Gerald Homme/Jill Zomp: Wide Range of Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities Available

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.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show today. You know, just today One of the superstars you will soon be meeting, Jill Zob, told me she interviewed someone, and on the interview they said, "And I've listened to Joyce's radio show." And recently I have run into several people that said, "I listen to your radio show." So just so you know, that means so much to me. It really does. I can't thank you enough for your following. I, you know, I say on every show, if I didn't have followers, we wouldn't have show. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Again, means so much to me and to our listeners around the world. I think is 135 countries with listeners. And I have to tell you, Singapore remains number 2. How is that amazing? Number 2, right under the United States. I don't know what you're doing, Singapore. I do have a few ideas because I remember when I was in Asia, there are different disability rights groups. Well, I went to the one in South Korea, for example, and when I went to their office, in this little building, I see all over the wall, Justin Dart, lead on. Yoshiko, lead on. So, you know, maybe that's carrying over. I don't know what it is. But thank you. I really mean it. I appreciate it. Every show I talk about a country where they are listening to the show. So today, That is Brazil. And I want to tell you, my great friend Richard Roberts was a diplomat in Brazil. He has since retired. What a loss to the U.S. State Department. I went with Richard, joined me in South Korea and Japan. And then I met other wonderful people in Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Panama. But Richard, I just love Richard. You know, Richard writes books on languages, and the one, it has a dedication to Mary and Joyce Bender Bender, and, oh, that means so much to me. But I also have met via this show Carla Bender Bender, and Carla Bender Bender is with the embassy in Brazil. So Carla Bender Bender Thank you for you and the State Department and the people in Brazil. And, you know, I remember when I said, okay, now we're there, Richard, where will we be going? He said, well, Brasília, São Paulo. But Joyce Bender, like, do you know how big this country is? So we won't be going to the Amazon. But for all of you in Brazil, listen, here's what you have to do. Tell other people. Go to the embassy. Figure out how to get this show out to people that speak Portuguese but not English. You can do it. Go see them and keep this going because everyone deserves a job no matter where they live in the world. Everyone with a disability deserves to work. So, also, Yoshiko, Hi Yoshiko! Special shout out to Yoshiko. You know, for years I never forget to have a special shout out to Yoshiko Dart, the wife of the late, great Justin Dart, who died over 10 years ago. I think it was 2003, and I was at the service, and so was President Kennedy. And senators and Pat Wright and other disability leaders, Marca, so many people. He and Yoshiko did so much for the United States to get that ADA passed. And so I get upset that you could go out on the street and say, "Who is Martin Luther King?" You know, or even back in history, you know, who is someone during the— Thomas Jefferson, or just, you know, like Martin Luther King, a civil rights leader. Everyone knows. The majority of people know. 95% know. But when you say, who is Justin Dart? We know. The disability rights communities knows. But it's not taught in our schools, disability history. And that is why there's a special shout out to Yoshiko on every show, in addition to the fact I love you, Yoshiko. So Yoshiko, I'm going to shout this to you, and then you shout it back to me. Ready? Lead on! I guarantee you she just yelled this back. Guaranteed. Guaranteed. So love you, Yoshiko. And Hi, Mark. Oh my goodness, what a great company they are. I mean, David Holmberg, the CEO, and Karen Hanlon, the president, and Deb Rice Johnson, the CEO of Diversified Business, and Larry Kliman, Chief Human Capital Officer, and Mick Malek, CEO of NGINN. And you know what? Please don't get mad at me if I did not say— ah! Mark, Mark Sevko. How could I forget him? The CEO of AHA. I want to tell you, everyone is so supportive of Bender Consulting Services. And they have been the lead sponsor of this radio show for years. But that's the thing about Heimark. They're all about helping and hiring people living with disabilities. So thank you, Highmark. Well, today I have two of my most favorite people on as guests, Gerald and Jill. And it's important to know them. You know why? They're who you're calling to get a job. So they're very important for you to know. This is who you would end up interviewing with or meeting If you come to our office, which is headquartered in the best city in America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of, yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates. You all know how obsessed I am about the Pittsburgh Pirates. And you know, we focus on the competitive employment, finding employment for people living with disabilities in the STEM area, in healthcare, and other business disciplines. But they are in the talent acquisition department at Bender Consulting Services. But I think I'll just start by asking you to share with our listeners what your title— I mean, what, yeah, what your role is and what you do and how you got to Bender, you know, why you got to Bender. So I'll start with you, Jill.

