all, Dad never wrote his own memoir. He's probably the only president not to have written his own biography, autobiography. And so, but I was at my house one day and Dad called me up on the phone after you know, post-presidency. And he said, listen, Patty Presok, who was his ex— an executive assistant of his, told Dad that she had these personal files that no one had ever seen, that she had put aside for in case someday someone wanted to write a book about Dad. And, and she suggested me. And so Dad Dad called me and said, what do you think? Would you like to write this book about me? And I was like, oh my God. And he said, your sister-in-law can be your research assistant. And I said, well, can I think about it? Because of course I've never written a book and, you know, especially a book about a president. So I was a little bit, a little bit taken aback. And so I called my sister-in-law, whose name is Tricia, and you know her too.

Oh yes.

And I called and I said, Tricia, you won't believe it. Dad just called me and said, you know, he has this project and we don't have to do it, but if we want to, we can. He goes— she said, are you kidding me? Yes, we're doing it and I'll help you. So we ended up interviewing 100+ associates of Dad's. They were world leaders, Secret Service agents, opponents. We interviewed Geraldine Ferraro and Michael Dukakis. And friends and family and everything. And each of them helped shed a light on who Dad really was at the core. And, you know, the underlying theme was decency and honor and, you know, public service as a noble calling. And even if people didn't agree with them, they all knew that he was a decent human being. So it was really fun to be able to talk to these people and talk to Dad, who was still alive, of course, at the time, because the book was written in 2007. And, you know, we'd, we'd be writing about some piece of history during his tenure as president. And it's interesting how people who, you know, were at the same event remember it completely differently, you know. So then it dawned on us. I said, oh my God. And Tricia was like, well, what do you think is the right— you know, which is the story we should tell? And I said, wait a minute, I'm gonna call Dad and ask him. So I say, Dad, you know, when you were in Malta, you know, who was there? What happened? And then so it was a real privilege and an honor to be able to work with him. Because I never would have had the opportunity to work with my dad. And so it was, it was just great fun. I mean, it was a wonderful project, labor of love. It was from a daughter's perspective. Because, you know, there's nobody who knows someone like a daughter or son or a spouse. So It was great. It was great fun. And, but it, we wrote it, or I wrote it back in 2007, which was a long time ago. So, but it was fun.

It's a great book. And I would encourage everyone go to Amazon. I assume it's still on Amazon.

I don't, I hope so. I don't know. It's been 18 years.

But Uh, pretty sure I saw it the other day. So you can buy this book. Actually, I should put that out on my, uh, social media. I mean, it, it's what you just said. What other book was written about him like that? I mean, you talk to him directly on a lot of those things, and I know, uh, the ADA is in there.

Oh my gosh, it's a huge part of it. And as I said earlier, Dad considered it one of his, if not the greatest achievement of his presidency. So yes, it's in there. And it's an important part of the book.

And Tony's in there.

Tony's in there. Tony, Tony, Tony's interesting, because I know Tony in several different ways, one of which is my husband was Tony's driver. That was his first job, was driving Tony Coelho around town. And then he ended up on his staff and worked for him when he was in the house. And, um, and then later on I got to meet Tony. And then, um, you know, we do the— this disability board together, and he's just— he's a wonderful person. And I know, Joyce, for you, he's been everything.

Everything.

Yes, he's like my brother. Yeah. I just want to mention to everyone, I checked— I knew I was right, but I checked Amazon. My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush. And I want you to know it has 5 stars. So you can— I think you even have one in here signed, I think, if I read that right. Uh, but anyway, go, go there, go to Amazon, you can get that book, and it really is a great book. And yeah, I want to tell a little story here about Tony and Doro. So Tony said to me, how would you like to meet Doro? Washcook. I said, oh, oh, I would be thrilled if I could meet her. Okay, we're gonna have lunch at Mr. K's. So we go to this lunch and he's pretending I can't hear. He's pretending to do sign language. And then Doro says to him, Tony, don't be so mean, because she knew. And he tells that story all the time, Doro. He tells that story.

