Hammerstrom, Krause, Frazier: The Bender Leadership Academy plans for 2025's 4th Annual Mary Brougher Memorial Golf Outing

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. Everyone in the United States and around the world. Now, I am always thanking you, thanking you, countries around the world, but I just wanted to mention you so you know how important it is to me. So here we go. Canada. Canada has a large listening audience. United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, India, China, Poland, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Bangladesh, Sweden, France, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iceland, Germany, Nepal, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Turkey, Spain, Kenya, Barbados, Ecuador, Iraq, Israel, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Belgium, Ivory Coast. Columbia, Serbia, Nigeria, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, and Chile. Listen to me, that means so much to me to have listeners around the world. And may I say, even if it's one, if you're that one person in Saudi Arabia, that's okay. Just go to other people and get them to listen to the show because what are you trying to do? Spread the news about quality of life for people with disabilities and for around the world, ending stigma for people with disabilities. But I had to name all of you because, you know, I thank you every week, but just so you know, I am really impressed and thankful for you, as I am, of course, for everyone in the United States. Such great listeners. And you all know what I do. I own a company. I focus on the employment of people with disabilities across the United States and have the Bender Leadership Academy, which we'll be talking about, that focuses on Preparing high school students with disabilities for the world of work and how to fight bullying. Yoshiko Dart. Yoshiko, shout out to you. Yoshiko, I'll never forget you. Never forget you on any of these shows. Yoshiko, wife of the late, great Justin Dart. And you know what? This year is the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And what a powerful part Yoshiko and Justin had in all of that. So that's why every show I want everyone to say when they see me, hey, who's that Yoshiko that you talk about all the time? So Yoshiko, you know I love you. And I have to thank— hi, Mark. You know, this is the 30th anniversary of my company, Bender Consulting Services. And if you want to know more, it's at benderconsult.com. You'll read my story. But what I want to tell you is how I got started was with Highmark. And here we are all these years later. Every CEO has stood behind me. David Holmberg, you are awesome, and thank you Joyce Bender for once again this year being the lead sponsor of the show. Thank you so much. So with all of that, we're gonna talk about my favorite thing, the Bender Leadership Academy. And you know what? I just came back from a graduation class for the Bender Leadership Academy, and this Bender Leadership Academy is we, I love these young people and it's raising the bar, not lowering the bar. And we have with us the person that runs the academy, Scott Hammerstrom, and our board members, Evan Fraser and Lisa Krause. I'm gonna start with you, Scott. Before you tell everyone what is the Bender Leadership Academy, would you mind just a couple comments about where we were today.

Absolutely, Joyce, and thank you so much for having me. So Joyce and I had the pleasure to go into our graduation for students who completed our computer basic certifications class and our customer service basics class. So these are students who come over from Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania to the technical center, and they go there 2 days a week. And they, they started in October and they graduated today. And they take different modules learning about, you know, the computer basics, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, but they can go up to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. They also can learn about customer service skills and they can get certificates in that as well. And this class that we had this afternoon were, I would say, a bunch of overachievers. They were just— this is one of the most certificates out of any school year in the past 8 or 9 years that this class had. They were absolutely amazing. This one student named Dakota, you know, usually you can do all the certificates, it takes 2 years. He did them all in 1 year. He was just absolutely amazing. We put all the names of the certificates on our graduation certificate. I thought we were going to have to get a second certificate for him because he had so many. But these kids, these students, they just gravitate to you, Joyce. This is the first time they actually got to meet you in person. And we were almost late for the radio show because everybody wanted to stop and take a picture of you, Joyce, which was awesome. They just love you. And you're so inspirational talking to the students. And I know the teachers love them and the students, you could tell, loved our teachers, Ms. D and Ms. Dufour-Gaudio, because they multiple times today just shared the love to the to the, to the teachers too.

Yeah, that was one of my favorite parts, how they were with, uh, Miss Gaudio and Miss D. They were just, hey, it's all about raising the bar, not lowering the bar. So what is the mission, Scott, of the Bender Leadership Academy? benderleadership.org. What is the mission?

