Encore Diego Mariscal: Disability Advocate & Entrepreneur Helps Others

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.

Hey everyone, welcome to the show, everyone in the Americas and around the world. So around the world, look who has been listening. South Korea, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Egypt, Australia, Switzerland, India, Canada, Morocco, Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, Ireland. Thank you so much. And there are more, but these are what we know of right now. And let me just say, if you're in any of those countries, Joyce Bender, you know what you do. Go to all of your associates, especially with disabilities. Find out where it is English speaking or who is English speaking and share this show. Hey, South Koreans, you know, I visited you twice with the U.S. State Department and you treated me like gold. And guess what? You are moving up, moving up, moving up, moving up with listening audience. So, South Korea, you got it going, keep it going. And I have to also shout out to Richard Roberts, who is in Brazil, who is with the State Department, and a great friend of mine that I love so much. And he is with someone I will soon meet, Carla, when I go to Brazil. Gangyang, Gangyang, look at South Korea, how it's taken off. I went to South Korea with the State Department once again and met with Gangyang Cho. I love him. So, all of these people around the world are brothers and sisters. Are working to help us. Not to mention my listeners in America. Oh my goodness, we've got some people that are determined, determined to fight the fight for Americans with disabilities. Thank you so very much. Hey, Yoshiko, special shout out. You know, every show, Special shout out to Yoshiko. You know I love you. And our great sponsor of this radio show, Highmark. This corporation has been sponsoring the show for years. They are the lead sponsor, and this is my 21st year on Voice America. Can you believe that? Isn't that amazing? You know, I think the first show I probably had 10 people listening, but wow, we've come a long way since that day. And I love Voice America, but I gotta tell you, every so often— well, often I get— always get excited about the show, but sometimes I love the guests so much that, like, I'm smiling before I even introduced this person, Diego Mariscal. Mariscal, is it Mariscal? How do you pronounce your last name?

Mariscal, you got it, you got it.

Mariscal. Okay, well, I want to tell you about Diego. I love him, okay? Every time I see him, he has a smile on his face, I have a smile on my face. He is a rock star, fireball, just so talented, an advocate for people with disabilities, an entrepreneur that helps entrepreneurs. I just love him so much. Diego, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Joyce Bender. The love is mutual. Love is mutual. We've been long friends, and it's very— it's an honor to be here with you.

Oh, well, the feeling is mutual. By the way, he is the founder, CEO, and chief disabled officer for Together International, and wait till you hear the things he has accomplished. Well, Diego, here's what's happening. Remember I listed people listening to the show from these different, uh, countries, including Egypt, which is amazing. But what I wanted to mention to you is that people love this show and love the guest, but they always want to know, tell me more about this person, because, you know, I don't know them. So what I've been doing the past couple years is I start with your story so they can know more about you. So, let's hear about you, from when you grew up, your education, your family, and what you are doing today.