Thank you so much for having me on the show, Joyce. I get to listen to it all the time, and now I get to actually come here and tell everyone about all the awesome things that we're doing here at Bender. So I started at Bender almost 10 years ago now. Um, I came to Bender because my husband lost his vision in his 20s. We had a young family at the time, um, and he could not go back to work doing what he was doing before. He was a factory worker, couldn't really do that anymore, so he decided that he should get an education. And obviously, um, quite a few years ago now— I've been here over 10 years— um, he decided to go into IT because the field was booming. He got every type of, uh, skill that you could think of that people were looking for, um, graduated high in his class, top of his class. And, um, after went and had hundreds of interviews, everybody loved him But when they found out he was blind, for some reason he wasn't getting hired. And we spent almost 4 years after he completed that bachelor's degree trying to get a job before one of my coworkers at the time— I was working, you know, 3 jobs— one of my coworkers at my day job at a local college told me, "You guys should try Bender." And I was like, "What's Bender?" So I looked into it and I immediately said, "You better go apply right now." And being a good husband, he did. And Bender helped him find his first employment after losing his vision. And he has had a really successful career in IT ever since. They saw his resume, they're like, "Oh, how are you not employed? We know places that are going to be working with you to make sure that you can be successful in your career." And he has been. And he started out entry level. He moved all the way up into senior level in IT field, doing project management, all the way up to senior project management, and then going going on to quality assurance and then finding his passion in accessibility. So, so grateful. And I was like, you know, I've been working with students in the college trying to help them find jobs, students with disabilities, and they're having the same problems. I am in the wrong area. I need to be over with you guys helping it out. And I was so lucky to come into Bender and start out helping with your federal hiring initiatives and then moving on to working more closely closely with Gerald and being able to do more in the private industry, helping people every day find jobs in every type of field. And it has been such an amazing, amazing experience to be able to pass it forward, and I'm grateful every day to be here.

And Chris Zomp is phenomenal. He is really talented in accessibility, but his greatest, greatest skill and talent is that he's married to Jill. That is it.

Yeah, I tell everyone also that it impacted not just his life when he got his job, but it impacted my life and our children's lives and our family's lives because I could take a break from working all the time and, and I could be home more with the kids and we had more stability in our life. So when anybody with a disability gets a job, it doesn't it doesn't just affect them, it affects everyone around them too. So it's such a beautiful experience.

But, Joyce, what, what do you do? What, what do you do in a day? Or what is your—

I am, I am now the Talent Acquisition Manager here at Bender. I talk with all of our great candidates. I get to work with some of our customers as well, find out exactly what they're looking for to find them the best possible qualified person for the job. I also work with our processing department, getting all the resumes together to go out, because we help everyone tailor their resumes. We help them prepare for any interviews they should have with external customers, things like that. And so I get to help work with everybody to make sure that they're prepared and really get them through the finish line of finding that competitive employment.

Yes. And that— and you have a great staff too.

I do. I have some of the most amazing, wonderful people that are working under me. Could not be happier. It's amazing that the friendships you make along the way, and it's such a good environment because nobody here doesn't understand disability. That's the one thing about Bender is we are all very mission-focused, and it's great to see that in a team.

I'm glad you said that, Jill, because, you know, when you work with us, you are working with people with disabilities, and that is why we get it and understand. And actually, to that point, Gerald Haume, who I've known since he was a baby. Gerald, Gerald, how about if you tell everyone how and why you came here? But first, you know, what your title is and what you do.