So our mission is we empower students with disabilities to address bullying, pursue education, and achieve their career goals. So we're getting them prepared for the world of work so they can be successful. And we included bullying in there because, Joyce, you have been passionate about young people and them being bullied and taking a stand for over 20 years now. And we wanted to absolutely include that in our mission because Majority of our students, when you ask that question, raise their hand because they have been bullied, which causes, uh, mental health concerns, which could cause employment concerns in the future. So it's very important to address those concerns right away.

Yes, um, because if we don't, who will, right? Correct. Um, so how now, Mr. Evan Frazier, I love Evan Fraser, may I tell you. Even everyone listening in Great Britain, you should know Evan Fraser. I love him. And we've known each other for a very long time. Uh, he just— couldn't speak highly enough of him. He's just awesome. So Evan, why don't you tell everyone about you and your background and what you do right now.

For sure. Well, first I want to say I love you too, and you've been amazing. You're such an inspiration. Thank you for having me here today. And so, uh, for those, uh, who, who, uh, uh, may not know me, my name is Evan Frazier. I'm the president and CEO of the Advanced Leadership Institute, or TALI for short. And, uh, that's what I, uh, do. I have a background that is really a combination of both corporate and nonprofit over the years, just always have had a heart for both business and community, you know, and that's kind of what led me to the work that I do. The organization I'm with, again, TALI, the Advanced Leadership Institute, our mission is to strengthen companies and institutions and communities by cultivating leadership through world-class executive leadership programs that are specifically tailored to support, develop, and retain Black leaders and their allies. And again, just a reminder, allies could be anyone from any background. And so we're in the space of executive education and leadership development, and we partner with Carnegie Mellon University, their Tepper School of Business. And we're so delighted to be able to support organizations and individual leaders at this time. And We're excited about the work we do in Pittsburgh and the work that we're doing, really starting to do across the country. So we're super excited. And Joyce, you've been an inspiration in what you've done with Bender Leadership Academy, but also just the work you have done through Bender Consulting through the years. So thank you for that.

You all couldn't do it without people like you. And Evan, what is your website?

Our website is taliinstitute.org. That's www.taliinstitute.org.

Thank you so much. And I think it's so important, you know, what you're doing, Evan. Okay, well, that brings me to one of my friends that I think the world of, Lisa Krauss. Who I have been friends with for a long time also, and I will say who has always been there for me and for the work that I do. So Lisa, how about you? Let's hear about your background and what you do.

Hi Joyce, thanks so much for having me on today. I'm really excited to be here. Um, so a little bit of background about me: I've spent my entire career in information technology with 21 of those years being in a leadership role. My IT journey has led me to my current position as a Director of the Project Management Office at EdgeCo Holdings, where I oversee strategy, governance, and the execution of IT projects spanning across 6 lines of business. In this role, I lead the development enforcement of project management standards, methodologies, and tools as part of our PMO Center of Excellence. I also mentor and manage a high-performing team of project and program managers, ensuring consistent delivery and alignment with our organizational— organizational goals. And additionally, I provide executive-level support on project status, risk, financials, key performance indicators, and other critical metrics to support those informed decisions that are being made at the highest levels.

Good, great. Yes, you have been in IT. How long?

Do I want to say? I think it's been 35 years, a little over 35 years.

And it is so amazing how it changed over the years. It seems like a blur to me, but it just— wow. Don't worry, Lisa, I remember all the way back to IBM MVS.

Well, I was trying to get people to go back to the mainframe, but they laugh at me. So COBOL programmer here.