So funny.

But I know he loves you and he loves your family. He always calls your dad Papa Bush. Anytime he's interviewed and brought up, he says, oh, I love him so much. So, and your brother is responsible for the ADA Amendments Act. Yeah, he saved— her brother saved the ADA when they were trying to change it. That, like me, if I went and there was some lawsuit and they said to me, well, you don't have epilepsy because you're not having a seizure, that's what would have happened. So, and he also did the New Freedom Initiative Award, which I'm very proud to say I was a recipient of. So I mean, he, he also— now is that just that he also just innately care for that, or was your father the impetus?

I think Dad was a huge influence on all of us. Um, he, he taught us by example, you know. He didn't say you should care about, you know, people with disabilities, but he showed it. And he, he, by example, he showed us what was right. And so I think George would say the same thing. And we admired our dad so much. And we just knew that what a good person he was. And so we all wanted to be like him. And, and so I think we grew up with compassion and knowing what was right in the world and, and, and what is wrong. And So we live in a different world now. But I'm gonna— I'm showing Joyce something you all can't see, but this sits on, on my desk. It's a picture.

She's showing me a picture of her father. Wow, that's a beautiful picture.

And he just—

beautiful smile.

And reminds me of, of good character and what a good human being means.

And so Yeah. And also a fireball. So your brother, President Bush, is going to have to jump out of an airplane, bungee jump. He's going to have— how old was your father when he did that?

When he jumped out of the— I think he was 90. I think he was 90 when he last did it. But you know why he would do that? I don't know if you know why, but when he was in World War II, he had to evacuate a plane. And he hit his head and went down, and he never felt he got it right. And so he spent his later years jumping, and, you know, that was sort of the impetus for that. And my brother won't jump out of a plane. He's of a different ilk. But anyway, Dad was fun and wonderful.

Oh, I thought that was something. Well, nor would I. So that just shows no fear. How about your company? That's what I want to talk about. And by the way, Trish Riley, our sister-in-law, is also on the Bender Advisory Board and is also a great person. You two are like attached at the hip. I mean, you two are so close. But let's hear about BB&W. When did you start that with Trish? Yeah. What are some of the programs? You know, let's talk about it. Yeah.

So it's actually called BB&R. And we started it more than two decades ago, inspired by our shared passion for holistic health and personal growth. Tricia is actually a holistic health counselor, and she would go up to New York to this program called IIN Institute for— IIN. And she would come home and tell me all these things like, you know, how red dye was bad for us and all these things. And we were meanwhile giving our kids Gatorade at the football games. And anyway, it was a real eye-opener for me. And so the two of us got together, and then I became very interested in mindfulness. And because I was doing a lot of campaigns back then, and I was very stressed out about all of that. And I mean, my dad would always say, you know, it's much harder on the family of the candidate than the candidate, because the candidate doesn't have time to read or listen to the media or do anything like that. But the family's back there saying, listening and saying, you know, that's not true. That's not what he said. That's not who he is and all of that. So it was kind of stressful. And so I began a deep dive study into mindfulness. So we would go and start in homes and we would teach, she would teach the nutrition piece and I would teach the mindfulness piece and then we moved to corporations and then or schools and then corporations, and then we moved to conferences. And so we do conferences and then we have a podcast like you. But I feel like we, we've— we're peanuts compared to 1,000 episodes, but we've done over about 600 episodes.

Well, that's good.

