Evan Frazier, President and CEO of The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI)

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Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender. Hey everyone, welcome to my show. I want to start out by telling you how excited I am. We are celebrating Black History Month. You know me, I'm all about civil rights. I will always be about civil rights. It's like I, I have a shirt. I love it. It says disability rights are civil rights. And civil rights means we're all free. We're all equal. And in this country, democracy, I'm all about Black History Month. So with that, first, thank you everyone, all of you in the United States that, you know, so loyal listening to this show, which is year 22. Oh my goodness, can you believe that? I can't believe it that I've been on that long, but I have. And, you know, I would say for a long time, oh, 17 countries, but now it's over 130 countries. So, you know, this show is heard around the world, and that is why I always say, if you're in a country, Saudi Arabia, you're the only listener, that's okay, because you can tell other people about the show. And why? Because of quality of life for people living with disabilities. You know, I love working with people from other countries And as a woman living with epilepsy, I always am so excited if I get the chance to speak in a country, as I have in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Panama, Kazakhstan, where I go in and I talk about that when you have epilepsy, you know, you should never be ashamed. And it's like that with all disabilities. It's just part of who you are. So you need to spread that, you know, let other people know. And one person I always have a shout out to is Richard Roberts in Brazil, who is just the most wonderful person. I was with Richard in South Korea and Okinawa, and he is just the best of the best. He's in Brazil right now. And Gangyang Cho in South Korea. But you know what? Can't thank everyone. There's so many people, including those at the State Department. So thank you for caring about people with disabilities. And that means I have to have a shout out to Yoshiko Dart. Yoshiko, I'm going to go back. I'm going to see how many years. I know it's, it's got to be really long. I'm going to see how many years, but every show, I have a shout out to Yoshiko Dart, one of my heroes, a great role model, and the wife of the late, great Justin Dart. And also, as I say on every show, I do this because if you walk down the street and say, who is Bobby Kennedy? Or who is Lyndon Johnson? Or who They know. But if you say, who is Justin Dart? They'll say, what? Who? I hate that. We have to get our education in high schools just like everyone else. So Yoshiko, I'm with you. I love you. And hi, Mark. Oh my goodness. Hi, Mark. This is the 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services. Another, like sometimes I'll stop and think, wow, how did all this happen? But it is the 30th anniversary of the company. And you know, couldn't have done it without Highmark. And here we are. They're still the sponsor of this show today. So thank you, Highmark, for your great leadership. And as we celebrate Black History Month, boy, am I lucky because I'm starting with my friend who I love so much, Evan Fraser, who if you're, you all know I'm based in Pittsburgh as is Evan. I don't care who I talk to, what corporation, what event, what gala. Do you know Evan? Of course I know Evan. I know Evan. Everybody knows Evan. But I will tell you, and you know, especially right now, I'm very careful what I say. I will say Evan Frazier is the real deal. He is. He's always been there for me. He's always been there for people with disabilities. He just has the highest integrity, uh, and I'm so thrilled to have him with us. Welcome, Evan. Welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Joyce Bender. It is always such a joy to be here with you. You are an inspiration to all of us, starting with me. So just so you know, we really appreciate that.

Well, I appreciate you. And now you see why I have to have people start telling their story when I tell you how many countries are listening to this show. So Evan, would you mind sharing your story with our listeners, like where you grew up, where you went to school, and all about your famous family.

Oh, well, you're too kind. Well, first of all, again, what a pleasure it is to be here. Like you, I'm a proud Pittsburgher, grew up here, right here in the area. I was fortunate to have had two amazing parents, and, you know, who not only teach about life and business, but also about leadership in the community. So I learned a lot from that upbringing. And so I, you know, went to public schools here in town when I was growing up. I have a brother, Andrew, is an older brother. I have a sister, younger, Janine. And, you know, just always from the very early age, I want to say I started working at the age of 8, you know, as a paperboy. And I had—

Remember that? There used to be paperboys.

