Kate Musler: 2025 Pittsburgh Business Times Woman of Influence Shares Passion for Work in the Health Insurance Industry at Highmark

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guests, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome to the show. This is Joyce Bender with Disability Matters. Disability Matters on my favorite voiceamerica.com. I have to tell you how much I appreciate the incredible support my listeners have given me. Do you know just 2 months ago we had, yes, our 1,000th episode. 1,000! Because I've been on for 22 years, and our guest today is the lead sponsor of our show. Hi, Mark. One of the best companies in America that I'm so honored to be affiliated with. Another example of their commitment being the lead sponsor of this show. And I have to have a special shout out to Richard. Richard Roberts may be back from Brazil by now. He is with the State Department, and as you all know, I travel around the world with the State Department as an expert on the employment of people with disabilities. So I have been to Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Panama, and no matter where you are in the world, it matters. You matter. You matter. And I was just looking here, 70 countries, 70 countries have listeners. To all of you around the world, thank you so much. And hey, spread the news. Go to every listening English-speaking venue and tell them about this show. And a special shout out to my very good friend that I love, Yoshiko Dart. Yoshiko, one of the greatest leaders internationally. Internationally for leading disability rights. And her husband, her late husband, was none other than the great Justin Dart Jr. And for over 6 years, I have been shouting out to Yoshiko on every single show because our American history does not do enough for Americans with disabilities that, like, not everyone percentage-wise, probably small, would know who Justin Dart is, but he is the greatest civil rights leader of the disability rights community. Uh, and once again, hi Mark, you know, David Holmberg, Karen Hanlon, All awesome and so supportive of everything I've been doing. This is the 30th anniversary of my company and the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Without Highmark, I wouldn't be saying— and this is the 30th anniversary of Bender, which is why throughout the year We have been making sure we have Highmark leaders on. As you know, our company finds employment for people living with disabilities in IT, engineering, healthcare, finance, across the board. And, um, it all started with Highmark, and every CEO since has stood behind me. What a great company. That's why today we are having Kate Musler from IMARC Health Plans. She is the recently promoted Chief Financial Officer and a really, really highly thought of leader, another person committed to what our work and employing people with disabilities. Kate, it is so exciting to have you on the show today. As I said, I've been having uh, from David and Karen to EVPs across the board, and now having the honor of having you on today. Welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Joyce. It's such an honor to be here and to represent Highmark with you. I really appreciate it.

Well, I want you to start with your story. I'm going to tell you why. People around the world, they'll say to me, wow, That was a great guest. I just wish I knew more about her. So I have everyone tell their story, you know, like where you grew up, went on with your education, got to Highmark, and then what, what is your role today?

Sure, happy to. Um, so where I grew up is a little bit of a fun story. I moved 13 times by the time I was 13. Um, didn't live quite in 13 places because some of those moves were back and forth, but the majority of that time was sort of in the Midwest. Um, I was born in Providence, Rhode Island, um, and then moved around some, um, and then spent most of elementary school in the Midwest, um, some time in the South, particularly in North Carolina, and then I moved to Connecticut when I was 13. And lived there other than college until we moved to Pittsburgh in 2019, uh, just in time for COVID, which was a fun, interesting time. 9 months before quarantine. Um, yeah, I went to college at Wellesley College, um, just outside Boston. It's a women's college, um, majored in math and, um, very much enjoyed the the elegance of math but wanted to apply it in a business setting. For any of your listeners who may not know what an actuary is, I like to say that actuaries are accountants but with less personality. But the, the more accurate description is that actuaries are risk professionals. And so if you're interested in math but you want to apply it in a business setting, That is precisely what actuaries do. There's a number of exams you have to take. The process depends on what country you're in and what you want to specialize in, but it's a great way to sort of get to learn on the job. It's one of the few remaining professional apprenticeship programs, I would say. And so that's what I did coming out of college. I worked for Aetna in Connecticut for almost 17 years. And then worked for another company in the healthcare space for a little over a year before coming to Highmark in Pittsburgh to join Tom Doran, who I know you know as well. I knew him from my prior life, and that's how I came to Highmark.