Yeah, that's good. And we've interviewed incredible voices in wellness and science and spirituality and etc. And yeah, but I'm— in addition to the work with BBNR, Joyce, I don't think you know that I'm also the co-founder with Tricia and one other woman named Lynn Mento of Conservation Nation, which is an organization that's dedicated to protecting the planet through inclusive community-driven conservation. Because Conservation Nation believes that the health of our planet is directly connected to human well-being and that protecting nature means protecting ourselves and future generations. So we started out at BBNR talking about our personal health, which is very important, but if the earth isn't healthy, then we can't be healthy. So I'm doing now a lot of conservation work, which has been so much fun and, um, We're working on curriculums and putting into underserved areas so that children can have the notion that they can become wildlife champions and, and, um, care for the earth and all of that. So, and it's all connected. So, um, so that's what we've been doing.

So BBNR, what, what is the website for BBNR?

It's bbrconsulting.us. bbrconsulting.us. And then the Conservation Nation is conservationnation.org.

Oh, that is so great. I didn't know you did that.

Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, you know, I'm all in because, oh, I get so upset when anything is happening to the national parks.

I do.

Yeah. I always tell people, remember, when we had COVID and everyone to stay in, I felt as if the Earth said, ah, yeah, a few minutes. Yeah.

You know, to regenerate.

Yeah. But I'm so glad you're doing that. So how do people contribute to that?

Well, they can, you know, come look at our website. And if you're involved in a school and you want a free curriculum for teachers, we offer a free curriculum that's fabulous, that teaches kids all about birding and all about DNA and all about all kinds of different— we have all kinds of different modules. And we support diverse conservationists and elevate underrepresented voices in the environmental movement because Um, we, we need new voices at the table because it's the same old, same old. And, um, there are a lot of, lot of amazing women, people of color, people with disabilities, people who may not have considered, um, conservation and, and, um, as, as a profession. So it's a little bit like what you do, kind of, but not, not really, but It's, it's related.

Well, you must tell me if you have any events or sessions or anything. You must tell me because I will be all in this. I, first of all, I love birds. I love birding. I love wildlife. I love trees. I love all of this. So my neighbors always tell me, you could feed a family. That's how much you feed these birds. And deer. So yeah, that is great. That's really great, Doro.

Well, and the thing is, what we say is that we are nature. I mean, we are. We are not just observers of nature. We are part of nature. So We need to have that lens into the world because it's us. We are nature.

Well, hey, we do have Jennifer here. Jennifer Mathis. Mathis on the mic. Hi, Jennifer. How are you? Hi.

Happy to be here as always.

Yeah. Well, Jennifer is my news anchor, Doro. And as you might guess, Jennifer, I'm so honored to have Doro Bush on the show today. And Jennifer, tell Doro about where you are, about Bazelon.

Sure. So I'm at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, which has been around for about 53 years at this point. We started out as the Mental Health Law Project and were involved in passage of the ADA, We do a lot of policy work. We also do litigation around the country and represent primarily people with mental health disabilities, but function very much as part of the disability community.

And yeah, that's great. We talk a lot about mental health on our podcast, so maybe sometime you can come on. And talk about what you do.

That would be great. Yeah. And also, Jennifer was with the Department of Justice. She was a presidential appointee twice. President Biden and Obama. Is that right?

I wasn't formally an appointee in the Obama administration. I worked— I served with Chai Feldblum, who was an appointee during the Obama administration. But during the Biden administration, I was an appointee.

Guess what, Dora? We're the only place in the world that every week gives disability news. So I always say, we— you can't go to CNN and say, oh, what's happening in disability community? But you can come to this show. So Jennifer is actually— I think it's the 15th going to be the whole show, uh, but Jennifer, because this is Disability Pride Month, uh, so what do you have for us today, Jennifer? What's happening?