Yeah, yeah. Held a job ever since. I did that for 6 years. 7 days a week, you know, with my brother and I had a paper route. And, you know, when I got to high school, got really involved with Junior Achievement and entrepreneurship and that kind of thing. And, you know, ended up always trying to strive academically as well. Ended up, you know, in their courses where the advanced courses that I took, you know, throughout my high school years and ended up going to Cornell University. I went to Cornell. I had the fortunate opportunity, it was through Junior Achievement, I met a gentleman by the name of Jim Broadhurst, who happened to be the CEO of a restaurant company called Eden Park Restaurants. And it was through that connection that led me to go into the hospitality industry. And I feel so fortunate, we both know Jeff Broadhurst, who's his son. He was a year ahead of me at Cornell at the hotel school. And it was really great to go through that experience. And, you know, what else in college? Just participated in a lot of different things. But one of the things, you know, had the opportunity to start an organization, hospitality organization for minorities in the industry. And, you know, it was, you know, launched when we were in college. And it's 36 years later, we're finally in a place where, you know, it's kind of come full circle here. And it's been great to see it kind of grow and go through its life cycles. After graduating, I went into industry for a little while, but Ended up working for the company that invested in me, and that's Eden Park Restaurants, for 6 years. But then I took an opportunity to go overseas, ended up going over to Singapore as a Luce scholar through the Henry Luce Foundation. The goal there was to kind of live and work in Asia for a year. And so I kind of did that, came back and had a number of roles, worked with Bill Strickland, went into banking, ran an organization called the Hill House Association. And you were very much part of that. Board member. Uh, thank you for being a part of that journey with me. We had some great years, uh, at that— with that organization. Uh, was recruited out of that role to, uh, go to Highmark, another one of the organizations that has been so connected to you, Joyce, uh, and then now to all of us. I spent 11 years there as a senior vice president of community affairs, and, um, and then I left there to really start full-time. I had started an organization called TALI, the Advanced Leadership Initiative, initially. And then I left there to create the institute. And it was Highmark, along with several other foundations and organizations that really invested, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, BNY, that really invested in, in TALI, the Advanced Leadership Institute. And so that's what I do today. And so our mission is to cultivate Black executive leadership to strengthen companies, institutions, and communities. And so that's what I've been— that's what I've been up to recently, right? And, you know, along the way, just super excited. Maybe we'll get a chance to talk more about it as we go along. But essentially, we partner with Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School of Business, and we create world-class executive leadership programs that are specifically designed to support, you know, Black talent. Obviously, we're open to any talent, but our mission is to cultivate Black executive leadership. And it's been great. We started locally, but then started to build nationally. And so with that being said, you said mention the family. So I've got an amazing family. My wife Holly, and she's an educator, but many people out there may know her as a Dance Mom. She's officially a Dance Mom. She was a part of that show. My daughter as well, my daughter Nia Sue, and just very proud of them. I have an older son who's also pretty amazing. He works in banking at JPMorgan. And I also have a younger son who's graduating his senior year in college this year, and he's out in California as well. So it's just, I feel very fortunate and blessed. I've had some amazing experiences, but most important is just I get so excited to be able to have the— an opportunity to have impact in the community, you know, and even if you look at not only the community nonprofit roles I've been in, but even in the corporate roles I've been in, most have always had kind of an external face in terms of how can I impact communities and neighborhoods in the most positive way, so. I'll stop there. But really, really thank you for the opportunity to share this morning, this afternoon.

Yes. Well, if you're listening and you're saying, did he say his daughter and wife were on Dance Moms? Yes, he did. That's why I don't tell a lot of people because I know they'll throng him trying to say, get me, get me autograph, you know, Evan. I forget where I was, and I mentioned that to someone, and they're like, oh, Dance Moms. Wow. So, you know, pretty, pretty famous she is. That's for sure. But your whole family is, uh, just awesome. So, Adtali, the Advanced Leadership Institute, uh, did it get started principally because you saw a need in the area to see young male and female Blacks move into leadership roles, you know, not just one level, but, you know, I have a saying, I have to tell you my saying. When you go to a company and you say, hey, you know, do you have any African Americans in leadership roles? Why is it always HR or diversity? Why isn't it CFO, COO, CIO? So that's why I'm glad, Evan, that you're doing this. But what caused you to do it?