Of course, of course. Happy to share. So, I actually was born in the States by accident, which I think many, many listeners will appreciate. My parents are are both Mexicans, and they were shopping for baby stuff in the US, and I was born 6 months and a half into my mom's pregnancy. So, pretty tiny baby. She jokes, my mom jokes and says that I have always been really stubborn, even before I was born. I wanted to get out quickly. And so, as a result of that, I have cerebral palsy. Which primarily affects my motor skills, but some reading and writing too, but primarily walking. And I had the fortune of growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, which is a very entrepreneurial town. And I also— another key part of my story is that my brother did not have a disability. And I think that That was very unique in my case because me and my brother were only 10 months and a half apart. And so, my mom really made an effort to have— despite, you know, laws and regulations in Mexico not being as strong as in the U.S., she really made an effort to have high expectations for me the same way she had for my brother. So, for example, if we had to make— if he had to make our bed in the morning, I had to make my bed, too. If he had to— we had to both help put the table for dinner at night, and so that often will mean that I needed to do— I need to put the table— on the table things that were made of plastic, that they were not made of glass so they would not break. For making the bed, that would mean that I would need to wake up half an hour to an hour earlier. And so was this idea of always maintaining the same standard, the same high standard that she had for my brother. And I think that, that was a really important upbringing for me because it really allowed me to see my disability just as another part of my life, another part of diversity, but not really as a setback. And so, growing up in Monterrey, Mexico was very particular because Monterrey is sort of the Silicon Valley of Mexico. Everybody is starting businesses all the time. And so, I was exposed to entrepreneurship at a very early age. I started my first quote-unquote official business when I was 18 in high school. And we— it was a workshop in schools. And we grew very rapidly. Within 4 years, we were in 15 high schools across the country. 80% of it was corporate funded. And it was disability-focused, and it still continues to be one of the largest youth-led movements in Monterrey, Mexico. And so I moved to D.C. thinking that I was going to go into policy and politics. I honestly did not want to do anything related to business. My dad is a business owner, and I thought I am going to move as far away as possible from what my dad does. But coming to D.C., I obviously was very intrigued and excited to meet leaders in the disability movement like Judy Heumann and others that have been working in the space for a long, long time. It was this awakening of understanding the social model of disability, understanding disability as identity, etc., etc. But I was also struck by the fact that people were talking about unemployment and the low participation of disabled people in the labor force for years, for, you know, before the ADA. And as a foreigner, as somebody coming from the outside, it did not really seeing like there were— the needle hadn't moved significantly yet, and that there was a real, I think, lack of understanding of entrepreneurship from the efforts that had come before. And so, I tried multiple— Maria Town, who is also a friend of both of us, will attest that, you know, entrepreneurship wasn't the first path that I tried with Together International. We tried doing workshops in schools and advocacy campaigns, etc., etc. But really, the more that I spent time learning about the community and learning about myself, the more I realized that I did have a deep understanding of entrepreneurship and that there was really a need for supporting entrepreneurs and looking at the intersection of disability and entrepreneurship. So with that, with that vision of sort of trying to redefine the way people think about disability and looking at disability as a competitive advantage for business and life in general is that, that Together International really took off. And now we are the largest accelerator in the world for founders with disabilities. We have more than 600 members from all around the world. They've collectively raised more than $70 million from all— from different forms of investments, acquisitions, etc., etc. And so we are really proud to be really pioneering this work at the intersection of disability and entrepreneurship.

Wow.

Wow. I mean, that is amazing. That is amazing what you have accomplished. We're fortunate, really fortunate that you moved here to the United States. When was that? When did you come to the United States?

So I moved when I came to college. So that was about, God, 10 years ago. It feels like yesterday, but it was about 10, 12 years ago.

Well, I'm glad you came. Let me tell you that. And right now, we're going to get ready to go to break. If you just joined us, we are talking to Diego. Mariscal, founder, CEO, and chief disabled officer of Together International. Someone I am so blessed to call my friend when he is such a well-known disability advocate. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice. With Disability Matters at voiceamerica.com. Don't go away, we'll be right back with Diego.

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You're listening to Disability Matters. If you have a question or comment, call in toll-free at 1-866-472-5788. That's 1-866-472-5788. 888. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. We are talking to Diego Mariscal, founder, CEO, and chief disabled officer of Together International. And I have to ask you, Diego, first of all, your parents are awesome because of how you described no pity, treating you, you know, like your brother. But I still wanted to ask you, growing up in Mexico as a young man, what were some of the barriers for you as a person living with cerebral palsy?

Yeah, that's a great question, Joyce. So, I mean, one of the biggest barriers was the perception of disability and also the lack of policies and enforcement mechanisms that exist in Mexico even to this day. What I mean by that is that for me and my education and my development as a young disabled person living in Mexico, we were always seen, my family and I, as schools doing us a favor by accepting us and allowing me to enroll. In school and in different programs, whether it be swimming or other types of programs. In fact, I had a therapist, a physical therapist at one point. And the school that I was at liked the coach so much that they ended up poaching him away from my mom, even though my mom was, you know, paying him out of pocket. But they liked the therapist so much that they ended up poaching him. And it was so hard to find a physical therapist that would be equipped and willing to work with disabled people. I needed physical therapy on a daily basis. And so it was a challenge, and it was growing up really thinking about disability as something that was a burden and something that was not, you know, it did not necessarily merit the same level of attention or support. And it was not until I moved to the U.S. and I started to see really the effects of the ADA and other legislation and meeting amazing advocates that I started to really come into terms with my disability identity and really understanding the pride that comes with disability and the disability rights movement. So it was certainly an evolution.