Sure, so I, I think, um, on the 15th it will be more uplifting, but, um, I think today I just wanted to give the news, which is unfortunate news, about the budget reconciliation bill that I had talked about in a couple past newscasts, just because last Thursday Congress voted to pass the budget reconciliation bill. And, you know, as we have talked about, the disability community have been very concerned about that bill and fought very, very hard to try to stop the dramatic cuts to Medicaid that were made in that bill. Unfortunately, we did not stop that bill, um, and the Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 12 million people will lose their healthcare coverage directly as a result of the bill, and another 5 million are projected to lose coverage as a result of the failure to extend the subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. So that's 17 million people losing coverage. For people with disabilities, obviously Medicaid really is a lifeline. That it's not even just about healthcare, it's about the services that people need and get on a daily basis to live in in the community and to work in the community. And so losing their healthcare coverage is not going to increase work among people with disabilities. It's going to make it much, much harder for people to work, to get to work. Literally, they can't get the personal care assistant to help them get out of the house, um, and they can't get the mental health supports they need. It is not a pro-work bill, which is how the Medicaid requirements were, were spun. You know, the biggest cut to Medicaid is about— is associated with these so-called work requirements, which we have had experience with in the past and most people on Medicaid are already working or have a disability or are caring for a loved one or have other— fall into other buckets where they would be exempt from the work requirements. So it's theoretically those requirements were already only getting at a very, very tiny set of people. But we know from past experience that what they really do is they did not improve work any of the places where they were implemented. They did not expand work opportunities. They did not increase job numbers, employed people. They resulted in people falling off of the Medicaid rolls and never getting onto the Medicaid rolls because of the paperwork burdens, because people got caught in the bureaucratic process because people had to submit documentation every month, because people didn't understand the requirements, because they weren't clear, because they couldn't get access to a computer, because they couldn't get people on the phone. And so we know that millions of people will lose their Medicaid coverage, projected 5 million people, just based on those work requirements alone. Not because they aren't working.

Well, you know, obviously one of us alone cannot save situations, but like the Epilepsy Association, now we already have people that often on call, we get them medication if they can't afford it.

Yes.

So now what we're going to have to do is really work together. Bipartisan, and at the Epilepsy Association, we're trying to come up with a fund so that we can help people because I know very well what it is like to have a seizure. So that's something that we're working on. And this is a time where people, just like what we were talking about with Justin Dart when he went around the country, getting people be, we've got to get united. Together. That's what we have to do. But we're going to talk about this in a lot more detail on the 15th when Jennifer is Mathis on the mic for an entire hour. But Jennifer, I'm going to let you go, and I will look forward to that show with you.

Great. Thank you. Okay. To be on the same show with Doro for a few minutes.

So nice to meet you, Jennifer.

Yes.

Likewise. All right. Bye-bye. Bye. Oh my. Those are my only words. Oh my. So talking about something happier here, I want to go back to BB&R for a minute. Sure. That includes— BB&R includes mental health.

Yeah. Oh, sure.

Yeah.

We talk a lot about mental health, all kinds of things. We talk about addiction. We talk about all different mental health and we're not afraid to talk about it. We talk about suicide, we talk about, I mean, you name it, we talk about it. And it's been great because, and especially since COVID where it's become much more acceptable to talk about mental health. We've had so much feedback from people who said, oh, I listened to your podcast from, you know, we had a gentleman on from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. And she said, well, I finally know where to turn, how to get help and that kind of thing. So yeah, we try to cover as much as we can, health-related, but mental health being so important now.

Well, Doro, I'll have to be on your podcast. Yeah, I want you to talk about— listen, to talk about the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative. Yes, yes. As my listeners know, I have pictures of Mary everywhere here. Doro also knew Mary. Worst thing of my life is when Mary passed away. I mean, I was I was terrible for a while. I still miss her every day. But for 40 years, Mary lived with clinical depression. And you know what she would do? She would go to high school students who volunteered at the Bender Leadership Academy with mental health disabilities and help them. Yeah, I want to talk about high school students with mental health disabilities and the suicidal ideation. That's why what you're doing at BB&R is so Great. Because you're really looking at, like, holistic at all parts. Yeah. At all parts. Well, you know, it's Trish that informed me eating buffalo meat is as good, if not better, than chicken. Because it's not like, you know, regular hamburger meat. But I mean, you cover everything. Nutrition, mental, spiritual, everything. That is really great.

