Maria Town: President & CEO of AAPD Upholding the ADA

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, happy Disability Pride Month! And welcome to the show to everyone in the Americas and around the world. I have to give a shout out as I always do to my close friend, Richard Roberts with the US State Department on site in Brazil. Hello, Richard, I love you. And same to you, Gang Young Cho in South Korea. And really everywhere I've been, Japan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Panama, Everyone from the State Department has been awesome. And why I bring this up is that a lot of people don't realize what they do and how because of them and only because of them, I have been to those countries speaking to people in business and at universities and at schools, disability rights group. Government about quality of life and equity for people with disabilities. So, I can't thank you enough, U.S. State Department. Hey, Yoshiko, special shout out to you. Lead On, I know you love this month and you're celebrating this month. And you know that I love you. And thank you. Hi, Mark. For being and continuing to be the lead sponsor of this show, which I cannot believe this, but we've been on 21 years. 21, the number of Roberto Clemente. I just thought of that right now. Everyone knows how I love the Pirates. Greatest baseball player, Roberto Clemente. Well, this is my 21st year And guess what? If it weren't for all of you, I would not be doing this show. Thank you so much. I can never thank all of you listeners so much. And to you around the world, wow, we keep getting new listeners in new countries like Finland. Can you imagine that? You know, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, my good friend in Hong Kong who is blind and is working so hard to spread the word in support of employment for people with disabilities. To all of you and all of the countries, remember, one person can make a difference. Starts out small and it can get big really fast. So thank you. Keep spreading the news to English-speaking people, citizens in your country. Keep on leading on and doing what you're doing. Thank you so much for listening to the show. And if you're listening, remember, if you hear the show and say, wow, that show was so great, I wish I could tell other people about it, you can. Because go to Spotify, benderconsult.com, voiceamerica.com, really almost all social media platforms, and you can hear this show on demand. And I have to tell you, I really am excited about our guest today. If you could see me, I have a big smile on my face because I so love and admire Maria Towne, who is the CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. Can't think of a better person to have on for Disability Pride Month. Maria, welcome back to the show.

Thank you so much. I always love being on your show, Joyce, and I love it especially in the month of July. I think that Disability Matters has done so much to educate people on what it actually means to be disabled, about educate people on issues of disability pride and disability identity. And I couldn't think of a better person to be in conversation with right now.

Oh, well, you know that I love you, but I also know how admired you are. And since you have taken over AAPD, you have just accomplished so much. But the thing about Maria is she's the real deal. So let me just tell you, you know how you meet people? And they say, "Oh, I care about all these things. I do all of this," but, but it's just talk. She really does care, and she really is passionate about disability rights and, and has put her heart and soul into the disability rights community. So, Maria, as you just heard, we have new countries listening to the show, and that is why no matter how many times you're on, and I hope we will continue to have new listeners, I want you to tell your story. You know, where you grew up, what it was like when you went to school and going on to college, and then how the heck you got in this role right now. Thank God you did. So, Maria, take it away.