Yes, that first part is called pity when you're talking about the schools, but ah, How ableist can you be? How terrible. But we have you and we have a superstar. So glad you're here. And you work on intersectionality of entrepreneurship and disability. Would you explain to our listeners why you believe that's so important?

Absolutely, absolutely. So I'll share another example of my childhood, I think it can illustrate it well. So, as part of physical therapy, my parents thought it would be a good idea, and I think many, many kids with CP go through this, to try out horseback riding as a way to improve balance and mobility, etc., etc. So, we tried it, and I remember falling off the horse. And, you know, it was scary, but I said, "Okay, let us get back on," and we continued the session. And at the end of the session, I remember the trainer going up to my parents and saying, "Wow, that is really unusual because normally when kids fall out of the saddle, they do not want to get back on. It takes them a really long time to build up the confidence to get back up." And for me, I remember thinking, well, I fall, you know, literally every day of my life, falling off a horse or falling off anywhere else. It's, you know, it's not a big deal. And so to bring it back to business and entrepreneurship, people talk about it doesn't matter how many times you fail or you fall, it matters how many times you get back up. Well, I have literally fallen thousands of times in my life. Thousands of times I have gotten back up. And so, I am able to translate those skills, those resiliency, creativity skills, innovation skills, into entrepreneurship very effectively. And I think that that is one of— that is the main message that we want to convey to the founders that we work with, that in many ways they are not going to be successful in spite— their disability is not going to be what is going to what's going to deter them from being successful. In many ways, they're going to be successful because of their disability and because of the skills that they've learned through being resilient, creative, tenacious, and managing the complexity that having a disability entails.

Wow, that is a great story. You know that? Not just the falling off, getting back on, but that, like, "Hey, big deal. I'm used to this." Sound like Jamie Watts. I don't know if you know her, but she lives in DC. I'm sure you've seen her before, but works for Bender on site— not on site, she's remote— but Highmark she works for in IT. And I'll be with her and she falls down. She has cerebral palsy, and we'd be walking, and if she's not in her wheelchair, you know, she'd fall down. I'd say, oh my God, Jamie! It should say, "What? I'm used to this." So, I know what you mean, but that is the falling off, getting back up, and the added, "Big deal, I'm used to this." So, that is great, but now it's time to talk about the most important thing, Together International. So, why don't you share with our listeners what it is, how it came to be, you know, how large it is today. Explain to everyone your purpose.

Absolutely, happy to, happy to do that. So, um, as I mentioned, so we are the largest accelerator for founders with disabilities in the world, really. Um, we have about 600 members from all around the world. Out of those 600, about 80 startups have gone through our accelerator program, and they've collectively raised more than $70 million from investment and acquisition and other forms of capital. To get more specific into what that means and how we support entrepreneurs, so we really want to be your one-stop shop, and we really are your one-stop shop for any, any founder at any journey that they face. And so we have 3 different programs essentially. The, the first program is called the Get Together platform, and that's just a platform For people who want to learn more about entrepreneurship, who want to meet other like-minded individuals, that's really where our 600-member network comes in. People that are interested in entrepreneurship. Then if you, if you want to move from interest to idea, you go to a program called Venture Labs, and that's a month-long program where you go, where you go from idea to actually what we call an MVP, Minimum Viable Product, or essentially a testing of your product or service that you want to further develop. So that's, that's in the idea stage. And then once you get through the idea stage, you go through our flagship program, our most, most known program, which is the accelerator program. That is an intensive program. It's a 10 to 15 week program. You get paired with coaches. You get paired with mentors, with other individuals that are peer-to-peer learning, that are going through the same thing. And the idea is that you already have, at this stage, you already have some customers, you already have some traction, and you want to scale your business and hopefully get some investment, get in front of the right people, and eventually either sell your company or if we're really lucky, you know, go public. And so, so we, we really try to be that funnel support system for entrepreneurs all the way through.

And how do you find these people, or did they all just find you?