So, so really the genesis was that there was a noticeable difference, significant difference between where we were 2014, 2015, into 2016, um, in terms of the lack of presence of, uh, African Americans in kind of C-suite executive roles. Um, a mutual friend of ours, uh, Greg Spencer, uh, around that time, he conducted a study, uh, to look at C-suite representation, and this is in the Pittsburgh region. And, um, because almost all of us remember 20 years before that when you had at least 1 or 2 major, you know, or 1 or 2 kind of Black C-suite leaders in just about every company, major company that was in our city, in our region. But that number had just dwindled. We were like, where are they? This is 2014, 2015, 2016. And his study showed that in a city that has predominantly 24% African American at the time, 13% African Americans in the county,, and, and 11% if you look region-wide. Um, but the reality was when you looked at the percentage of African American C-suite leaders, it was less than— not 1%, it was less than 0.1%. We weren't even— we weren't even cutting it. It was barely even registering. And so it was so bad. And, uh, during the same time you know, the community saying, oh, we're trying to save population, we're trying to, you know, figure out, you know, we need more diversity, we need to be able to attract people, retain people in our region. But I really didn't feel like there was anything that would meaningful that could really measure and have a real impact. So I figured we needed to build it. And so I had the opportunity to have a vision for what I felt could really work. And to start to build it from that perspective. And so one summer I wrote the concept paper, summer of 2016, started to socialize it around our region, funders, Black executives, corporate leaders, and they came back and said two big things. They said, everyone said, this is needed, this is really important, we really need this. But two things they said. One, you got to have corporate buy-in. You know, you got to get companies to buy into investing in, you know, the program, but also sending people and investing in their talent. And then the second thing they said was you really need to have a strong academic partner. And that was a part of the model, which is to kind of partner with the business school as we create the model. So we partnered with Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business up fortunate I was a trustee at Carnegie Mellon for a couple terms, 6 years, and I had just rolled off. And I met with the dean of the Tepper School at the time, Bob Damon, shared the concept. He was excited. We started to work together to create what we call the Executive Leadership Academy. We planned and started raising money the next couple of years. And in 2019, we launched our first cohort in 2019. And 2020, 28 people. So we started to grow it. Uh, COVID hit and we had to either decide, are we going to wait it out or we're going to lean into it? We decided we got Carnegie Mellon, one of the top technical technology, uh, universities in the world sitting with us. So we said, let's lean in. So we made it on virtual programming, uh, and went into the next year all virtual, uh, and had our third cohort that year. And that's around the time when we started to then launch the institute to, you know, further have impact and then to start to build nationally. And that's kind of how we got our genesis. So today we have people who have gone through the program. We have 255 alumni today. By the end of June, we'll have more than 300. And these are leaders in a significant way. We now have not only the Executive Leadership Academy, we have an Emerging Leaders Program. We have a National Executive Leadership Academy. This past year, because of some of the needs and some of the interest of our corporate partners, we ended up starting piloting our first Frontline Leaders Program, which is for those who may not have gone to college but are very much working their way into management. And so we're very proud to be able to help to train leaders at that level as well. So we continue to build, and as we build nationally, we continue to build locally as well.

That is great. That's wonderful. That is wonderful. At TALY, what would you say if you were talking, we'll say, to the news? What are some of the key programs? What would you say?

For TALY, at TALY, Uh, yeah, so it would certainly be, uh, I would say it would be our, our executive and our national executive leadership academies. You know, the, the executive programs that we do, uh, the national one is more of a hybrid program, uh, and then the local one, uh, is, is a couple days a month for 7 months. Um, but also our emerging leaders program. Those are really key because when you go through the program, it helps you to think in a broader way. And the number one thing we hear from our alumni who go through, we hear the word transformational. It is a transformational experience. It's not just taking classes. It really is much broader than that. It helps to position people to think differently about themselves and their future. People are more confident. People have— feel that they are better able and deserve to be at the table as well. And so I'm really— we all are very, very key programs for us.

And do you have classes at those meetings?