Well, that's a big prompt, Joyce, but I will try my best. So, just so folks know, the American Association of People with Disabilities is a national to the United States cross-disability civil rights organization, and we focus on increasing the political and economic power of disabled people. And very importantly, we are what's known as a disability-led organization. So what that means is that our whole staff and a majority of our board members are people with disabilities. So I am a person with disabilities. I was born with cerebral palsy, which is a neuromuscular developmental disability. And I have lived with this disability for my entire life. So, I do not know what it means to not have a disability. I think a lot of people ask me, you know, would I want my body to be different? And I just— I don't even know how to answer that question because this is what I've always known. And I love my life. I was born— Shortly before the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, so I am one of the first generations of people with disabilities to grow up with both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensured that students with disabilities from kindergarten to 12th grade or their senior year of high school could receive a free and appropriate public education. So, it made sure that schools were not segregated and that students could get accommodations in class. So, I— and then I also grew up with the ADA. So, I'm one of the first generations of disabled people in the United States who had disability-based civil rights protections from being a toddler into adulthood. And that is an incredible privilege. For me, going to school, I was included or mainstreamed, as we call it in the United States, in classes. So I was in classes with students without disabilities. And I think that my mom especially really made sure that I was included in any and all activities and raised me to be creative in how I accomplished tasks and how I participated. So, one of my favorite examples of this is when I was probably in second grade, I wanted to try the monkey bars. I'd never been able to do the monkey bars on my own, and so I kind of organized other kids, my friends, to help me do the monkey bars. And 2 kids would like hold me up as I went across the monkey bars with my arms. And our teacher got so upset. We got in trouble. But we, like, I felt so accomplished because I was able to do the monkey bars. Now, I never did them again. But it worked that one time. And I should have known I knew from that point that I was kind of destined to be an organizer and an advocate. And I was really included through school and got the accommodations that I needed. But Joyce, something that is also really important to my understanding of disability and disability advocacy is the fact that I have two brothers who also have disabilities. But their disabilities are what we call non-apparent, meaning that— or you sometimes hear them called invisible disabilities or hidden disabilities. And their experience with school was very different than my own. They were marked as behavior problems. My youngest brother was often suspended from school, even at very early ages, like 5 and 6. And for me, you know, school was this really supportive place, and for them it was not. And I began to learn very quickly that I was, in some cases, the exception to the rule, even though the rules were meant to be inclusive of everyone. And I knew from an early age, really when I was in high school, that I wanted to be a disability advocate, but I didn't really know how to accomplish that goal. My mom was a nurse. My stepdad was a photographer for a local newspaper. And so I didn't know any disability advocates. And when I started college, I just— like, I went to a liberal arts school and tried to take as many classes as I could that I thought would be helpful towards that goal. Ultimately, I graduated during the 2008-2009 recession, and thankfully my university gave me a job, because if they hadn't, I would have graduated without a job. And through that job, I was able to network. And this is one of the things that we've learned at AAPD. A lot of young people with disabilities and adults with disabilities actually really struggle to create the networks and community connections that are often so beneficial towards career development advancement. But it was really through networking that I met another woman with cerebral palsy who worked for the Department of Labor. And I had never in my life met an adult with CP, much less another woman with CP. And I remember meeting her and just feeling so affirmed because even though I believed that I could, you know, have a good life, have a career, own a house, have a family, I'd never seen that before. I'd never seen another person like me who had all those things. In an informational interview, I just, you know, that was supposed to be about jobs, I wound up asking her about how she had kids because I'd never been able to talk with anyone about that. And I remember, and this is really a lesson to I think everybody, I remember when I met with her, Jennifer Kemp, I don't know if you know her, Joyce.

Yes, yes.

Yes. So when I met with Jennifer, she told me, she said, "You know, Maria, you're great, but we don't have any jobs available." And I said, "You know, that's okay." It's just phenomenal to meet you and to, like, literally know you exist. And so, I kept in touch with Jennifer after that meeting. I would occasionally send her emails to let her know, like, what I was up to. And a few months later, I kind of got a call out of the blue from the Department of Labor, and they wanted me to tell them my thoughts on youth disability and employment.. And I thought to myself, "Well, I'm young, I'm disabled, and I'm employed. Like, here are my thoughts." And what I didn't know is that was actually a job interview. And ultimately, I was hired as a policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Labor where my policy work focused on youth with disabilities and employment, whether it was transition from school to work or youth development and leadership, or what we called connecting activities, things like accessible transportation, which people with disabilities need to get to work. And from that experience at the Department of Labor, I was then recruited to work for the Obama White House as the Disability Community Liaison. And I was a Senior Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement And that role was a political appointment, so it ended as soon as President Obama left office. And I went on to move across the country to Houston, Texas, and I worked for the mayor of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner. And one of the things that made me want to work for Mayor Turner is he understood the difference between Diversity and inclusion. You know, diversity is descriptive. If you ask someone how diverse their organization is, they, they could give you the numbers of employees who are women or LGBTQ or who are of different races. But those numbers may not reflect the experiences of those employees in that workplace.. And inclusion would not— would not only be demonstrating that your workforce is diverse, but that people with disabilities have jobs at every level of the company and no one is forced out because of their accommodation needs. And so I went on to lead the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities for the City of Houston, which is the fourth largest city in the United States. And then the, the role at AAPD became available, and I decided to apply, and I was nervous about applying because I really loved my, my job in Houston, but I felt very passionately about what AAPD could do and be, and so I thought I should give it a shot, and almost 5 years later, here I am.