How does that work? Yeah, great, great question. So we have, when we do calls for application, whether it's for Venture Labs or for the Accelerator Program, We have recruitment partners that help us promote, that are ingrained in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. And so we have an extensive network of recruitment partners. We also, because we've become leaders in the space, I think people now look at us the same way that they would look at Techstars or Y Combinator, which are other accelerator programs.. But there's really no other program that specifically focuses on supporting founders with disabilities. And so we've become— our brand is growing and evolving, and I think people are starting to recognize that if they're an entrepreneur with a disability that may need additional support or a community of people that understand what they're going through, Together is really the place to be. So we're really proud of that visibility that we've gained in the space.

That is amazing. Well, you know, obviously you're doing a lot, and if someone wants to reach you, how do they get in touch with you?

Yeah, so the easiest way is to go on our website. You can find all our programs there, and if we have an application open, you'll see it there. The website is together— 2getager-international.org. The trick is that together is with the number 2. So number 2, G-E-T-A-G-E-R, dash international.org. Or if you want to simplify your life, you can just write 2gi.org and it will take you to the same website.

All right, that is great. Well, um, we're gonna get ready now on the half hour to go to our news break. I love this news break. We're the only one that does this in the world. How about that? A news break just about disability every show on the half hour with our news anchor, Perry Jude Radesik. Perry, how are you?

Hey Joyce, I'm fine. Uh, I'm glad to be with you today.

Good. Well, what do you have for us today?

Joyce Bender, I'm going to talk about another set of federal regulations, and your listeners may be saying, oh my gosh, isn't there anything else to talk about besides federal regulations? You know what? Right now, no. Federal regulations are something that are really important to people with disabilities. It helps to set standards for accessibility technology and to provide us with protections against discrimination. So it is really important that we keep talking about federal regulations. So on May 6th, the US Department of Health and Human Services released a new regulation under the Affordable Care Act. We call it Section 1557 because that's the section of the Affordable Care Act that, that regulation relates to. So this new regulation reinforces the federal government's commitment to prohibit discrimination in healthcare settings. Oh my gosh, Joyce, we all know the barriers people with disabilities face in accessing health and mental healthcare. So this updated regulation aims to enhance protections for individuals based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and it ensures equitable access to healthcare services. Now, why do we need these regulations? Well, we used to have these regulations, and then the former administration gutted those protections. So, it was important for Health and Human Services to get these regulations written and restore the protections we all used to have. So I just want to highlight a few things about the new Section 1557 regulations. One, there are these expanded protections based on sex. The new regulation absolutely includes protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBTQ+ individuals also. Have issues in accessing equality in healthcare. The next thing it does, it has enhanced accessibility requirements for individuals with disabilities. So it mandates that healthcare facilities and programs are accessible to our community. It also makes sure that electronic information technology is available for sign language interpreters and it Says telehealth also must be accessible to people with disabilities. And then it also sets out a clear grievance procedure. We know that when we get denied healthcare or a needed service for some reason, a grievance procedure helps to remedy that. So it also sets out a clear grievance procedure Joyce Bender, this is another example of advocacy in the disability community. Uh, the civil rights and disability community advocated for these protections to be restored in healthcare settings, and now we have that. So here's the final rule. Uh, these expanded protections absolutely create a more just and equitable healthcare system for everyone. If you want more information about what I just talked about and the links to that final rule or the press release from Health and Human Services, go to disabilityrightsPA.org. That's disabilityrightsPA.org. Click on today's advocacy matters segment. It's in the middle of our homepage at Disability Rights Pennsylvania. Just click on it. You'll get all of the information, Joyce.

Oh, that is so awesome. That is great. Now, Perry, I have to ask you a question. Would you give me an example of what you mean when you say discrimination? Like, give me an example of what could happen.

Oh, absolutely. You know, a person with a physical disability might— it might be time for a mammogram, and then there are no accessible pieces of equipment that can take a mammogram if someone's in a wheelchair. Or maybe you walk into a healthcare— or you go into a healthcare professional and it's time for an annual physical and the person does not have an accessible exam table and they listen to your chest and lungs and don't do anything else and they send you on your way. Well, that wouldn't be okay. That's not equal access to necessary primary care, and those would be examples of discrimination.