The head is connected to the body. I mean, it's— you can't talk about one without the other. And what's going on in our head is equally as important as what's going on in our body. And if we can help just 1 or 2 or 3 people, we've been successful, I think.

So I bet I know the answer to one of these questions, which is— well, wait, let me ask you this first. Are you still involved in the literacy program?

Yes, I— yes, very much so. Um, I'm the honorary chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, and we are celebrating my mom's 100th birthday this year. Oh! Yeah. And so we're doing a lot of events around the country to try to shine a light on the issue of, of literacy. I mean, sadly, 54% of, um, US adults read below the equivalent of a 6th grade level.

And 64— Wow. That's terrible.

54%. I mean, that's over half. Of the adults in the United States. And 64% of our country's 4th graders do not read proficiently. So it's a real problem and it's a multi-generational challenge, really. And, um, and Mom always used to say, you know, if everybody could read, write, and comprehend, so many of the world's problems could be solved. And I agree with her. Um, and so the work of literacy is so important and we do a lot of good work at the Barbara Bush Foundation and it's an honor to carry on her legacy.

You know, and one thing, you know, like if you have a learning disability and you're unable to read, there are statistics how that can lead to divorce, prison, all these things. So she's right. She's right when she says that. I mean, that's true.

It's true. And I mean, imagine being a mother and not being able to help your child with homework, or imagine not being able to read a medicine label, or, you know, it's, it's— reading is everything. It's, it's the foundation of our lives. And you know, so it's, it's good. It's good work that we do.

Are you having an event or something?

We've had lots of events, lots of events. We just recently had sort of 3 days in Maine here, where we had a celebration of reading where bestselling authors came and, and read from their books and people came. And then we had— my mom used to love to walked, walk her dogs on the beach. So we had an honorary dog walk in her honor and on and on and on. Lots of, lots of amazing things happening.

Well, how do we follow this in case we want to go to one of these events?

Well, you can go to the Barbara Bush website, which I think— now I'm embarrassed. I don't know exactly which, what it is, but maybe you can put it in the show notes. I think it's barbara-bush-foundation.org. Org, I think.

Yeah, I think.

Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That I myself would really like that. That's— I love reading and it really does open the world to you.

It does.

It does. So I bet I'm going to guess maybe not because now I'm realizing it could be more than one person. My question was, who is your role model?

Well, I think you probably guessed right. But my role model, of course, is my dad. You know, again, I mentioned that he's somebody who lived by example, taught us by example. He taught us the importance of giving back, He taught us that public service is important and necessary. And then my mom taught me the value of family. I remember at her Wellesley speech, she gave a very famous speech at Wellesley, where she said, at the end of your life, you'll never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal, you will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent. And so both of them were huge influences in my life. They both believed in giving more than you take, and in always looking for good in other people. And they were really my compass and miss them both terribly.

Yeah, yeah, they were absolutely great people and spiritual people of faith too, right? So Dora, what advice do you have for young people with disabilities who are being bullied and feel there's no hope for them? What advice do you have?

Well, I would say that each of us has a role to play in building a more inclusive, compassionate world. Whether you're leading a company or teaching a class or raising a family or just walking through your day, I would just say choose kindness, um, choose understanding. Never underestimate the power of, um, a small act of kindness or courage. And I think that's how How real change can begin.

Yes. Well, before we close the show, I want to say to everyone, you know, I know this is a difficult climate, a lot of things happening, but it's always good to have hope. And this woman, Doro Bush Cook, gives hope. You should go to those websites we just talked about. To me, she is the epitome of kindness. And Doro, I love you so much. And we end every show with a quote, and this is what it had to be for Disability Pride Month. "Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down," said the great President George H.W. Bush. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out tomorrow, remember, choose joy. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you all next week.

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.