Hi, Joyce Bender. One, as Jill said, thank you for having me on the show, but most importantly, thank you for having the wonderful and talented Jill Zomp here on the show as well. I have the privilege of having Jill Zomp working for me, leading the recruitment team here at Bender. My current title is now Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition and Technology here at Bender. I've worked for Bender for 19 years. Now this year. And Jill works for me leading the great work we do recruiting and placing people with disabilities into jobs all over the U.S. And I'm still highly involved in that work that we do as well. I also manage the work we do mentoring people with disabilities in the roles once we've placed them there to help give them guidance to help them be successful in their work and move up. I also help run the technology that keeps the Bender machine moving and project management in our digital accessibility space where we work with websites and mobile apps and kiosks and documents to make them inclusive for people with disabilities. So I will second, knowing firsthand Chris Somp's experience, how great his skills are as well. And also double down on the fact that his best skill is having an incredible wife, Jill Zomp, that I get the privilege of working here on my team, making a huge difference every day. So that's my role in a nutshell here at Bender. I get the best job in the world getting to help people with disabilities, people like myself, because I have what I like to call a nice collection of hidden disabilities. I've got dyslexia, dysgraphia, PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression, and migraine disorder, and I am not ashamed to talk about it. Just ask me. And although I've worked here 19 years, as Joyce Bender said, she's known me since I was a baby because my father is blind and he was the very first person with a disability that Joyce ever placed into a job. So when Jill talks about it impacting the family and the kids, I was that kid that was impacted by, um, because when Joyce placed my dad, she didn't even start Bender yet. She had her executive search firm. There was no Americans with Disabilities Act yet, and when my dad got hired in IT. He ended up becoming the first blind person on the planet to be a certified Lotus Notes developer. And it was in that IT job when the unemployment rate of people who are blind was 99% that he met my mom. It was downtown and, you know, and went on a first date. And that led to my existence. And then I got to start interning here in high school. And then later on, a full-time job opened up. I was studying music. I'm a musician as well, and I love music. But as much as I love music, there's something I love more, and that's this mission, the passion of the crusade Joyce Bender is on to give competitive jobs for people with disabilities. So when a full-time recruiter role opened up on the team and I was interning here, I applied and never looked back. And I love what I do. And it's a privilege not only just to be on this show, Joyce, but to be on this crusade for competitive employment.

Okay, so my Gerald story, I'm going to embarrass him.

I love it.

I'm going to embarrass him.

I know which one you're going to pick.

Singapore. Hello. Okay. So I have a picnic, the Bender family picnic. And we have had this like maybe the year after we start on a very small scale. And now we have it here in Pittsburgh. And if you're going to be in Pittsburgh the first Saturday in August, you got to get in touch with us. So you can come to the Bender Family Picnic. But to give you an idea, let's say there's 120 people there. It's current employees, former employees, their families, uh, business people, young people from the Bender Leadership Academy, disability rights leaders like Tony Coelho, the author of The ADA, is at every picnic. Well, one of the— we have food, we have all really good food, and we have caricature drawings, and we have a person that makes balloon art with kids, and we have bingo. One of the highlights is bingo. And, you know, we have a raffle. And oh my goodness, Jill, we do so many things. What am I leaving out? Did I leave anything out?

Face painters.

We have face painters coming. Yes. Sand art. Sand art.

Yeah. Sand art. Spin art.

And of course, bingo. One of my favorite things is, yes, the piñata.

Mm-hmm.

I am the one that said from the beginning, you remembered, we will have of a piñata. And I give the young people there so much candy. Oh my goodness, so much, so much. And of course, the piñata is filled to the brim with candy. Well, one year when Gerald was at that old age of maybe 8 or 9, real excited. Here we go, piñata time, all that candy is going to come out. And bang! All the candy fell, all 40 pieces. Like, what is going on here? And Gerald looks up at me with these puppy eyes and he says, is that all there is? Do you remember that, Gerald?

I do. And not only that, I remember my first summer internship here when you brought that piñata into the conference room where I was working from there. And you said, guess what, Gerald? Now you get to stuff the piñata. And you— and I, and I was in charge of making sure there was enough candy in it for the kids, and I got my comeuppance.