Yeah, and guess what? I have a company, they're still looking for COBOL programmers and can't find them. But yes, we just zoomed right through. Now here we are with artificial intelligence. And getting back to Carnegie Mellon University that Evan mentioned, which is one of one of the top universities in the world, and they've done so many state-of-the-art— I think they've— oh, it has to be 50 companies that they've spun off, technology companies that came out of Carnegie Mellon. But do you know that in the mid-1900s, they were looking at artificial intelligence? So that gives you an idea of how great this is. I want to tell everyone there's an article in the Washington Post about how Western Pennsylvania is going to have another revolution, and it's AI, and that we are going to be at the heart of it. So that, that made me really proud when I read that, but that's for another show. Back to you, Mr. Hammerstrom. Let's talk about the Mary Brocker golf outing, which I won't be golfing. I'll be there, but I don't like want to injure someone when I either go backroom and backwards and hit them with a golf club or lose all the balls or miss them. So, Scott, let's hear about the golf outing.

Well, first off, I think Evan and all the other golfers will thank you for not golfing at that outing.

Yeah, they will.

I agree with you. Yeah, so I, I can't believe this is going to be our 4th annual Mary Barker Memorial golf outing, and this year it's going to be at the River Forest Country Club in Freeport, PA, and it should be on Saturday, August 16th, 2025. Starting around 8 AM is the registration, and the shotgun start will be be around 9 AM, and it is always a blast, always fun, always hearing great stories about Mary Brocker, which you'll hear a little bit more about later in the show. But yeah, it's our 4th annual. It's a wonderful event. You'll see a lot of different people who love Mary, and it's just a great support of her and for a great cause.

You know what, I'm gonna just skip forward, uh, Scott, and have you tell everyone about the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative.

Yeah, absolutely. So for those of you don't know, like, 7 out of 10 teens report like mental health struggles. Students with disabilities are at an increased risk of being bullied. Bullying is linked to mental health concerns and increased risk for suicide-related behavior. And only about 20% of youth with mental health disabilities receive care from mental health providers. And we, especially after COVID happened in 2020, when all the schools were going virtual and a lot of the students were not going to school and meeting their peers and just isolated. Mental health struggles have just skyrocketed. And when Mary passed away, who also had a mental health disability, we wanted to create the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative. And we break that down into 3 different areas. We have mental fitness training. We want people to become empowered to talk about mental health and end that stigma. Engage in healthy mind habits that build skills and self-compassion and coping and resiliency. And, you know, we teach that in our class. You know, a lot of our students have to speak in front of their class. And so we teach them some breathing techniques just to help them cope. Simple things like that. We also have mental health advocacy and we So we tell our students how to understand what it means to be an advocate and explore actions that youth advocates can take to bring about change that address stigma of mental health. And the third bucket that we have created is we call it the Not a Shame campaign. And our goal is to reduce stigma around mental health disabilities and empower youth with mental health disabilities to take pride in who they are, and just create a community of allies dedicated to ending myths around mental health disabilities. And it's Not Ashamed campaign is just an easy— you create a video, you could do it on your phone and say, hey, I'm Scott Hammerstrom and I have a mental health disability. I'm not ashamed. Or if you're just an ally, if you know somebody who has a mental health, you could say that, that I support those who have a mental health disabilities. And we're trying to get it out there on social media and out there. So people see it and share that information so we can end that stigma for those who do have a mental health disability.

Yes, and Scott, you are so right about the intersection. Just like the intersection from students from the LGBTQ community with mental health, sadly, so many times has led to suicidal ideation when they are brutally bullied, which, as you said, students with disabilities are bullied more than any other group. So sad. It's cyberspace makes it all the worse. But we do have students, Scott, that stand up for other students and that want to be advocates, correct?

Absolutely. You can see it in our classes. People share their stories and you'll hear other students say, "I got your back," or they're just so supportive of each other because we're all going through the same thing together.

Well, thank you, Scott. Evan, since you joined this board, what has impacted you the most?