Yes. Oh, yeah, very much. It's so what it is, it's executive education and leadership development. That's really what it is. So it's everything from strategy and management You know, in terms of managing people, it's— they're depending upon the track you're on. You know, there's negotiations, there's things, unique topics such as asset framing. There's topics that relate to kind of the global marketplace as well. You know, helping people regardless of what specific industry they're in, it helps them become a better leader. And of course, CMU is pretty amazing, is just an incredible institution. So we take advantage not only of their technology side with the AI and how that gets mixed into the curriculum, but we also take advantage of the arts. We actually have, they have things, some amazing programs that talk about, you know, how you use improvisation in communications and how you, we had some unique programs this past year where they're taking the cohort through leadership, through learning, teaching people how to do conducting, you know, like almost like you're conducting an orchestra and using the same principles and applying that to management leadership. So there's some very creative ways that we're able to apply those lessons and leadership. And then we bring in faculty and scholars from across the country on various specific topics, whether it's from Columbia. We have a lady there who really is incredible professor who who really brings a very unique positioning in her fields and her disciplines as it relates to resilience for leaders of color. Then you have another person who comes in from Miami, talks about asset framing and a whole model that he created. People are calling on him all across the globe and he comes in to meet, do sessions with our group. And so it's really powerful. And then I think the other thing that's important to note, so there's the classroom part of it, Each person in our executive program gets their own executive, executive coach. So we encourage our folks to interview 3 coaches and then select the coach that's going to be best. So they get individual coaching as well as we have some group coaching as well that takes place. Then there's a mentorship, an executive mentorship component where people get matched up with an executive mentor. So when you go through the program, you have the curriculum itself, you have the executive coaches, you have the executive mentors, and then also we cultivate the relationship amongst the cohort itself. So you've got a powerful bonding and relationship that builds amongst the cohort, and then that also extends into the Tally alumni community and then to the broader Tally family, you know. So when I think about, you know, who's involved with Tally, it's It's, it really is a cross-section. You've got our cohort members, you have our alumni, you have the coaches, you have the mentors, you have the CEO Council. We have an advisory board, we have a CHRO Council. Everyone invested in making sure that we're investing in diverse talent. And that's really, really important. And that's, I think that's what makes it really work. And, and it works. The program is, you know, the initiatives and the programs we have they are working statistically. You see the results happening in terms of the promotions, the terms of people feeling more confident as leaders. We have the stats that really back it up.

Well, when you're talking, I'm thinking, wow, anyone would be improved by taking that class, no matter who it would be. When you talk about what you're teaching them, I remember I took an entrepreneurial class at Carnegie Mellon, and there's different things they told me that stick with me to this day. But I, I think that's great. And I did want to ask you, for people listening to the show right now, how do you go— how do you get to go to Tally?

Yeah. Yeah. Well, we have a website, which is tallyinstitute.org. In just a few more months, we'll start to be— you'll be able to go there to apply for upcoming cohorts and those type of things. What we do encourage people to do is to get their company to invest in them. You know, the goal is not— the goal is really to get your employer to be vested in your growth and your success. And so make sure you do that. But again, there's an Emerging Leaders Program and then you're going to see more about the National Executive Leadership Academy as we go forward. And so those are going to be some great options. So our website's the best way to engage.

Well, good. Well, listen, we'll be right back with Evan. But right now, normally we'd be having our news break with Perry Jude, who can't be with us today. But that's okay because I'm the one with the news. I'm the one with the news. Okay, you all know that Andy Houghton and I founded Eye Disability in 2016 is when we, you know, first got it going, working on it. And through the years, we have great customers, Accenture, Northrop Grumman, Bank of America, really high mark, really prestigious companies. But we wanted, we're growing so much that we wanted to really take off. And we said, you know what? We need to hire a CEO. And the CEO we hire, may I tell you, I have known forever, let's see, since, I don't know, 20, 2001 or 2002, something like that. And he is absolutely stellar. I don't know if I ever told you about this, Evan, but when John worked at Computer Sciences Corporation, he worked, he worked with me hiring people with disabilities. The whole time. When he left and went to other companies, I didn't call him. He called me and said, okay, Joyce, want to get you here, want to get you working here, want to get people with disabilities hired. And I'll never forget a couple years ago when he said, you know what, we got to get 13 people with disabilities hired from Bender. And this was with a defense contractor that was a subcontractor. In DC. Guess what? They all got hired. It was because of him. And when things weren't moving, I'd call him and then they moved very quickly. You must have a little hammer because it worked. But he is very powerful. He has been C-suite at these huge defense contractors. What a blessing it is to me. Andy, but especially to the disability community and business community. And I am so excited to announce that John Walsh is the CEO of iDisability, and he is here with us today. John, welcome. I'm excited. Congratulations.