Oh, that is awesome.

In terms of— you want to know about my role as well as CFO at Highmark. So I think of my role here, certainly, you know, Chief Financial Officer responsible for the financial stewardship of our health plans and ensuring that we're meeting our financial obligations and exercising the right discipline. But fundamentally, we're all in customer service, and our customers are the customers that we ultimately serve, the members that we cover. And so making sure that the products that we offer offer good value to our members and that they're affordable. And so, you know, that goes into all of the work that we do every day. Responsible for our actuarial services, that's back to that risk professional work, underwriting, and then our financial planning and analysis team that really helps the business to understand how it's funded.

Oh, that is so— I'm glad you explained that because I mean, what you did before because a lot of people don't really know what that is, nor do they realize the career path. Look at you, you're the CFO now, um, which is really awesome. And so if you're listening to the show, young person with a disability that loves math, this may be something you want to look into. Now, when you're in college, do they have Is that a major, minor, anything?

You know, it's interesting. There are a number of universities that have actuarial science majors, and I would say a lot of students who go into the field now, they do go to one of those schools that has one of those majors, but it's definitely not a requirement. I majored in pure math. I was doing multivariable calculus and linear algebra and proofs of limits as epsilon approaches zero, all kinds of, you know, fun, really esoteric math, but you don't— you definitely don't have to do that. And in fact, you don't even actually have to have a college degree to take the exams and become a credentialed actuary. If you like self-studying, if you are up to do lots of practice on the exams, and there are practice exams available, you can in theory study for the exams, take them, pass them. And then the really nice thing is when you enter the field and you're working for a company and continuing to work on your exams, it's a very clear way of demonstrating progression in the profession. If you pass an exam, you have made progress. It's, it's much less subjective than maybe some other fields might be. So that can certainly be a good appealing feature of the profession.

I want to tell my Kate story. Okay, so I said, I sent a young man who is blind and has autism, but like is 3.9 grade point average, has passed two of those tests that Kate has told me are very difficult, uh, and, and he's passed two of them. And so I sent him, I think it was someone, I didn't realize, in HR, someone interviewed him And, you know, well, we don't know right now. And then I'm talking to Kate. She said, wait a minute, what do you mean? I will— I'll interview him. I'll get this taken care of. And see, that's what we need. That's what I mean about Highmark. People that step outside the box. It's amazing. This company is so awesome that it's amazing there aren't more Highmarks, but only David Holmberg. Said to me, Joyce, I don't see enough wheelchairs and I don't see enough people who are blind or use service dogs. Where are they? I even told him, oh my God, I wish I had, you know, a million people that would say that, but I don't. And hi, Mark. That's why they're known nationally. That's— this is why, because they really hire people. And I believe that is one of the reasons— I mean, that this company is so inclusive across the board— that you as a leader were selected as a Woman of Influence right here in Pittsburgh this year. First of all, what did that mean to you when you found that out? And tell everyone about the award, what it is.

Sure thing. Candidly, when I learned of the award, I was obviously honored and surprised and happy to begin with, but I don't think I fully understood the import of it until I went to the awards dinner, which was about a month ago. And as I sat listening to the other awardees and their accomplishments and their impact on the community, I'm sure we've all had those moments of imposter syndrome, and I just felt, why am I here?

Right?

There are women here who have made huge impacts on the communities that we serve. And, um, you know, one woman who referenced her mentor being Mr. Rogers, which is quite the statement. Um, and so definitely was honored to be considered part of that group. It's, it's really an award that's meant to reflect people who are having that impact on the community and helping the community come together to help each other is how I would describe it, probably. But it was just a tremendous honor to be part of that group and get to meet some of the other awardees. It was a lovely evening.