5 years! Oh my goodness. Wow, I always teach—

Can you believe that?

No, I can't. I can't. Wow, time goes quickly. I have to say about Maria that I was on the search committee. I mean the board, I'm sorry, the board. We did an interview with the finalist and they asked, I don't know who came up with this question, but it was like a very hard to answer question. It was something like, do you remember that question about if you were in marketing and you had to, uh, sell something. I forget what it even was, but that clinched it for me because I'm thinking, oh my God, how would I answer this? And Maria just goes off, just answers perfectly. Um, and I bring that up because she is brilliant. I'm not kidding you, she is so smart. She is really smart. And you know, Maria, I was thinking about this the other day. As you know, both of us are white, and, you know, white people automatically have privilege because they're white versus a person African American or a person of color, white privilege. You know what I was thinking? You know what? Able-bodied people, they also have privilege. You know, you know what I mean?

They do.

They, they also have privilege. Just like there's white privilege, there's able-bodied privilege. Because when you are a person with a disability, even like me, you know, I have a non-apparent disability. I have epilepsy and I'm hard of hearing. But no matter what it is, you run into these things and this stigma, uh, and this perception, or you can't get accessibility. And I know, Maria, I've had meetings with you that you were so upset because you couldn't get there, or you couldn't get on the line, or I, you know, whatever it would be, just because of transportation. I mean, you've had so many issues since I've known you with transportation. That's an example of able-bodied privilege.

Yeah, I think another example of able-bodied privilege is not having to think about everything. And there are better ways to say this, but for a lot of people with disabilities, we have to spend so much time figuring out and confirming all of the details of a space or a conversation. Or food, because we know that if we just said, "Okay, yeah, I'm going to go to dinner in this place," and then there's nothing on the menu that they can eat, or there's no accessible entrance or bathroom, or there's no accessible menu for someone who's blind, and a non-disabled person would just be like, "Oh, yeah, I'm going to go to dinner and have a great time." Whereas, Joyce, if I were going to go out to dinner with you, I would want to make sure that we found a physically accessible space that didn't have loud music. Because if we went to a place with stairs and with loud music, I couldn't get in. And then if we talked, you couldn't hear me, right? And so—

Yeah.

I think for a lot of disabled people, We don't have the privilege of getting to just think about what we want to think about because we have to spend so much time figuring out all of these details just to determine if we're going to be able to show up and really be comfortable. Anyway, yeah, there's definitely able-bodied privilege, and I think there's privilege in disability as well. You know, the universal access symbol is a symbol of someone in a wheelchair. And I think, you know, a lot of people, when they think of disability, they think of wheelchair users. They think of mobility impairments. And people with chronic health conditions, for example, or more non-apparent disabilities might have to really fight to get basic accommodations Because the employer, for example, may not even think that diabetes is a disability, for example. And so privilege is a— it's actually, I think, very complicated in the disability space because it's not as simple as able-bodied privilege and disabled people don't have privilege. I think disabled people have privilege in different ways and it's very contextual. Does that make sense?

Yes. Yes. I mean, I was thinking about this and I thought, wow, there are so many ways that people have privilege, able-bodied people have privilege. Because first, as you see, you have to answer a million questions. Oh, well, have you had a seizure lately? Oh, do you still take medication? Oh, what's that? Hey, you—

I've had people say to me, you know what, You don't even look sick.