Yes, there was a misunderstanding of how much candy to put in the piñata, but there never will be again. It is filled to the top. So, uh, Gerald, but it's wonderful to have you here and your family and hold Jim. And Jill, I want you to talk about something for a minute because I just don't want to forget to talk about this. But before I do, I have to have a shout out to your daughter, Em, and your son, Ben. Em, where are you, Em? You could hear me singing live and you're— but because you aren't here, all those people around the world, you're not going to get to hear me. I love them. They're awesome. So I wanted to give them a shout out, as I do to all of the homie family, which includes Krista, everyone, the whole group. So, you know, because we are a family at Bender. So, Jill, what I wanted to talk about for a moment, I realize when I say that we find career employment for people living with disabilities right away, people, oh, I don't have a disability. What do they think of? Wheelchair, blind, deaf. I wondered if you could talk about that for a moment.

Absolutely. So I think that's probably one of the biggest misunderstandings that a lot of people have whenever they look at Bender Consulting Services is, oh, I don't have a disability, I don't have Social Security payments, or I don't have something that people can see. I think it's over 70% of disabilities are not visible. So whenever people think of disability, think of everything that affects your daily life, even if it's corrected by medication. These are things like, I don't know, maybe something Joyce Bender might know a little a little bit about, like epilepsy. But even more than that, it's anxiety and depression and migraines and diabetes, hypertension, all of these things that people have every day. Arthritis, sleep disorders like sleep apnea, so many different things. ADHD, like myself, that people are unaware of, that those are also disabilities. And when out there saying we want people with disabilities to be represented in the workforce. We don't exclusively just want to have people with visible— we want every type of disability in the workforce. There are so many things, and the thing that people I think are most confused about maybe also, other than do I have a disability, is, you know, am I going to be taking away an opportunity if I say I have a disability? And whenever you're working with Bender, that's never the case, because the more great people we place, the more opportunities we get for even more great people. So we have a very comprehensive list. There's a, there's a person that I'd like to shout out, I'm sure you've done once or twice, named Paula Balog that works here as well, that works with me on trying to make an even more comprehensive list of different types of disabilities, because we're trying to educate the public every day. And that's been one of the things that her and I talk about a lot is all the different types of disabilities out there. And she's amazing too.

She is. I always say, wind beneath my wings. She has been first employee, been with me over 38 years, and really is the person that helped me build Bender and Associates, which then went on to be Bender. You know, we then founded Bender Consulting Services. And she is the best of the best. Glad that you mentioned that. Well, Jill, I'm so glad you explained non-apparent disabilities because that is true. So true. People think, what? I didn't know migraines. I didn't know that was a disability. I didn't know High blood pressure was a disability, but as you know, high blood pressure can lead to a serious problem, which is why you take medication. So yes, it is a disability, and no, you should not think, um, oh, I'll take this job away from someone. That's not true. We have other jobs, but more importantly, what Jill said, if you get it, and you get the job, you live with depression or anxiety, and we get you in there, then you know what you're going to do? You're going to hire other people with disabilities. You're going to open the door for people with significant disabilities. So please get in touch with us. And Gerald, if someone is listening right now, um, you know, so many people are unemployed. But I want to talk about opportunities in healthcare that we actually have right now, and then how to apply or what to do to reach out to the talent acquisition department.

I'm glad you brought it up because right now healthcare is one of the fastest growing fields and we have so many opportunities in it. There are opportunities for people entry level trying to break in. People that have, you have some kind of patient care experience, even if it's being a caregiver, to translate that from helping work remotely as a nurse to monitor patients in buildings, to sterilize instruments, to advanced clinical positions, to pharmacy roles, all different types of job opportunities. Available, both, like I said, in-person and remote jobs. And all you need to do is go to benderconsult.com/jobs and apply today to get your resume over to our team. And if you're not sure which one's right for you, just apply. Just apply and talk to one of our team members, and we'll talk to you about your career what you're looking for, and try to figure out what could be the right pathway for your roles.

And these are positions in working in central processing, which is really sterilizing the surgical tools that are used, to nurses with disabilities, phlebotomists, patient access coordinators, working in the monitoring area. So, You know, although, like a nurse with a disability, you know, or different healthcare roles, yes, they require skills and they are high-paying. But there are also great opportunities, and Gerald, they don't have to have— not everyone has to have a degree, correct?