Well, you deserve it. And I, I love it that Pittsburgh recognizes, you know, women in leadership roles. I mean, look at Highmark, for example. You have Karen Hanlon. Number 2, first COO. Um, and then right across the board, you know, from, uh, Tracy Sala to Deb Rice Johnson to Melissa Stevenson to Melissa Anderson to Marsha Ogland. I mean, these are all like EVP-level people, you know. I mean, it's just unbelievable and wonderful. It really is wonderful to see that. I know Karen is one of the reasons for that. Because she is so, uh, supportive of women in leadership roles. But I just think that is awesome. So, Karen, this is the 30th anniversary of Bender, and it all started with Highmark, but it continues with Highmark. What— why do you think Highmark— and people ask me this all the time— why do you think they have been so incredibly supportive of hiring people with disabilities?

I think it goes back to the leadership support that you referenced. I think when you have that kind of support at the very top for the importance of this kind of initiative, then you're gonna certainly see other leaders in the organization recognize that, and you also get what I like to call the virtuous cycle where you see some hiring happening and you see the great results of that and that, you know, incentivizes further hiring and you see that gain momentum, right? And become an important part of the culture. I would say broadly speaking, we certainly want to make sure that we, you know, represent the communities that we serve and also that we have fantastic talent on our team and that's what Bender brings to the table. And so of course we're going to be incredibly excited to give those people opportunities to help us out here at Highmark.

And, you know, a lot of people don't realize this, but we place people up through the like $300,000 range, you know, up, up to the top. But we place people in so many areas, but right now We're doing a lot in healthcare. So we're placing a lot of nurses with disabilities in remote roles. We're placing a lot of people in central processing, which is where you work in the sterile area with all the instruments that the surgeon, you know, has to have sterilized. I mean, there's so many, so many great opportunities. So once again, if you're a person with a disability seeking employment, remember, benderconsult.com. But I see Mathis on the mic is here. Jennifer Mathis, there you are, Jennifer! Jennifer from Bazelon Center Mental Health Law. She is, uh, our news person for our break. Wait, how fortunate are we to have her? So Jennifer, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

And what news do you have for us today, Jennifer?