So they have to do that now, Peri?

Absolutely.

They have to provide that?

Absolutely, they do.

This is great news because one of the reasons that women with disabilities have such a high rate of breast cancer is because of not having that accessibility to a mammogram. So, hey, if you're all listening, you know, you need to go read that, you know, disabilityrightspa.org and go to Advocacy Matters. You need to read that because so much of this I know many of you would not know, do not know, and now you're armed with this. So, Perry, keep us up to date on what happens, or, you know, what you hear about this. And thank you so much for that news.

Happy to, Joyce. I'm going to get back to listening to your show now.

All right. Thanks, Perry.

Sure. Take care.

Bye-bye. Okay. Diego, isn't that, like, so awesome?

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Very critical information that I think— I mean, and it's very relevant to what we were talking about, right? Having strong policies and regulations in place to make sure that disabled people get adequate healthcare.

Mm-hmm. Yes. Now, Diego, I wanted to ask you, you were explaining before about that $70 million in investments for those 80 startups and the 600 founders. This is a huge undertaking. So, how do you do that? I mean, I know you don't have a— I don't think you have a large organization. So, how the heck do you do this?

Yes, yes. Well, we're growing. We're growing. Thankfully, I think, you know, that we really struck a chord in the community. And so, it's exciting to see. We've had about 200 growth year over year for the last 3 years, which is great. But in terms of how we do it, I mean, we have tremendous partners. You mentioned Disability:IN, right? So we're working together on the Community Navigator Program. That program was an SBA program that just wrapped this year focusing on supporting entrepreneurs all across the US. Giving them access to SBA loans and other loans. And so they have been a critical partner. The National Disability Institute has also been a really, really strong partner of us. Also working with other ecosystem leaders in the entrepreneurship space. So StartOut, which supports entrepreneurs in the LGBT space, Somos Iguales, which supports Latino entrepreneurs. We also have amazing corporate partnerships with Google, with Comcast, with JPMorgan Chase. We're about to— you're getting the exclusive, but we're about to do a partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank to do a— basically take our curriculum and our work and do concerted effort to support entrepreneurs in Latin America. So basically translating all of our work in Spanish. So, this work would not be possible if it did not have the multilevel partnerships that we have with stakeholders at different levels, whether it is from the investment community, the disability community, to corporate partners. I am extremely, extremely proud of our growth and There is a lot more coming.

Now, how many people are employed at TOGETHER?

Yes, so we have a team between contractors and full-time employees of about 7 people. So, we are a relatively small and mighty team, but that is hopefully going to double in the next couple of years. I think that, you know, people are starting to see the impact that we are able to make. And I think what is relevant to your listeners and to the discussion disability community at large is that entrepreneurship can be a workforce development strategy and, you know, obviously a means for economic inclusion and economic mobility. But more than that, it also reframes— and that is a lot of the work that we do— reframes disability as a competitive advantage for society in general. So instead of looking at disability as something that needs to be cured or fixed or attended to, disability can be seen as a source of innovation, creativity, resiliency. And when you think about that, and when we start to frame it like that from a legislative standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, from a competitive advantage business standpoint, it changes the whole conversation around disability. They can hopefully influence schools, policy, etc., etc. So we see our, our, uh, place in this ecosystem as much larger than just supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities. We are really changing the way the world talks about disability at large.

Yeah, and by the way, it's not the size, it's the quality. So, you know, you give me a group of 7 people that are hard, smart workers, and look out. Not to mention that when you have a disability, it's all about, you know, work to us is a treasure. But what I love is the type of work you're doing. That is just so awesome. Great job, Diego. And by the way, you have spoken at many places around the world. You also participated in this this panel with Secretary Hillary Clinton, but you have become known internationally. Now, how did that happen?