Thank you, Joyce, and thanks for the kind words. You know, I'm so excited as a technology executive, but also somebody who has a passion where technology impacts the world in a positive way. I'm all in, you know, and the great news is you and Andy have done a fantastic job building the foundation of what iDisability is today, almost in stealth mode, even though you've got almost 4 million users. It's kind of been an, oh, by the way, we have this capability. And so I'm so excited to build on what you have done with your teams to really expand and grow and modernize iDisability and create new offerings. To really help people in companies, which I've been part of, you know, as you said, in a variety of roles from the CIO, CTO, CEO, business unit head, wherever I've been, you know, one of the differentiators that helped me be successful and my teams be successful is of course bringing in a diverse workforce from all walks of life, wherever their backgrounds were. So for me, one of those untapped resources that not always people think about, is, you know, disability community, which is, you know, nearly 26% of the population, which is, you know, surprises a lot of people because a lot of us have hidden disabilities that aren't maybe visible to the, you know, just seeing somebody on a screen or in person. So, so excited, looking forward to working with you and Andy to grow the business and our existing customers and finding new customers to really help create that environment within their own companies, but also positively engage and impact their customers. Because this is another area that unless people are trained and understand the nuances of handling particular disabilities or even the laws around them, so important to educate the workforce for them to work with each other, but also engage the community and their customers as well. As well. So super noble piece of technology and work you've done so far, and super excited to be part of it, Joyce. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

And may I say, John is on the Vendor Advisory Board, but he's also on the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the Vendor Leadership Academy. And so is Evan. So Evan, what do you think about this?

Well, Joyce, what an incredible choice in John Walsh. I mean, when you— when I learned about that information, I thought, what, what an amazing fit, uh, because I've had a chance to see John, uh, and have a chance to work with him through the Vendorship Leadership Academy. And, uh, what an incredible, uh, person he is, but also just resource, business resource, and someone who's a sharp strategic thinker, and just, you couldn't have made a better selection. So congratulations, John, really happy for you, and we'll all be cheering you on as you move the organization forward to doing bigger and better things.

Thank you very much. Hey, John, if someone's listening and they are interested, how do they reach you?

No, absolutely, just go to our website, idisability.com, the letter I, disability.com. Or you can reach me personally at jwalshiii@idisability.com. Reach out and let us know how we can help and love to show you. You can go to our website too and literally see a 90-second video that explains exactly how we help your company with 47 modules and growing and just the platform that allows you to really teach people how to you know, engage with people with certain disabilities, all the laws and compliance issues you need to work with as a company, how to really make sure that the environment that you have in an interview is accommodating. So, you know, variety of angles that for any one of your team in a small or large company can take advantage of at a very affordable price compared to any other platforms out there. So please reach out. Happy to spend a little time with you personally to get you up to speed on what we're doing and would love to work with anybody out there that's interested in really making a difference. And there is a great Accenture report, which I'm happy to share with people. You know, once you get going here, it's just a tremendous amount. It's a, you know, 28% more revenue, 30% more profit, double net income from a business perspective, which is why, you know, from a selfish reason, not only it's the right thing to do, but from a business leader, you know, leading a business, Getting that diversity into your team by being inclusive with people with disabilities, as the Accenture report demonstrates through facts, really accelerates your business against your peers in the market significantly. So let us help you grow and be prosperous and along the ride make a difference in the world too. So looking forward to talking to anybody out there that is listening today, wherever you are in the world, because this is a global thing. I mean, we have family members, friends, colleagues that just statistically have disabilities. And so where we can make sure we create the environment that is accommodating and inclusive and doesn't create barriers for our friends and family and colleagues, I'm here to help.

Yes, and we are here to help. So you can make sure that you reach out to John and we'll be talking to him more. Evan, getting back to you, when I was thinking about Tally, I did a little research on my own. And I find out, and I was stunned, that with the Fortune 500, there is a very low number of Black CEOs. Very low. As a matter of fact, it's less than 10. Yeah.

Well, yeah, most of the time it's less than 5 or 6. Yeah. Yeah. It's, yeah, there's no question that's a reality.

Yeah. It's terrible. My question is, I'm thinking if companies worked with you And brought in people, we'll say, at the EVP level or senior vice president, whatever it would be. That would be a way to really help develop leaders that, for example, let's say, and I don't know if you do this, but let's say if you taught them how to work with a board or things of that nature. I mean, what do you think? Do you think you could help this dilemma?