So today I want to talk a little bit about some rules that were issued by, of all places, the Department of Energy. And the reason these rules are important to people with disabilities is that two of them amend the Department of Energy Section 504 rules. Section 504, as many people know, um, is the precursor to the ADA, is a law that has been on the books since 1973, and it requires entities that get federal funding, federal financial assistance, not to discriminate based on disability. And so we were all a little bit surprised when, uh, several weeks ago, um, the Department of Energy issued a number of rules that are called direct final rules. Now this is a mechanism that is rarely ever used. This is very, very unusual that an agency would do what's called a direct final rule. And what that means is usually it's— what it's supposed to be is a rule that is very technical, that is just, um, is completely non-controversial. And what this mechanism allows is for the rule to just go into effect there may be a public comment period, and here they are giving— they're, they're seeking public comments, but there isn't a process where then the agency is supposed to issue a final rule. So usually what happens is the agency issues a proposed rule and then takes public comment and has to consider all of those comments and respond to them. And take them into account in issuing a final rule. But with a direct final rule, it's very different, and it's supposed to be where, you know, there isn't a need to respond to all those public comments and to take them into account. And it's, it's a, you know, supposed to be a mechanism for when you just need to make some little technical correction and nobody disagrees about it. So What the Department of Energy has done here is they have taken that mechanism of a direct final rule and they're using it to make major, major civil rights changes that would seriously weaken civil rights laws, including Section 504. So, for example, um, one of the things that the Department of Energy did, um, is it issued a direct final rule that would eliminate the disparate impact provisions from their Title VI rule. That's a very big deal. I won't get into the whole what disparate impact means, but let me just say it is a very, very big deal. The reason I'm not going to get into it is because that's not the 504 rule, and I want to focus on the 504 rule, but I just mention that one to give you an idea that these are very, very major civil rights changes that they're trying to do with a mechanism that's supposed to be designed for some tiny little correction that nobody, nobody disputes. So what they are doing with their 504 rule is they're eliminating the entire new construction regulation. In their 504 rule, and what that is about is for anything built after the effective date of the accessibility standards that normally, you know, has to comply with those accessibility standards, this rule would eliminate the requirement that that new construction, new facilities, anything built new needs to meet these accessibility standards. That's a huge deal. And so what is very important for people to do is to submit a comment on this rule opposing this rule, because this is not supposed to be something you can do in a direct final rule. And so it's important to file a comment, to submit a comment to the Department of Energy saying we oppose this and to say this is— I would use this language— this is a significant adverse comment. And I'm going to direct people to DREDF's website. On their homepage, they have something about this, and you can click on that, D-R-E-D-F dot org. Go on to DREDF's homepage and you'll see an action item about this, um, and you can click on it and directs you to some template comments and tells you what to do, how to file a comment about this, because what's supposed to happen is if they get even one significant adverse comment, they can't proceed with this rule. So it's important for people to file something to say, I oppose this. And there are some nice arguments that are laid out in the template comments that DREDF has on its website, and they explain Number one, this was— this is foundational to Section 504. These regulations have been on the books since the 1970s. The idea that this is non-controversial is absurd. The whole structure of 504 and the ADA is that construction that's built, things that are built after entities know that they have to comply with accessibility standards, that's supposed to be accessible. And so this is a major change. It's not something that's appropriate for direct final rule. It would have a major impact on people with disabilities. Um, it's critically important that people with disabilities have access. It would also create conflicts with other agencies because some of the same entities that get federal funding from the Department of Energy get federal funding from other agencies that are still going to have new construction regulations. So it's just— it's going to be confusing and it's not going to be helpful to regulated entities either, because now they won't have any set of standards and they won't know what they're supposed to do for the Department of Energy. So it doesn't help anybody. It's a terrible idea. And they should hear it from folks. There are actually two 504 amendments. The other one is a little less significant. It's about the obligation to do a transition plan for how you're going to come into compliance and make things accessible that people were supposed to have done many, many years ago. And a lot of entities still haven't done a transition plan. So that, that is there too, and DREDF's comments address that also. But the most important one is this new construction regulation.. And it's a real, I think, an abuse of this mechanism, that an inappropriate use of this mechanism to do a direct final rule on something as important and as controversial as this. And the reason it's also important is that if the Department of Energy does this, who knows what else is coming and what other agencies may start trying to make major changes to civil rights laws, including Section 504, using this mechanism where they don't have to consider public comment. So, um, people should go to DREDF's website, D-R-E-D-F dot org, and find that action item and submit a comment to the Department of Energy. And I should have said the deadline for those comments is Monday. They have a short template. You don't even have to write all of what they've got on there. They have a couple pages of comment. I think one thing that's important is to make your comment a little bit different than what they have online, because sometimes if everybody submits exactly the same comment, they just count it all as one comment. But go to DREDF's website. Submit a comment, um, saying I oppose this and, um, giving a little explanation of why this is wrong.

Um, what is their website, Jennifer?

It's dredf.org.

All right, now let me just tell you here, I'll explain it this way. Imagine you go to a building, you're in a wheelchair, and it's not accessible. You know, you go inside and there's no restroom that is accessible for a person with a disability, or, you know, no braille, or, you know, I could go on and on. But how would you like that if it would be you in that situation? You're in the wheelchair, you're blind, How would you like that? I mean, that we've never had to deal with that. You know, we do not have to deal with that. So whatever you do, this is serious. Go to dredf.org today. When you get— when this show is over, go to dredf.org today. Make a comment. Thank you, Jennifer. You can give us an update Next week, I hope it gets better.

Thank you.