That's correct. Many of them, only a high school diploma or GED is required. And a number of them, they will train you on the job. So you'll get there, you'll get trained. In fact, there was one person we placed into a role in the sterile department who did a wonderful job. Within 6 months, she got certified in the sterilization area. And then from there, she wanted to build an even future career in healthcare. So they actually paid for her to go back to school. For nursing. So she's continuing to work, build experience in healthcare, going to school for nursing. That's being paid for, and when she's done, she will have a nursing job ready for her when she finishes her degree program. So these are incredible jobs that are available for people with disabilities with the support from Bender. To make sure that if you do need an accommodation, you do need something to make sure the role is supported for your disability, that you have advocates from Bender to make sure they are engaged to help you.

Well, on the half hour, thank you, Gerald, but it's time for Mathis on the Mic with our own wonderful brilliant Jennifer Mathis. Hello, Jennifer.

Hi.

Were you able to find something you could talk about?

There is always something to talk about these days.

She actually has so many things she has to say. Okay, what would be the most relevant today? So Jennifer, what do you have to talk to us about today?

So I want to highlight something that HUD issued last Friday, HUD being the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the federal housing agency or the lead federal housing agency. So HUD issued a document, a guidance document dramatically changing the policy that has— it has had for many, many years on assistance animals for people with disabilities who are protected under Section 504, under the ADA, under the Fair Housing Act. And so HUD has always had an interpretation under the Fair Housing Act that is pretty broad, um, that protects, um, people with disabilities who use assistance animals, which can be a little bit broader than the concept of service animal under the ADA, because to be a service animal, it has to be a dog and it has to be, um, specifically trained to do a task. That accommodates a person's disability or alleviates a person's disability in some way. So in many cases, for example, with some people with mental health disabilities, they might not have an animal that is specifically trained to do a task that alleviates or accommodates the disability, but the animal by its very presence may do that. So someone who has PTSD and experiences, you know, disorientation in time or flashback or something, having— many people with PTSD will use an animal that by its presence will orient the person in time. And bring them back to the present. Sometimes people have trained animals that do specific things that are, you know, make it easier to do that. But some people just have assistance animals that aren't specifically trained to do that. Obviously they have to be behavior trained, but HUD has had this fairly broad definition of an assistance animal. And in part that's because Where people live is important. So this is with respect to housing and a right that people have in housing with respect to the ADA and Section 504. They give people rights with respect to other settings, for example, under the ADA, state and local government services and public accommodations. But for HUD and the Fair Housing Act, it's about having the right to an assistance animal when it's reasonable in your housing. And so it's broader because if people can't have the accommodation they need where they live, that just pretty dramatically impacts their lives. And so on Friday after decades of having that interpretation, HUD said, guess what, we are narrowing our definition of an assistance animal to mirror the ADA definition of service animal. The only thing is they will allow animals that are not dogs, so it might be something else, but it has to be specifically trained to do a task. So if you have an assistance animal that you rely on that accommodates a disability or addresses the symptoms of a disability, et cetera, if it's not specifically trained to do a task or work that does that, and it does that simply by its presence, that's not going to be enough anymore. So that may be a big deal for a significant number of people with disabilities. Um, I would just say that number one, the important thing to know about this guidance is it's just guidance, um, and agencies don't get nearly the kind of deference actually that they used to get because the Supreme Court a couple of years ago said that agencies are not the ones who interpret the law. Courts interpret the law. And so, you know, in some ways what HUD said, if you're actually enforcing your rights in a court, it may not make that much difference. But people should know that, right, what HUD says is not necessarily the last word. If you— it's unclear to me what's going to happen if a bunch of landlords are going to start giving people notices, you've got to get rid of your assistance animal. I'm evicting you, or I'm evicting the animal, or whatever it might look like. People should know that HUD is not the last word, that agencies don't get deference anymore on what the law means, and they should contact their Protection and Advocacy agency. They should contact their independent living center. Center. They should contact fair housing organizations that are in their area. There are lots of people that can offer help, and so seek help. Um, for the P&As, if you go to ndrn.org, um, you can find the Protection and Advocacy agency for your state. Um, and that's, that's where I'd start. And so if this happens to you, just know you should still seek help first before just sort of, you know, if you get a notice from your landlord before thinking, "Well, I have to leave," or "I have to get rid of my assistance animal." Go talk to your protection advocacy agency or your independent living center or your Fair Housing Council, et cetera.