Yeah, so for me, what it is, it's what a powerful thing to be able to see volunteers volunteer leaders coming from all across the country who are supporting Bender Leadership Academy. I mean, for me to see that community from all over, and not that I ever doubted that was a strong community because I know you, Joyce, and, and, but, you know, and then Scott is in the work that you do and, you know, but people like Lisa and people that you have in Boston and people that you have and just just DC and different areas. Wow, what a powerful coalition of community leaders that you pulled together who are in support, who are either people who have disabilities or people who are, as you said, allies and are very supportive of the community. And so first, that was amazing. The other thing is what really touches me is that you have You bring in people who have directly been impacted by the Bender Leadership Academy and how it's impacted their life. And you could see the promise that they've gone on to strive for bigger things and have big, higher-level visions, and their self-esteem is strong. And it's— to me, it's really, really great. It feels so good to know that there's such an important group of people who are so dedicated to people with disabilities and are willing to support our young people, not just to say we're going to support you and, you know, we're going to have pity here, but it's not that at all. It's to say, hey, we believe in the strength that you bring and in your future promise to work and to do the things that you aspire to do in life. And so you're inspiring people to really be their best. And so, and then to see it actually, to see those individual examples, I can't remember the names of one is I believe Rashana is maybe one of the names.

Rashana. Yeah.

Yeah. And she, you know, wrote a book and it's just all the things that you're seeing, you know, individuals achieving, especially at young ages. To me, that's inspiring.— and the community that you've built. And so I'm just proud to be a part of it. And so for me, that's how it's impacted me the most, is to be able to see it, to be a part of it, and to be, you know, just to know that, you know, really good things are out there and that there's infrastructure and caring and supporting and love for people with disabilities in high school and beyond.

Wow. As I said, we're lucky to have you, Evan. And you're one of those people you were just talking about. But right now, it is time to go to our news break with Mathis on the mic. Today, we are so lucky we have a person standing in for Jennifer Mathis. Boy, we get these low-level people like CEO of the Bazelon Center on Mental Health Law. We don't mess around here, okay? We don't mess around with Mathis on the mic. We've got Jennifer Mathis, and if not, we've got the top dog, Holly O'Donnell. Welcome to the show and thank you for being with us. Okay, full disclosure, she's the one that thought of the name Mathis on the Mic. She made the mistake of telling me, and I thought, oh, I like that. And now here it is, Mathis on the Mic. But I love Holly. I do. I love her. And she is connected to Pittsburgh, so she is a-okay. So you're here though with news, right, Holly?

Yes, I am. Thanks so much, Joyce. And I want to start by saying hi to Evan. Because I was at Pittsburgh Public Schools when you were at the Hill House.

Wow.

Yeah.

That's amazing.

So I just, um, yeah, so I was really excited to be here with you. It's been a very long time.

Likewise.

Um, and I'm in Washington, D.C., so I will give you some news from here, standing in for, uh, Jennifer Mathis. Mathis on the mic.

Yeah.

So I'm gonna provide you with an update on proposed cuts to Medicaid. Jennifer Mathis talked about this a few weeks ago on the show, and now here on May 20th, we are at another critical juncture. Congressional leadership is still moving ahead at lightning speed to try to pass the one, I'm gonna use quotes, the one big beautiful bill The budget reconciliation bill that will cover— cut over $700 billion from the Medicaid program to pay for the tax cuts that the president wants for the wealthy Americans. And so I think some of you know this already, but I live on Capitol Hill, and so I can say that as I'm walking home or driving home, the light is on at the top of the dome and they are working late. Congressional leaders are aiming to get this bill passed in the House by the end of this week before they go out on recess. Let me talk about what the bill— what's in the bill, and then I'll talk about the timeline for it. So I'll talk about what's in the version of the bill that passed the House and Energy— the House Energy and Commerce Committee this late last week. That version of the bill, that's the one that's public. We know that some changes were made late Sunday night. Again, think about that light on at the top of the dome when it was passed by the House Budget Committee, but those are not yet public. One of the most significant pieces of the bill is a requirement that states impose requirements for people on work requirements for people on Medicaid. Jennifer talked about this on the show last month. And you know, if you're reading the papers, you're gonna see a lot about Medicaid and work requirements. What that means is that to get on Medicaid or stay on Medicaid, people would now have to prove on a regular basis that they are working at least 80 hours a month or participating in community service or a work or educational program for at least that amount of time. And again, that's 80 hours a month. Medicaid is incredibly important for people with disabilities, and Joyce Bender, we've talked about that on the show a lot, as many rely on it for home and the community-based services that they need. The budget bill has some exemptions to work requirements for people with certain disabilities, but we know that the problem with exemptions is that they don't work. We know from past experiences with Medicaid work requirements that in the states that use them, tens of thousands of people lost coverage even if they were working or qualified for an exemption because they got caught up in the red tape with the verification requirements. Many people didn't get the word that they needed to report their work or didn't realize when they had to report it or what they had to report, or they didn't have access to a computer or a phone and could not reach state bureaucrats on the phone. So we can expect that if the budget bill passes with these work requirements, millions of people with disabilities may lose their Medicaid coverage and the basic services that they need.