Absolutely. I mean, we are making inroads. We are making inroads. When I think back to, you know, over the years of cohorts, our first year, I remember we had a gentleman who came through a TALI program. It gave him greater visibility in his organization. He was already at a senior level. Even kind of an EVP-type level, and ended up moving into a higher-level EVP level where he's been managing thousands of people, then ended up the head of a major national business unit and kind of oversaw a multi-billion-dollar company within the broader structure and has just been moving into just higher and higher roles. We have people who started in one level and they're now the, you know, the CFO of their hospitals. We have people who are now CFO of like the retail bank of their organization. We have people who are— we have a Secretary of Education, or I'm sorry, Secretary of Drug and Alcohol for the Commonwealth. And we've had people kind of rising through the ranks and finding, really what we do is we help people to be more effective in how do you navigate these corporate environments, right? And how do you navigate and position yourself for upward mobility? And so, so yes, that is part of what we do. And we have started to build a stronger community that will support one another as people are kind of rising through the ranks. Yeah, so absolutely. It's exactly why we're in this space. And it's not just for that level. It's, it's, it's— we want to see, give people the opportunity to be the strongest leaders they can be, whatever they decide to do. We have people in the nonprofit sector running nonprofits. We have people in the corporate sector. We have people in the public sector. So it really does cross over, but it was originally meant to address exactly some of the challenges you were talking about, which is the C-level leaders and how do you, you know, help to create a real meaningful kind of pipeline in a way that really applying executive education and leadership development in a very broad sense and giving people the tools to be able to navigate the environments. And so we're very excited about the progress we're making, but also— and we realize there's some headwinds and some challenges in the broader environment, but it's— what we're doing is probably even more important now than it's ever been.

I was just thinking about that TV show, The Voice.

Yeah.

And I'm thinking, okay, let's do that in the business world. You can't see the person giving a presentation, so you won't know if they're Black, Or have a disability. Wouldn't that be interesting to see?

That would be.

I believe with Tally, I believe this is Sony, and you know, this is a business investment. This is not anything other than a business investment. So this isn't, oh, come on, you should do this. This is when you do this. Of course, it is the right thing to do, but when you do this, you're benefiting the company. Yep, business-wise.

That's exactly right. This is, uh, you know, we'll say it's not a DEI initiative the way that people think about that. Uh, we are Executive, uh, Education and Leadership Development. And really, if you think about what we're doing, is we're helping companies to be able to strengthen their, their own organization, you know. And, uh, that's really important. It's really important.

I want to ask you, I want to make sure I get to ask you this question. Could you give our listeners an example of a success story?

Oh, sure, sure. A lot of great success stories. Wow. It's like, where do I start? You know, I guess I should probably leave some of the names out just because I didn't tell them I'd be on the show talking about them. But, you know, I shared before, just as we were talking a little while ago, a person who kind of started with Tally. I'll share another one of a gentleman who was in technology, kind of mid-level technology. Because of the program and the way that we've involved various key stakeholders, The person ended up, you know, building a relationship and being on the radar of the CEO of the organization. And because of that, as some major new opportunities popped up, you know, that's the first person— our cohort member and graduate was the first person they thought about. And so they ended up getting selected for a very, very senior role., in terms of actually reporting, like 2 reports away from, uh, the CEO of a major, uh, major bank institution that, uh, is, uh, you know, top 5 in the, in the country. And they're now at a very, very senior level. Um, they were in a good spot before, but they had, uh, I remember getting a call from that gentleman who said, hey, I just want you to know It was Tally that really put me on the radar of our CEO. And when he was thinking about leaders for this particular role, he remembers me from the connections and seeing me and being exposed. And that gave him an opportunity to really step up to a really high level. So that's just one example. I have— there's another person who started at the county, ended up working for the— you know, after working at Tally, ended up going through the private sector working for a health— healthcare organization, major healthcare organization, and was kind of a director level there, but very active in the community, became Secretary of the Commonwealth as a result of, you know, the connection and the preparation and the orientation sometimes that we are able to, you know, very often provide. I don't want to take full credit because everyone has many things that they do that help them to elevate, But I could really spend a lot of time talking about stories about how people felt like they thought that when they came in, it was just about their credentials and just about put your head down and work. But after they came out, they realized, oh, you know, that's not going to help me elevate. It's just a starter. It's just a qualifier. And you have to, in those cases, be able to put, you know, step forward in, you know, reaching out and going to events and building relationships, being deliberate about how do you create these connections, being deliberate about sponsorship and what it means to be sponsored. And so we have individuals who share that story as well. And but there are a lot of just individuals and again, I probably should have called them beforehand and say, I want to tell your story. But there are just a number of people that have really expressed how it helped them get positioned for the next role. I'll share another one.

Dr. Camps, sure, there are a lot of stories like that.