You look okay. I mean, people just ask you all kinds of questions. You can go somewhere and have a broken leg or ankle and, you know, be in a cast and you can tell this is someone that's had that type of accident and people will say, hey, been there, done that. Oh, were you skiing? Oh, were you this or that? Oh yes, I went through this too. But if you're in a wheelchair or some visible disability like that, people will say, "What's wrong with you? Do you mind if I ask you?" And Maria, I think you've had people say things like that to you, if I recall.

All the time. All the time. "What's wrong with you? Why do you walk like that? What happened to you?" All the time.

So that's what I mean when I say that. That's what I mean. Yeah, that's what I mean. And, and that's one thing. AAPD works hard, and I love this, to encourage young people that disability rights are civil rights and that you can be proud. As a matter of fact, when I teach high school students with disabilities, especially those that A lot of them, you know, have not had equity, you know, at school or they've just— or in poverty or gone through so many things. And I'll say, hey, you know, when you're thinking about a career, don't forget about disability rights. And what do you mean? I'll say, I don't care what city you're in or where you live, there's some organization, whether it's specific to a disability like Epilepsy Association or an independent living center, whatever it is that you know you could work in disability rights. And then, Maria, I always use you as the example, and I'll tell them, Maria Town is so young, she's running this huge, this big organization, which was small, but now is much larger in revenues, and that you and all of your friends that are disability advocates are proud, you know, proud of who you are. And I'll tell them, hey, Maria, she worked at the White House and she still goes on the Hill, and so many other young people, and they are just proud. And if we could just get that across the country in people's minds, but that's not the way It is, unfortunately, but don't you agree that one of the ways things have changed over the years is people being not ashamed, but, you know, having disability pride?

I do. The fact that we even have— that we're now calling July Disability Pride Month is a very big deal because I think for a lot of people, there is still so much ableism that they confront that tells them that disability is not desirable, that it should be cured, that it should be kind of eradicated, that if they are disabled they're not worthy. That having pride in the face of all of that ableism is truly an incredible act. And, you know, I think it's important to acknowledge, Joyce Bender, that having disability pride does not mean that you have to be happy about being disabled all the time. My disability frustrates me on a very regular basis. But there's a poem that I love called "You Get Proud by Practicing," and it's by a disabled poet named Laura Hershey. And when I think about those moments where I'm so deeply frustrated that I can't put my shoes on or my wheelchair has died and I can't go anywhere, Those are moments where I get to practice my pride and not give up and not give in to what ableism says I should be doing, which is like staying home all the time. And I— Disability Pride Month was not a thing really even 5 years ago, and I just think particularly young people with disabilities have had so much more access to things like disability representation and open conversations about disability that they're more willing to embrace disability pride than even people in my generation were. And I'm not that old.

No, you're not. You are definitely not that old. Uh, Maria, I know I saw something that also, that really upset me, that I know made you angry also, because I read something that you said about it. And what I'm referring to is The Economist magazine with the walker with the presidential seal on it. What, what, what was your reaction to that?

So, to provide everyone with more background, The Economist magazine is a fairly old and big magazine in the United States. As their title suggests, they report on economic issues, and their cover recently featured the headline "No Way to Run a Country" in big white bold letters and a walker that had a big presidential seal on the front of it. And I thought that this cover image was so ableist, as did many, many, many other people in the disability community. And What I said was that mobility aids like walkers are tools for freedom and safety, and I would much prefer, um, a president who used a mobility aid if they needed it than one who continued to harm themselves and not use a mobility aid because they were afraid of how they would be perceived if they used one. Part of what makes someone a good leader is knowing when you need to use particular tools, when you need certain types of support. And, you know, Joyce Bender, what you replied is, "What about FDR?" Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was the longest-serving president in United States history. He used a wheelchair because he had had polio, which paralyzed him, and was one of, you know, the most effective presidents that we've had. And the thing with FDR is that a lot of people did not know he used a wheelchair because they were afraid that if people knew he used a wheelchair, folks would assume he was weak. And, you know, we should not be essentially encouraging people to hide their disabilities. You know, if I saw a president who walked out with a walker with a giant presidential seal on it, I would honestly think that that was very cool and would, again, prefer that to a president who either hides from public view— because they feel like they're forced to or have to engage— have to spend a bunch of time trying to conceal their disability when they could be spending that time, you know, making important decisions about the future of our country.