Oh, that's very bad.

Another key requirement in the bill is that it would require people's eligibility for Medicaid to be redetermined every 6 months. Again, this seems designed to make it as hard as possible for people to keep their health coverage. People get caught up in red tape with redeterminations and many will lose their coverage. And this seems to be the point, Joyce Bender. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that 13.7 million people would lose their healthcare coverage through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act. And that at least $715 billion would be cut from healthcare programs. So as best we know it, and I tried to look at the Washington Post newspaper right before I got on your show, Joyce Bender, but because things are evolving, but here's the timeline for the bill. As I said before, Congress hopes to have this bill pass the House of Representatives by the end of this week. Late Sunday night, the bill was passed by the House Budget Committee. It then went to the Rules Committee, and after that, it will go to the House floor. Congress talked about having a vote on the House floor late tomorrow, so that'd be Wednesday, May 21st, and in any event, by Friday May 23rd. It's critically important that all of us and all your listeners from around the United States contact their representatives and tell them not to cut Medicaid. If people are not sure who their representative is, they can call the Capitol switchboard and the switchboard can connect folks with their representative. The number, and I'll say it twice, is 202-225-3121. Again, that phone number to call the Capitol switchboard is 202-225-3121. And as many of you know, I have a brother that worked, um, in Congress and in the state office and in D.C. and he spent a lot of time answering the phones. These calls matter and so we really encourage folks to call and now is the time to call because again we expect to vote on it no later than Friday.

And I cannot stress to you everyone how serious this is. And if you're listening right now, don't hang up or don't get off the internet and say, oh, that's terrible. Do something. Where do I have it here? 202-225. Is that right?

Yes.

202-225-3121. Correct. Okay. You've got to call. Because if this happens, you know, I was thinking about this, Holly, that I have people employed who have quadriplegia and use a personal attendant, and that would not happen if they did not have Medicaid. So, I mean, you could think of so many examples. There's so many examples of just this whole work requirement. You know, I always say Well, if you're on Medicaid, it's because you're most likely not working or having a hard time just living. And then how often do you have to do that? And where do you go? And what if you have epilepsy and you can't drive a car? And you know, I could go on and on, but I do have a couple questions that came in for you, Holly. And the first is, has any of this happened yet? Has Medicaid been cut? At all yet?

No, not yet. And so that's why I think— and Jennifer might have more on the details of it— but I think what we're really talking about is what's going to go forward this week.

Yeah, okay. And what's the other question here is, If this happens, what can stop it? I mean, I would encourage everyone to vote because I don't know if that can be stopped. I will say you should do two things.

I'll have to turn it around in the future.

And sorry.

Right.

You should vote. You should vote. And if it would happen, you should be— what's that, Evan? Making good trouble? Yeah. I mean, you— but you need to vote. We can stop it. If you vote. Go ahead, Evan, what were you going to say?

I had my pin on earlier. I just voted this morning, so I had my pin and just, it fell off. But I just, I think you said it right. We got to be out there. Holly, thanks for what you're doing. It's so important to have important voices out there.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

I'll let you all know that I think I'm going to be up there in July, so I'll let you all know.