There's a lot. There's a lot. Yeah, there certainly are. I remember there's some people in more of an administrator-type role in our Emerging Leaders Program who talked about how transformational it was in terms of how they thought about their career, the power that they did, they just weren't actualizing, and found that, you know, they became much more content about how important they were within their organization and how they showed up differently and how they were starting to— you would, you would hear stories about how they started to start to plan their future in career as opposed to just whatever comes their way. And that's a big difference in how people think about themselves and how they think about their opportunity to be able to contribute at higher levels.

Yeah. You know, when you were talking, I thought about something. I thought about with Tally. I thought about when I went there and first walked in, and the first person I see is Jerry McClurey, who I love Jerry McClurey, love him. And he was the CEO of Covestro. And I'm thinking, look at who someone has for their mentor. The point I'm making is the people that you have as mentors, they're very high-level, prominent people. Oh yeah. So, so just as you said, talk about getting someone on the radar. Where are you going to go? Where you have access to people at that level. And remember, even if they aren't your mentor, you're going to see them at break and when you get coffee and you're still going to be able to talk to them. Where could you go to get that person at a CEO level or C-suite level that is committed to this program? I mean, that right there to me is worth $50,000 or more. Just like, look what happened to you from knowing, uh, Mr. Broadhurst.

That's right. That's right. That was a clear opportunity to be sponsored. Right. And I've had that experience many times in my life and my career. And, you know, I think about, you know, some of the people involved. And Jerry's a great example. He was CEO, you know, I remember Randy Dirth is the one who was the CEO of Kellogg Carbon. He's the one who pulled Jerry in. And I remember after Jerry retired as CEO, you had Hawken Johnson and he played a hands-on role. And then when Hawken retired, You now have Samir, who's the current kind of president in this area, and he too plays a hands-on role. I mean, and it's really amazing to see these folks, Jeff Broadhurst included, who are playing a hands-on role, you know, coming, being active, engaging, because they know how important it is to help encourage people to develop and grow in the support that they need as they are building their careers. Very much so.

Yeah. And speaking of the Broadhurst, the Broadhurst and the Eaton Park restaurants, I think they're even in West Virginia. I think there are even some there. Great, great place to go for all meals, but especially breakfast. As a matter of fact, I like their breakfast so much because I'm a diner girl, but I like this restaurant so much that when I go with Jeff Broadhurst, I'll say, can I order breakfast for lunch? Which of course doesn't kill me. I wanted to bring them up because Jeff's parents, Jim and Susie Broadhurst, were the first to be hiring people with disabilities at their restaurants. I don't know if you know that, Evan, but you would go in and you would see someone with Down syndrome cleaning the tables. Now remember, we're going way back, way back, way back. And this is maybe just maybe around when the ADA was signed or even before that. But they did not care that people would see that person.

Exactly.

Exactly.

That's the beautiful part about it.

Yeah. So I have to give them a shout out. And Jeff is the same way. Their son Jeff is the most wonderful person. So before we close the show today, I have a question for both of you. For young people listening to the show today, talk about this all the time, but How important do you feel, Evan, that volunteerism is to build a pathway to leadership?

It's absolutely fundamental. Through volunteering, you are one, you're doing a good thing, and that's important because we, you know, we know that you make the world a better place by extending yourself to volunteer. But two, when you volunteer, it allows you to build some opportunities, relationships with other people who feel the same way that you do about volunteering for a cause. And so it allows you to be able to connect with people that perhaps you didn't know or perhaps can be beneficial because you guys have a common bond. You know, third, it gives very often when you volunteer, depending upon, you know, how you do it and what exactly you're doing, you know, you're building important relationships in the community and even some skills. I know that very, very often, you know, there's different levels of volunteerism, but whatever it is, it helps you to be more successful. There's a study out there that talks about people who volunteer are 43% more likely to feel that they're successful in their life. And so I believe it's a part of success. You know, I talk about it in my book. I had researched— there was a statistic that we shared, and that's what comes to mind. So really important, whether it's serving on boards or getting out in the community, extending yourself makes a big difference.

Hey, Evan, in case someone wants to purchase the book, what's the name of the book again?

Oh, well, it's Most Likely to Succeed. The Frazier Formula for Success. I probably need to replenish it out there on Amazon. It's been out there, it's been— it's 2008, so I need to go check to make sure I've resupplied them. I'm not sure I have, but there may be some books floating out there. But based on this show, I'll have to go out there and make sure I make sure it's updated here.

That's right. And Evan Frazier, F-R-A-Z-I-E-R. That is a great book. I remember dedicated to Linda.