I will. All right. You're the best. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye. We are the only place, Kate, that has news every week on what's happening nationally because, see, we don't have CNN disability news or whatever, but you can come here for the news. So I think that's so awesome. Uh, well, Kate, back to you. You personally, like, it didn't cause— I didn't have to sell you to want to help hire people with disabilities. I mean, why are you like that? Was it from school or your family? Why, why, why were you so open?

I mean, I, I think talent comes in all shapes and sizes and backgrounds, right? And for me personally, I am I'm the mother of a very talented and vibrant young lady who is autistic and certainly see her potential to contribute and have meaningful work as well. And so, you know, want to be part of a receptive community to people like her who have something great to offer.

I always say, give me the mother of a child with a disability and look out, there's no stopping us. But what you said, Kate, You know, when you hear hiring someone with a disability, people get, oh, so some so nervous about it. It's a person. And you know, when I go to a company and they say, oh, Joyce Bender, I'm so glad you're here because you know what, we want to start hiring people with disabilities. I say, oh, but you already have.

For sure.

They're working for you right now. They have bipolar disorder, MS, epilepsy, PTSD, depression, kidney, diabetes. You know, I could go on and on and on. Autism. But it's just, you don't know. Oh, learning disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia. You don't know. You know what that means? Some of your top performers are people with disabilities. And the next question you have to ask yourself is, why don't they want you to know? Because, hi, Mark, believe me, so many people there speak at events or speak at something with one of the leaders and talk about their disability and aren't ashamed. Now, why do you think that is? I'll tell you why that is. They hire people. You know, if you work someplace and you see other people like you, it's then not hard. But if you are the company and you don't do that, yeah, you already have hired them. As I said, they're some of your top performers. You just don't know it. You just don't know who they are. Do you agree with that, Kate?

100%. Absolutely.

Well, for people listening to the show, now we do do a lot in STEM. So when we work with the National Security Agency, mathematicians was at a premium. But if you are a person with a disability, do you believe there are good opportunities to work in finance or accounting or actuary or, or math? Do you think there are good opportunities?

Absolutely. I mean, for one, as you said, there are certainly, I'm sure, people on my team who have one or more of the disabilities you referenced who are top performers and doing great work. I have seen people with more visible disabilities engage and be incredibly productive in the finance and accounting space. And the one person you mentioned to me that we've talked about previously who is blind reminded me of somebody that I worked with probably 15 years ago who was also blind and who did work that involved very complex spreadsheets. And I don't know if this is the appropriate word, but could visualize those spreadsheets and process the data without physically visualizing the spreadsheets. People. So I think some of it is when you see people who are successful in a field, it broadens your, your scope of what you imagine success looking like. And then when you meet somebody else, you have seen it before and see how successful it can be.

Yes, and I think that, you know, you have to know right now, right now, With what's happened to other companies or the government where people have lost their job, we tell them, okay, you have to reinvent yourself. But one thing you have to do is keep moving. So maybe you can get more training in some of these areas, but I'm telling you, if you're a person with a disability, you can do any of these jobs because of the technology Today there is so much technology, assistive technology. Well, Kate, as you already indicated when we were talking, every CEO has stood behind Bender, and you know how Karen Hanlon's a big supporter. But guess what? That's from 30 years ago. Bill Lowry, and then after Bill, John Brouse, then Ken Maloney, then Bill Winkenwerder, and now David Holmberg. Why do you think that is? And do you believe that makes a difference getting people hired?

For sure. I mean, I think it does make a difference. Why do I think that is? I mean, I would say I've been at Highmark for about 6 years now, and it is such a culture of caring and support and engagement. And commitment to the communities that we serve. And so I think as fantastic as that support is that you outlined, Joyce Bender, I don't think it's in any way surprising knowing the character of the company and of the leaders here. And I haven't seen that full 30-year history, if you will, but seeing the last 6 years of it, I can imagine the history that came behind that 6 years leading up to where we are now. So not at all surprising that it's been such a part of our character and commitment over the last 3 decades. But I'm glad to see it, that's for sure.