So this would impact anyone paying rent to someone, right? Would that— and that would include apartments, not just condominiums or something of that nature. And we don't know if they could in fact just start doing this immediately. So if they do, don't go. You know, first call You know, protection and advocacy group. Exactly. I don't think it will just go though. I mean, I think with the National Federation for the Blind and other groups, I am going to be shocked if they, if that goes through. But then I've been shocked at many things.

So, you know. Yeah. Well, with National Federation of the Blind, most of their members use guide dogs, they would be considered a service dog, so they won't have this issue as much. Who has it more are people with a mental health disability, sometimes people with epilepsy, sometimes people with certain other disabilities where the dog or other animal kind of by its presence you know, will provide help without being specifically trained. And often what you can do is you can then get your animal trained to do a task or work in some cases to accommodate the disability. But that takes some work and that's not always so easy. So anyway, I think the first step is just, you know, talk to an advocate.

Listen, you have such an impact on our listeners. Should they do anything right now? Should they make comments to their representative?

Well, there isn't— yeah, there isn't a comment process because this is just a guidance. So there isn't really an opportunity. I mean, you can write to HUD, but I don't think it's going to make a lot of difference. You can talk to your members of Congress. I think that this is an issue where the The best thing for people to do at this point is to monitor what's going on. And if people are having issues, to know, to be aware that you should and can reach out to the advocates for help because you shouldn't just take this guidance as sort of the gospel because again, agencies no longer get deference in the courts. And their interpretation.

You could document it and you could let Jennifer know at basilon.org, but you could also send a note to AAPD.com to Maria Town. And so go to AAPD.com and basilon.org and there's a way you can contact send a contact. I would say if that happens to you, you should let someone know, because if not, we won't know that it's happening. So, you know, make sure you do that. And before Jennifer leaves, I have to remind everyone that Tuesday night is the Tony Puello Award Ceremony. So now, so you know this, we've given this to Secretary of Labor Perez, Senator Durbin, CEO of Highmark David Holmberg, Executive Vice President at Royal Bank of Canada Diana Burke, Governor Markell. What this award is, is it is honoring someone that has helped impact employment for people with disabilities. And we've been doing this since 2002. We do not do it every year, because if we don't think there is someone worthy, then we don't acknowledge them that year. But once again, Tuesday night, 5:30 to 7:30. And if you would like to go, send an email to jbender@benderconsult.com. Jbender@benderconsult.com, and someone will absolutely get back to you. So, and Jennifer, I know I'll see you then. So you have a great day. Thank you so much for the news.

Thank you.

Take care. Bye-bye. She is so awesome. I'll tell you, we're so lucky to have her. We are. And that is, it's not, you know, we're like a for-profit company with a social mission because advocacy is important. So is knowing what's going on. And that's why we're the only place in the world that has this news report every week on the half hour by someone as prestigious as Jennifer Mathis. So always, always join us for that. Hey, Jill, you know, we also get opportunities in other areas like trade areas, which we never did before. But I wanted you to talk about that. And, you know, is that really taking off? Is this something maybe a college student with a disability that has— or not, associate's level, whatever— has not been able to find employment? Could you talk about that?