Let me know because you're so famous. We would want to see you. Hey, this is Holly O'Donnell, the CEO of the Baselon Center Mental Health.

Thanks for having me. Let me sub for the news, and you'll have Jennifer next week.

Okay. Bye. Bye, Holly. Okay. Well, that is— oh, my, my, my, my. We're going to move on to you for a moment there, Lisa. Since you have been on this board, what has impacted you the most as a board member?

Well, really, serving on this board of directors has really given me a deeper understanding of what it takes to run the Bender Leadership Academy, right? I've gained a true appreciation for the dedication that Scott Joyce Bender and his team bring to developing and delivering these impactful curriculums across each program. And his team has grown. I've watched his team grow, right? He started out with one or two, one, one, one assistant, and now he's got, what, two or three more people with him. So the, you know, it takes a lot to do this. And their commitment to engaging the students and collaborating with the educators, securing the necessary funding to to sustain and expand the organization's reach to as many students as possible, that's inspiring and very impressive. I mean, the program has grown. I've seen them add on programs. I've helped them with some of defining some of those program and curriculums and things. And they're just, they're doing a lot. And it really has been eye-opening to see what it takes to do this. So I'm truly impressed and, you know, inspired by what they do.

And I will say that Lisa Krause is a great board member. I wish we could clone her because it's, it's not just sitting on, you know, being, being on the board on your resume, Bender leadership, it's being involved. And Scott, I know you know that she is very involved.

She is. And I remember when we first started and we created a database, and Lisa was the one who helped me, uh, create it from scratch basically. And, um, and now it's our lifeblood, and we need it every single day. And we couldn't do it without— I couldn't have done that without Lisa when we first started.

And that's what Dom Evans was talking about. That's the community. That's everybody, you know, helping and you know, getting people involved.

And I will also, um, that is so true. Um, you heard what we said about high school students with disabilities. Even if you aren't going, it may be, you know, you live outside of Pittsburgh, you won't be at the golf outing, you can still make a donation or sponsor a hole for, you know, $100. You could still do something Um, so if someone wants to be a sponsor, how do they do that, Scott? Uh, and if they just want to make a donation, how do they do that?

So you could do one of— go to our website, that's the easiest thing to do, which is benderleadership.org. Go to the website, and then if you want to— are interested in the golf outing, you can go to the Get Involved tab and go on there, and there's a tab for Mary Brooker golf outing. Click on there and it gives you all the information. If you want to be a whole sponsor, sponsor golf, come for our program, you do all that from the, from that link. If you just want to even make a general donation, once you go to benderleadership.org, there's a Donate Now tab at the top right-hand side. You click on that and then you can donate as little or as much as you wanna donate. And you can pick for any specific program. If you wanna do it for the golf outing, you can just click on the Mary Barker Mental Health Initiative, but all of our programs are on there or general support. You know, anything would be helpful. And we appreciate everybody's support the last 3 years. And I know this year is gonna be the biggest and best outing yet.

Yes, I agree with you. Um, and if you're listening, you know, tell other people. What is the date again, Scott?

What is this? Location is Saturday, August 16th, um, at 8 AM, and the golf course is the, the River Forest Country Club. And I know Evan, uh, golfed there last year, so he can give you, uh, some tips right now if you, if you're interested in golfing. Absolutely.

Hey, Evan, how about some tips, Evan? What can you tell her?