Yes, yes. When, when you have a company that does this, they are— Accenture did a study— 2 times more profitable than their peers that aren't hiring people with disabilities. People with disabilities are very grateful. Do you know why? Because they've been left out. Not because they're superheroes. I don't care if you're a woman, African American, uh, per, uh, person from the LGBTQ community. If you're always left out, then when you do get a job, oh, you appreciate that job. You're going to keep that job. And also just diversity of thought, you know, Thinking outside the box, I could go on and on about why you should be hiring people with disabilities. But let me tell you, all the leadership at Highmark, and I'm sure that would include Kate, is more than willing to talk to you. If you're a business looking to, you know, listening to the show and you're wondering, really, does that really work? Feel free to make a call to Highmark. David Holmberg, the CEO, is telling me all the time, I'll talk to any CEO or anyone actually that you want me to. And that is a fact. So, Kate, you are really just a really good person, highly respected for your character, and you're really smart. Really, really smart. Um, someone influenced you, you know, who has been your role model?

Well, first, I'm feeling very grateful that this is a radio show and not a video show because I'm turning bright red with your compliments. So glad for a little bit of protection there. I'm gonna say, I mean, I've had a number of role models over my career. One of the reasons I am so grateful and happy to be here at Highmark is that it is incredibly hard to sit here and tell you one role model from amongst the leadership team here because I just have such deep respect for each of them individually in their ways. Karen, as, as you have outlined, a fantastic leader, incredibly committed to the community that we serve and the people that help us all serve them. Carolyn Daronio, our Chief Legal Counsel, who we were just talking about her today in one of our leadership seminars, you know, somebody who's really good at having a healthy debate and enjoy that and appreciate that. And so many other leaders here at Highmark. And so I'm gonna sort of cop out and say the Highmark leadership team. How's that? As a group of people who I just respect, as you said, their character and commitment to the community and the hard work that they do. Certainly look to them as a group or my role model.

I can see why you would say that. I— yes, I agree with you. And with that, we're going to go to break. If you just joined us, we are talking to Kate Musler, Chief Financial Chief Officer of Highmark Health Plans and another great example of a great leader at Highmark who cares about hiring people with disabilities. This is Joyce Bender, your voice today at Disability Rights and Matters of VoiceAmerica.com. I'm always here. For your disability rights. We'll be right back.

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 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.

Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training in technology accessibility through their HI-TEST line of service. For more information, please visit www.bender.com. Www.benderconsult.com. Are you currently receiving SSDI or SSI and wanting to work? Did you know there is a free Social Security program called Ticket to Work to help you try work without risking your benefits? My Employment Options is an authorized SSA Employment Network specializing in work-at-home and local job placement in 47 states. Our clients receive a personal counselor to help find the best job fit and a staff staff-certified benefits counselor for help with Ticket to Work protections. Ready to try working? Apply for free job placement help at myemploymentoptions.com. Everyone has unique abilities, and with ABLE NOW, individuals with disabilities are able to save money while maintaining certain benefits such as Medicaid. ABLE NOW is a tax-advantaged savings program specifically designed for people with disabilities. Open an account online today and start saving for the things that are important to you. To learn if you or someone you know is eligible, visit ablenow.com. ABLE Now is administered by Virginia529. Streaming live, the leader in internet talk radio, voiceamerica.com.

You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome back. If you just joined us, we're talking to Kate Musler, Chief Financial Officer of the Highmark Health Plan, working for another one of my favorite people, Tom Doran, another absolute supporter of the employment of people with disabilities. As a matter of fact, As Kate knows, he had me speak to his entire group at a staff meeting and just has been 100% behind this and was so excited when Karen— I mean, when Kate was named Woman of Influence. I remember. He's one of the ones that told me. Yes, he was very excited.

He is a huge supporter. And as he puts it, he loves to heckle, which means cheerfully support in a, you know, good teasing kind of way.