Absolutely. So I tell everybody, wherever the jobs are, that's where Bender's going to go to. Right now we know the job market's definitely in flux, and one of the places that there's so many opportunities is healthcare. So you better believe Joyce Bender said, well, we're going to get people with disabilities in there. And the other one that they were saying is trades. The trades are coming back, and everybody that's looking for a good job and steady employment really wants to start getting into the trades. And Joyce Bender said, well, you know, there's people people with disabilities. So here we are now working with all kinds of amazing employers throughout the US for really good-paying jobs for electricians, HVAC, plumbers, welders, all kinds of different types of trades. And they're looking for people that have some to no skill, every different level. Some of them need to have their license. Some of them are even doing different programs where they're training them. If there's somebody who maybe acquired a disability in their life and now can't do what they used to do but still have all that knowledge, there's other areas that they can go into. So if they were in HVAC but now maybe they can't crawl through the ducts like they used to, uh, there's other systems and other planning that they need help with. And with the advent of all of the big, um, centers coming up while they're making all those different things for AI, and while they're making all of these big, um, uh, you know, buildings, they need people that know how to do the maintenance on them, to build them. There's so much opportunity out there right now, and it is a great field to go into if you're looking for work, and we're doing amazing things and finding amazing people for these opportunities. And it's been great to see how many people have embraced it because they realize that when you hire somebody with a disability, they are going to be dedicated and they work hard. And it's just been so, so wonderful to see them embrace people with disabilities in this type of environment.

It is because these are high salaries, aren't they, Jill?

Very high salaries. You start out working, um, at a higher rate of pay than most places, and it only grows from there. If you're able to get the certifications and the journeyman's licenses, your salary can only increase. So the more you put into it, the more you get out of it with these types of roles. So people that come in with that attitude, willing to work— yes, I will do that, yes, I can— are the ones that are making the really, really good salaries very quickly. It's not like it's, oh, in 10 years you might be making a livable wage. It's right now. You can come in and, and start working and start making a good salary for you and providing for you and your, your family.

Before I move on to Gerald, I wanted to ask you, Joe, about case manager opportunities in healthcare or product manager What are they? Because we have positions like that at Bender Consulting, just as we have these roles for plumbers, HVAC engineers, but we have healthcare, and Gerald will be talking about AI in a couple minutes. But could you tell us about those roles, product managers and case management? Yeah.

So very different type of roles, but both are ones that require people with very specific skills. So case managers, they're usually going to be nurses. That's, that's one of the big requirements is understanding nursing and understanding the complexity of the different types of cases. And there's so many different out there, um, but depending on the specific field, these are people that see it end to end. So think about somebody who's gone through a transplant and somebody that can manage that whole case that understands the medical side of it. They're able to work with everybody else that's helping to care for the patient. They need to be on the ball. They need to make sure that they can foresee all of the different probable obstacles that may come into play and know how to quickly work through those obstacles to make sure that the patient's care is, is, is the most important thing and that they're taking care of well. But then product managers is, is completely different in that it's more on the side of technology. And product managers are like the people that are responsible for deciding the different types of technologies that might be used. And they actually are also the ones that are able to bridge between the customers and the business leaders and the designers and developers and trying to make sure that they get the, the, what the company needs and what the customer needs actually out there. Think of it like, um, if a company that makes a, like, a pharmacy app, and the, you know, they, they want the product manager that will gather, like, feedback for, from patients as well as from pharmacists to make sure that this is the type of app they need, but also to improve improve it and continue to work with those developers, track it along the way, and really make sure that it comes to be exactly what's needed for everybody whenever they are actually using it. So the big companies in so many different fields, in obviously healthcare, but also in IT and in banking— think about your, your app on your phone that everybody uses in retail and in manufacturing. There's tons of different product managers out there, and we are lucky enough to be able to place people in those roles where they get to influence that and think about how big of an impact that they're making on these very well-known companies to manage the products. And also, once they get them in there, that's, that's their purview, so they will continue to manage it and continue to grow it as, as the company grows.

Yes. And, you know, um, these positions pay well. And if you are in the Pittsburgh area, you definitely need to get in touch with us if you're looking for a higher paying, higher level job. And I just want to say, those case managers, aren't those remote?