Well, as long as you're not asking me for golf tips, because my golf game is, you know, mediocre at best. But what is great about it is, you know, the golf outing, the Mary Brooker golf outing, is all about the spirit of Mary Brooker. And you feel that spirit out on the golf course with everyone who's there. And so it was a great time. And River Forest, you know, it's— I know my good friend Steve Irwin, who happens to be one of the owners out there. I'm so glad that you're holding it there because it's a great place and it's really reinforcing the kind of support in the broader community that we are excited about. And so, yeah, looking forward to the golf outing. Last year was great. There was golfing. And for those who don't golf, there was food, there were pictures, there was a great auction, silent auction that you had, and I think a Chinese auction as well. And so we had a great time. And then we had some stories, you know, during the program there. And what an inspiring day it was. So I hope whether you're a golfer or not, I recommend that you come out, be a part of it, and, you know, join in the fun. 'Cause like I said, my golf game is mediocre at best. And, you know, we all enjoyed it. It was a great day of golf and a great day of fellowship as well.

And you know what, Evan, I'm glad you brought up, even if you don't golf, you can come for the dinner. So remember that, keep that in mind. So Evan, I'm gonna ask you, can you share a story about Mary Mary Brooker.

You know, I— what's so funny is that, you know, I just think about the many interactions I've had with Mary, and almost just about every interaction I've had with her, the things that really come out are things like her just unbelievable, uh, witty spirit and her brilliance and her positivity Is the thing that just every conversation we had, no matter whether there's gloom and doom in the broader, you know, news that's happening out there or whatever it is, she was always so positive. She will point out the bright side. And you always knew that she was on your side. I mean, she is one of those people that just made it a better day. So it's hard for me to say, okay, just one example. Because just about every interaction I had, all those things come out from Mary Brocker. And, um, that's been my consistent experience with her.

And so, yeah, yeah, um, we lost Mary— will be 4 years ago now— in a hiking accident. It was truly terrible, the most terrible thing that ever happened to me. And that's why I wanted to keep Mary's spirit alive. Mary lived though with depression for 40 years, clinical depression, and she always helped young people with mental health disabilities. So this is how the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative came about. But I'll tell you, I used to say to Mary, you know the rock star Pink? You know that song Get the Party Started? She wrote that for you, Mary. Because Mary could walk into a room and she would get the party started. So Lisa, I already know this is hard for you to share a story about Mary because you were— you actually were closer, uh, first with Mary than before I knew you. It's Mary that introduced me to you. So can you briefly very briefly share a Mary story.

So I'm going to try to do this without crying.

Oh, don't worry, I've cried many times.

You know, Mary was an extraordinary person, right? And she wasn't— she wasn't just my mentor, she was also a friend. And what has always stayed with me is how she made other people feel.

Mhm.

You know, when you were with her, she treated you like you were the most important person in the world.

Mhm.

You know, every conversation, every moment, you know, she brought, you know, a level of energy and excitement that was unforgettable. She had this gift. She had this ability to make you believe in yourself. To make you feel that you could do anything, even change the world.

Yes, even change the world. Boy, Lisa, that was a perfect, uh, description. Mary made you feel like you were the only one in the world and you were the most important person in the world. And when she was with you, it seemed like there wasn't anyone else in the room. She was only talking to you, you and you alone. That's who she was talking to. And Mary was a fiery disability rights advocate, and she was all about helping young people with mental health disabilities. And that is why I urge you, please, vendorleadershipacademy.org. If you could go to benderleadership.org, benderleadership.org, and either make a donation or— Scott, once again, you can go to, uh, where on there if you want to go golfing?

If you want to go golfing, again, look out at our website again, benderleadership.org. There's a Get Involved tab right in the top. Right-hand side. And then once you click on that, there's a thing that says the, uh, 4th Annual Golf Outing. Click on that and all the information will be on there if you want to sign up. We're looking for hole sponsors. You could donate wine, um, auction items, golf, um, or be a big sponsor, gold or silver sponsor, whatever. Um, every little bit will help, uh, young people with disabilities, um, and support mental health disabilities. So we appreciate that.