So yes, yes, that is a good way to describe what he does. Yeah, that is a good way to describe. And I've known him a long time. I've known Tom since he worked for another friend of mine, Deb Rice Johnson. Indeed. Yeah, so Tom is really So, Tom, I love you too. And Kate, all of my listeners know, all you have to do is go to Spotify or Amazon or Apple tomorrow, or go straight to YouTube, and you will be able to pull down this show and share it. So if you're listening, you're thinking, Oh, I'd love to share this with someone. That's the way you can get the show, and I hope that you do. So, Kate, I have to ask you one question before I ask you the next. Right before the show, we were talking about this young girl being with a disability being brutally bullied at school. Um, do you have any advice for her? Or I should say Do you believe, um, that through her own strength she can overcome that?

So here's what I would say. On the one hand, absolutely. Um, I think that internal strength that you forge by going through hard things like that serves you for the rest of your life. On the other hand, I don't ever want to tell a kid going through that that they should rely on just their own strength alone to get through it. So important that you find your village and your mom and your dad, your guidance counselor at school, finding what I tell my daughter, find your people. And, you know, she has certainly been through her share of those tough times and I'm happy to say has found her people and Getting to that point where you have that village of support, it can be just one person, it can be 2 or 3 or 5, is super important to help make it through. And the one thing that I have always said to her, as hard as it is, because when you're getting bullied, that person is seeking to hurt you, but trying to remember that that person is most likely coming from a place of hurt themselves. And trying to remember that even in, in your time of hurt so that you sort of put it in perspective if you can.

First of all, I love that find your people or find your village. I love that, uh, that saying. At the Bender Leadership Academy, I tell the students, if someone tells you you're ugly or you're weird or I don't want to be around you, here's what you do. You get out the mental remote control and you change that station. I like that. Yeah, and you don't listen. No more listening. You say to yourself, I know I'm awesome, I know I'm beautiful, and I don't have time to listen to you. Shut it down, change the channel. And as Kate said, find your people. Oh, even one person makes such a difference when you're walking down the hall with them. But one other thing that Kate has alluded to here, tell someone, whether it's your— Absolutely. —one of your parents, your counselor at school, your pastor, rabbi, I don't care what. In gym class, any teacher. But don't keep that a secret because that can end up developing into something bad. Change the remote, mental remote control, and find your people. Find your people. We're gonna have to have it. You know the other thing I say, I tell people, these young people all the time, show me your friends, I'll show you your future. And yeah, they have to be good friends. Well, uh, Kate, what message do you have for our listeners today?

I think I'm gonna actually play off of what you just said because there's one other thing I should have said is finding— it's so important to find that opportunity to be somebody else's village. And so as much as we all need support When we give support, it is that much more rewarding and fueling and reinforces the importance of that village. So to the little girl being bullied, I know you'll find at least one person in your village and you will have a turn to be somebody else's village when they're going through something. And that is how we forge those bonds that support us through the tough times. And that, you know, applies to disability employment too, and your friend can be Joyce Bender and her team. But that village that supports us through the hard times is the most important thing that we can rely on.

Kate, you're going to see your words in our training, and you have to come. Here's another thing: Bender Leadership Academy. How did I get started? Deb Rice Johnson gave us $100,000 to start it. The webpage, the website, all of that. And now we teach, you know, Disability Mentoring Day, 600 students participate in one way or another in Bender Leadership Academy. But we also have, oh, 20 schools that are involved. Pittsburgh Public School is one of them. And they hold their class at Highmark because I like students to go to the company, you know, to see how people dress and what corporate culture is like. So, Kate, I'm going to have you come to one of the classes, and you know what you're going to see on the screen? Find your people and be a village to someone else.

I'm so excited for that. Thank you. Yeah.

Well, we end every show with a quote, and today that quote is, "Take the attitude of a student. Never be too big to ask questions and never know too much to learn something new," said Og Mandino. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out tomorrow, And every day, remember, choose joy. Talk to everyone next week. Have a great day.

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 shows. Voice America.com.