Yes. And actually, some of the product managers are as well. So those can be remote positions. As long as, you know, they have the ability, um, to flex to the different time zones and to work around other people's schedule and maybe do a little bit of, um, you know, working around different types of people's schedules, they should be able to be remote for the, for the most part. Some companies do want to have people there though, so it's never across the board. But for those case managers, oftentimes they are remote. And with case managers, if remote. It's just depending on what type of license you have, what state you're licensed to work in. So people out there that are nurses that are part of the compact, they're good to go usually because I think that's what, 32 different states that they can be licensed to work in as a nurse. So as that expands, it really is opening the doors for people that are looking for remote nursing roles.

Wow. I mean, that's great because, you know, I'm sure there are listeners right now that if it isn't you, that you have a family member or spouse or partner or child who is a registered nurse but had an accident, had something happen, they can no longer work by the bedside. Well, here you go. We've got opportunities for you. You've got to get in touch with us. Once again, go to BenderConsult.com and share this with others. Share this with others so that they can share it with other people. Gerald, before we end the show today, what about AI? What are we doing with AI? Do we get opportunities in that area for people?

We absolutely do. You know, actually, some of them you wouldn't even think about it necessarily, but the roles we've talked about do work with AI. A lot of these roles in critical facilities are working in environments that— in keeping those AI facilities moving. So roles for electricians, for— keep AI facilities up and running 24/7. You wouldn't believe the number of new jobs being created in skilled trades that support the AI infrastructure in America that we are getting the chance to work on. So that's why many of these jobs are so great, high-paying jobs and beautiful brand new facilities where people get to use this work on great technology. But also we get roles in IT where people are using AI, both building it but also implementing it into processes, whether it be software developers that have great skills with AI to build into that lifecycle or business analysts that know how to use it to predict trends, to support their teams, to project managers that know how to use it to help with budgeting and all these different pieces from their tools. One of the best things you can do as a candidate today is make sure you know how to use AI when you're looking for jobs. So that way, when you think about what my role is, how would I use AI in my job and what can I use on the side. How can I learn to prompt ChatGPT or whatever tool you want to practice with better so that I could use that effectively in my role today? Because everyone's jobs are changing with AI, and there's a lot of great resources online to learn to, to do that.

And there is you know, good and bad with AI. But I also want to tell you, when the internet came out, there was good and bad with the internet. But I will tell you that it can help you in your job right now today to be more productive. But you need to know this is something that isn't going to go away. It's going to increase and there's going to be opportunity So, you know, don't ignore it. Once again, I want people with disabilities included in all innovative new technologies. I know Judy Heumann, she was with us, would be the first person saying people with disabilities, they need to get skilled in AI. I know she would because her thing was getting people up to date with technology. So Um, it is so important. I just want to say again that if you are looking for a job or you know someone looking for a job, you know, a job in a STEM area— remember, we worked with the NSA for 10 years at Bender Consulting Services— or a job in healthcare or a business discipline or computer science, Get in touch with us. And if you know someone with a disability, you need to tell them about this show. Get them this show so they get us their resume. BenderConsult.com. If you are a business manager listening to this show or a hiring manager, when you hire a person with a disability, it isn't charity. It's a business investment. It's an untapped labor pool, and it's people that want to work, will work, will be there, a treasure to you. BenderConsult.com. Gerald and Jill, am I right? Do we have webinars that people could go to on our page?

They're on our YouTube channel. We've got a couple different webinars we did on interviewing, on resume building, on how to adjust your skills for an ever-shifting workforce that's happening, going on now. Jill's the star of many of those webinars with some great content. So, Jill, I see you even presented on the first one. So, I highly recommend everyone listening to this check those out and share them to help educate others that are looking for work today.

And we even talk about using AI in your job search on them, so it's all coming full circle.

Well, uh, thank you both for being on. You won't go wrong getting in touch with these two superstars with disabilities that care about finding you a good job, not a token job, not a job where you're underemployed. Get in touch with us today. And we end every show with a quote. And today the quote is what we've been talking about all day: work. Work gives us dignity, says the great Toni Cuello. How true that is. Work gives us dignity. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you get up tomorrow, Remember, choose joy. You won't be disappointed. Your day's gonna go so much better. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. See you all next week as we talk to our county executive in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Sarah in Almerado. See you then. Talk to you then.

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.

Come on!