Linda Dickerson. Linda Dickerson, our mutual friend. She was amazing. What an inspiration she was. I'll never forget her kindness and her leadership that she exhibited. You know, when I think about those kind of leaders, I think about her. I think about you, Joyce Bender. I think about people like Mary Brocker, who makes just really make a big difference in people's lives.

You know, we have a scholarship, as you know, at the Bender Leadership Academy named after Linda. Yeah. Because Linda, I was very close to Linda. Here's a woman with an extremely significant disability, wheelchair user, first wheelchair user at Carnegie Mellon, and she— brilliant, brilliant, just absolutely brilliant. And yet one time when she went out to lunch to celebrate with her parents, they walked over and said, and what does she want? So, yeah, but we're trying to make that move. Hey, John, how about you? What do you think about the importance of volunteerism?

Well, yeah, I think, you know, there's so many benefits that Evan touched on. I guess I'll just build on what he said, you know, really from a, just a mental health and a positive attitude, obviously, you know, there's all sorts of studies that say giving, you get, actually is better for your health than receiving. And so when you're volunteering, that's all you're doing, of course. And then if you just look at some of the statistics around, you know, touching on what Evan said, you know, career advancement, you know, individuals who volunteer regularly have a 27% better chance of gaining employment and improving their position in employment. 60% of hiring managers see volunteerism as a valuable asset when they're making, you know, decisions on who they're going to hire. And there's a lot of people out there volunteering. You know, in 2021, about 60.7 million adults in the US volunteered, which is an amazing statistic. Tells you kind of the spirit of America, which, you know, I love, of course, as a patriot, uh, myself. And, uh, contributing 4.1 billion hours of volunteer work valued at $122.9 billion. So there's a lot of value being created by volunteerism. There's a lot of benefits And as Evan said, in even the organizations I volunteer in today, I'm also on the board of the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region. And that, you think about 60,000 disasters a year just in the United States, touching millions of people in the United States. The blood supply, 40% of all the blood that is provided to hospitals in the United States comes from the American Red Cross., the wounded warriors that are at Walter Reed that we help. So you just end up meeting and talking with people that you would never meet just grinding away at your day job when you get out and do something different. And it really, you know, you can make a difference no matter what you do, uh, when you're volunteering. And it's just a great way to expand your thinking and appreciate where you are in life too, especially when you're helping people who need help.

Well, you know, speaking of that, my heart and Voice America, the producers of Voice America, our heart goes out to those families that lost members in those two crashes. Terrible. Um, no one can understand that deep, painful grief unless they've gone through that. So please think about them, remember them, pray for them. And, you know, we're all at Voice of America so sorry for all of this happening to you, as we have been mentioning the fires in California. And there's that, what John's talking about with the Red Cross. Right there with all those fires and thank God we have groups like this. Thank God that we do. But I can tell you that almost every company that someone goes and interviews with, they say, what type of volunteer work do you do? Because right away, if you say none, That's like, uh-oh. I want someone that gives. I want someone that cares. I want someone invested in the community. So the things that Evan and John said, I agree with both of them. But, you know, young person listening to the show, don't forget how important that really is. So Evan, what message do you— oh, two things. If someone wants to donate to TALI, where do they go?

Oh, that's always a wonderful thing, but go to our website, which is taliinstitute.org. That's T-A-L-I institute.org.

Thank you. And what message do you want to leave with our listeners today?

So I think my message would just be to look, be encouraged, be encouraged. You know, there's a lot There's a lot out there happening in the environment, but know that you are a really special person. God made you in a special way and made you to be, to succeed and to thrive. So no matter who you are, you know, think about what it is, is your vision and your purpose and be true to that and know that you can, you can achieve, you know. So I tell people all the time, you know, and I wrote it in the book. Which is that success is really a combination of your vision, creating a plan that will help you get to that vision, and not attitude, but the right attitude. So success is, again, vision, plan, and the right attitude. And no matter who you are, if you apply those principles in the right way and you align them properly, you're going to be successful. So don't, don't worry about whatever else is happening around you. Who's encouraging or who's not encouraging. You go ahead and be successful wherever you are.

Oh, truer words could not be spoken. Well, we end every show with a quote. And as we are celebrating Black History Month, I— one of my favorite quotes, perfect for right now today. The arc of moral universe is long,, but it bends towards justice, said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters at voiceamerica.com. Talk to everyone next week as we continue to celebrate. And remember, in the words of Mary Brocker, when you go out Today, 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.

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