Yes, that was an amazing experience. So, we— so, the international component, I think that I have always been a really proud Mexican American, so I have dual citizenship. And so, being able to navigate both of those spaces I think has been really unique. I have also been a part of the, the U.S. State Department speakers programs like you mentioned, Joyce, like you were a part of. Judy Heumann was an incredible mentor and supporter in telling our story and getting me in the right places.. But this particular initiative came because we are part of— and it's still an ongoing initiative. It's called the Moonshot Initiative, and it's an initiative that was started by an organization called Smart Jobs, which is an investment vehicle for being in the disability community. And it's an initiative that was presented and talked about during the Clinton Global Initiative conference the last few— about 2 years ago. And in that conversation, we talked about the importance of investing in the disability community and the opportunity and the innovation that lies within the disability community. And that initiative is to support 10 accelerators around the world. That are supporting the disability community in different ways. Not all of us are working directly with disabled founders. Together is one of the few that are directly supporting disabled founders, but there are others that are supporting innovations that, that are, that are coming from the, from the disability community. But through that initiative, I think that Secretary Clinton was really you know, taken aback by our participation, excited that we got to, to present there. And I was asked to present at her, at a panel on the Clinton Global Initiative U, which is university panel in Nashville about a year ago. And that actually was a very special day. I think, Joyce Bender, you will appreciate this story. That day that I was with Secretary Clinton was March 4th of last year, which is actually the day that Judy Heumann passed away. And it was, I was with her. I was with Judy when she passed away. And so it was a very, very hard thing to do to go to Nashville and be in this panel. But I think it was such a memorable way to, to honor Judy and her legacy. We had been— she had been helping me plan my remarks and, you know, how we were going to engage. And so, that panel to me will forever, you know, be in my memory as a way to honor Judy and all the work that she did and continues to do through me and through Together. So, very, very excited about that opportunity and more that are that are yet to come.

You know what, that— wow, that's all I can say. I mean, I loved, loved Judy Heumann, and I got the call that day and I was devastated, and I will miss her forever. But she, she is one of these people that no matter who you talk to, it seems like she spent all their time with that person because she helped so many people, but wow, what a great mentor for you. And so she knew that in 2017 you were the first entrepreneur with a disability to represent the U.S. delegation at that Global Leadership Entrepreneur Summit in India. She would have known about that. Tell us about that. What was that like?

Oh, she definitely knew. She definitely knew. She was— I mean, we became extremely close. She was my emergency contact. So whenever I would go on this trip, she would give me the runaround of what I should be doing and who I should be talking about to. That was an incredible, incredible trip. You know, it was during, during the previous administration, which obviously made disability less of a focus and less of a priority. So even going to India, the accommodations that I require as a disabled person taking a 13-hour flight was challenging to get through. But at the end of the day, I was able to participate, I think, because— in many ways because of the work that Judy had done and others in the State Department had done. And Being able to represent the disability community in such a global stage was, was really a joy. I don't know if there have been other, other disabled entrepreneurs that have participated in the, in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in years to follow, but it certainly cemented our leadership in the space, and it continues to be something that I proudly speak about and how it is critical that, yes, I was the first, but certainly I should not be the last. And a lot of our work also focuses around making sure that we are opening the doors, literally and figuratively, for other disabled entrepreneurs to be able to join those stages.

Wow. Well, congratulations to you. Judy, I can see why she was so proud of you, and so am I. Great, great job, Diego. And I think— oh, you know how awesome I think you are, and I hope you can all tell how awesome he is by hearing these stories. Diego, one more time, what is your website?

Yes, so the website is together-international.org. The trick is that together is spelled with a number 2, so that is number 2 g-e-t-h-e-r-international.org. Or if you want to make your life simpler, you can just type in the number 2 g-i.org, and it will take you to the same website.

There you go, and you can make a donation today. This is such a great program. Go to the donate page and make a contribution today. Look, Diego is trying to change the world, but you know what? You need resources. That always gets me when people say, oh, great, great job, do more. Well, you need money to do more, so I hope you'll make a donation today. And we got to take a quick break because we have to hear about what's going on at Bender Consulting Services. Gerald Helmy, are you with us?

I am here with you, Joyce Bender. How are you today?

I'm great. And you remember Mr. Diego, don't you?

Of course I do, Diego. I was so excited when I saw you were going to be on Joyce's show. And it's amazing to hear your voice and all the incredible things you're doing. I think fondly of when I met you out in Berkeley, California, and then again in D.C. I hope all is well with you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Well, what do you have for us, Gerald?