And you would not believe how many students with mental health disabilities have spoken at board meetings. You know, you were talking about Rashma. Talk about having post-traumatic stress disorder. Rashma moved here from India, and but when she was in India, she, she has cerebral palsy and has difficult time talking, and she was brutally bullied so much that people threw rocks at her. And because around the world, and I think, wait a minute, let me see here. Yes, India. Anyone in India, you know that stigma, but it's like this around the world. Many places people won't even admit they have epilepsy, let alone a mental health disability. So, you know, if you're listening though, you may be saving a life. I mean, there are so many people. Uh, Rashma did the turnaround, man, she is a superstar. And she spoke. I love that when the students speak at the board meeting, uh, because Evan, I think you'll agree, that really puts it in perspective, doesn't it?

It sure does. Very inspirational to see that. And what I think is great is that through what you and Scott are doing, you're giving them opportunities to really demonstrate that, you know, demonstrate what they can do so that others can see it and be inspired. And I think that's really important.

Yeah. And we have an 80-year-old woman who is one of our part-time teachers. So I'm at the graduation today, and these students, they're like 18, and some of them are big guys, and, you know, some of them are want to be a police officer, and some of them in construction. Oh my goodness, they loved her. They loved her and treated her with so much respect. Do you know why? Because she believed in them. See, too many people lower the bar for students with disabilities, and you have a great untapped labor pool here, you know, young people living with disabilities. So, you know, please get on board. Uh, Lisa, what is your opinion? Why do you think people should participate in the golf outing?

So, you know, I've witnessed the incredible impact these programs have You know, I've watched the students who were shy and reserved at the start of the program grow in confidence and stand proudly at graduation and deliver speeches in front of their peers. I've been there. I've attended some of these graduations, you know, and the Bender Leadership Academy continues to expand, reaching more school districts and empowering more students, you know, every year. But we can't do it without others, everybody else's support, right? This is our biggest fundraiser. Our annual golf outing. We definitely invite everybody to join us, come out, play around the golf, enjoy some great food, check out our auction table, you know, and just, and just have fun. And as we've been talking about, if you're unable to attend, consider making a donation, be a sponsor. That support, your support, continues or helps us to continue making a difference in the lives of these students that we serve.

Uh, Evan, how about you? Do you have any last words?

Yes, um, just, um, whatever, uh, each of us has a, uh, an ability and a capability of supporting Bender Leadership Academy and supporting people with disabilities in different ways. And I just hope we all take the opportunity to invest and to take action in the best way that we can, whether it's, uh, what Lisa shared, which is, uh, you know, If you can make the golf outing, great. If you can't, please make a donation. Absolutely. For others, you know, how can you outreach in your community? How can you volunteer? How can you connect someone who might be in need? How do you encourage someone who is out there trying to make it happen every day but has barriers that they have to deal with? You know, how do you keep them encouraged? And so just think each of us has an ability in our own individual way to support this very, very important effort. I'll certainly be with you as you do that.

Yeah. I think of that Bible story when Jesus talked about the least of these, and the least of these being people marginalized, homeless, disabilities, left out. Really, if you don't care about them, well, there's not much hope for you. You know, everyone deserves a chance. Everyone. So Scott, how would you— what would you like to say before we close the show?

I'm just very thankful for having some great support and mentors, and we're on the board, such as Evan and Lisa. I just want to thank you so much for your time and answering questions that I have to help Joyce Bender Leadership Academy grow as the last 5, 6, 7 years. So, so much appreciation for that. And again, for anybody listening, we would love your support for this Mary Lee Brocker Memorial Golf Outing. This golf outing is not just about golf. This is about honoring Mary, and, and she's just one of the greatest people I ever met. And you know, please come on and join us in any way or support us in any way possible. So thank you.

And before we go, I have a message here from Voice America, and that is that we extend our thoughts and support and love to President Biden as he is moving forward through this medical crisis. Uh, but we're all here for you, and we love you, and send our best to you. And with that, we gotta get ready to close the show, and we always end with a quote. And all I could think about was when Holly was saying, "Get on the phone, make it happen, call your senator, call your congressman." The quote is from Amelia Earhart, that famous aviator, who said, "The most effective way to do it is to do it. And isn't that the truth? This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you all next week, and in the words of Mary Brocker, when you go out every single day, remember, 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.