Well, I have some exciting Bender news that I know Joyce would be way too modest to talk about herself. Well, I am going to get to come on here and talk about it myself. And that is in the past 2 weeks, Joyce has been honored not once, but twice with awards. Last week I got to attend an event here in Pittsburgh where the Pittsburgh Business Times honored Joyce as a woman of influence in the city of Pittsburgh. And attended a great event where she was chosen among a group of individuals for the work she's done in the community supporting individuals with disabilities with her multiple organizations, Bender Consulting Services and the Bender Leadership Academy. But that wasn't all because she had to, the very next day, fly out to Washington D— or not to Washington, New York City where she received the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Award, which is an international award given to a leader in the disability community. And Joyce was chosen to be the recipient of this with all the work she has done impacting people with disabilities, not just across the U.S., but around the world with the work she's done with the State Department the work she's done placing people with disabilities here and in Canada. Joyce, you are a trailblazer in the disability rights community. I'm so proud to be on this team supporting you, doing anything I can to help with this mission, and you are so deserving of these amazing honors.

Well, thank you so much, Gerald, and you are correct. I would not say on the show, hey, guess what, I got these awards. But that was so nice of you, Gerald, doing that and talking about that. And of course, as you might guess, it's a great honor to me. Although Diego, at the end, when I gave my remarks, instead of saying, wow, I'm really excited, I won the Viscardi Award, I said, My mentor, Tony Coelho, told me, when you get a chance to take the podium, speak up. So I'm going to speak up right now and tell you, hire a person with a disability today, because that is where the rubber meets the road. And Gerald, thank you so much for calling in.

Thank you, Joyce, and thank you, Diego.

Signing out.

So, Diego, never in a million years would I think I would get an award one night and have to go get another award the next day. That has never, ever happened. But I have to tell you, I appreciate— I'm grateful for both and for, you know, people that nominated me. But that Viscardi Award, wow, that was really something. See, Diego, I'm going to catch up to you one of these days.

I'm very, very proud, Joyce Bender. I've been following your career for years and seeing all the work that you've done. You are more than deserving of this and multiple awards.

Well, thank you so much. As are you, Diego. So, Diego, before we close the show today, I wanted to ask you a question. Why do you believe there is only a small number of companies that use DOBEs, that use Disability-Owned Business Enterprises, for these founders, these companies you come up with? Why don't more companies reach out in their supplier diversity and procurement to utilize those businesses? What do you think?

Yeah, that's a great question. I was looking at the questions beforehand, and I really, really appreciated that question. I think that really the challenge is that— and you'll know this— being a business owner is hard, right? And oftentimes, being a business owner and navigating a disability is sort of like having an additional full-time job. And so being able to be very clear as what is the benefit that SOBEs are getting, because it— from, from what I hear, it does require an extensive amount of paperwork and, and review, etc., etc. And so having a really clear benefits, right? And I, and that's one of the things that I hope that I can speak to Jill and Disability INMORE about perhaps doing some sort of partnership where we can provide DOBEs with accelerator services so that they can continue to get mentorship and support and resources. Because yes, the certification is great and is really critical, and I think it helps obviously move the movement, push the movement forward. At the end of the day, I also think that from experience, I know that entrepreneurs need ongoing mentorship, support, guidance. And so, being able to provide that on an ongoing basis, I think, is critical for the success and expansion of the DOBE program. And I hope that as we continue to develop a deeper relationship and partnership with the Civil Union, we can offer that.

Yeah, me too, because I am the master mentor. That's the title they gave me of the Dobies. So I am all about you. I am 100% behind you. And Diego, thank you so much for being with us today.

Thank you for having me, Joyce Bender. It's been a pleasure. Wow.

This is Diego Mariscal, founder, CEO, and chief disabled officer of 2GETHER, and that's number 2 G-E-T-H-E-R, International. And we end every show with a quote, and today I love this quote: "I can be changed by what happens, but I refuse to be reduced by it," said the great Maya Angelou. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, Where Disability Matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you next week, and in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out today, remember to choose joy.

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