Oh, I hated that. I agree with everything you've just said. You know, FDR, President Roosevelt, took us through World War II. I mean, you know, and did so much for this country. Yes. And that— what got me also is what it said. No way to run a country. No way to run a country. That just says it all as to why people with disabilities have such a high unemployment. This is next year. The 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services and AAPD, because I know we started at the same time. But how is it possible that we— that the needle has moved so little when it comes to employment because of that way of thinking and that stigma? That's no way to run a country. That just says it all right there. As Maria said, Ableism at the highest peak. That's it right there. And Maria, do you ever wonder about that? Like how we are, you know, still 34 years since the ADA was signed. How is it possible we still have this high unemployment?

Well, I think that disabled people still confront these stigmas Joyce Bender, you pointed out, I also think, and this is really important to acknowledge, the older you become, the more likely you are to be disabled. And when we are talking about disability employment, we need to acknowledge that a huge number of people with disabilities that are— that may not be in the workplace are also likely to be older adults, and I personally want more older adults to not have to work. With the cost of living, you know, just increasing all the time, people are having to work longer and longer, and that honestly frustrates me. Anyway, that's a little bit of a tangent, but But there's still huge numbers of what we literally call working-age disabled people who are pushed out of the workforce because they are not able to get the supports they need that would allow them to be successful in a job. And that might be things like personal attendant services. It might be things like accessible transportation. You know, if I had not moved to a place like Washington, D.C. Which has a lot of different transit options and very accessible public transit, I would have a very hard time getting a job. And if I still lived in my home state of Louisiana, it is very likely that I would be unemployed unless I found a job where I could work remotely because I don't drive. And the answer to that is not, you know, make people with disabilities work remotely, it is invest in more accessible public transit in different places around the country so that no matter where you live, access to transportation won't be a barrier to employment. I also— our healthcare system also actually keeps people out of the workforce, and let me explain why. Many people with disabilities need a particular level of healthcare that only Medicaid will pay for and employer-based health insurance that will not cover. And so, in order to get Medicaid, it's what's called a needs-tested program, meaning that you can only have a very little amount of money in order to get it. And this is also true for Social Security Supplemental Security Income. SSI keeps people in poverty and actively disincentivizes them from working. I received SSI as a child and, you know, until I was 22, and thankfully it was always expected that I would get a job. But there are many people with disabilities who can't make that transition because they need to maintain access to Medicaid. So, one of the other reasons that a lot of people aren't in the workforce is because our policies actually, again, basically force them to stay out of the workforce in order to keep the healthcare they need to stay alive. Isn't that cruel?

Yes. Yes, that is. Yeah, that is penalized for wanting to work. That, that Really is abs— and you know what's amazing to me is when people say to me, well, hey, they have SSDI, and I say, oh, and like, how much do you think that is? I mean, do you think people want to live on this low income? And then even with our Social Security system, SSDI, there are people that want to work, but you know how even if they say, well, I don't want the Social Security now, it's like 9 months, 9 months before that's taken away because in their mind, you will need it. And I have one employee who was told when he went, he actually went and told them, I have a job, I don't need this anymore. And they said, well, I'm sorry, you have to accept it for the next 9 months. Now, I don't know of anyone that would do what he did, but he went back 9 months later and gave them their money back. And of course they said, we can't accept that. And he said, I told you I didn't need it. And you know what? It's all about dignity and respect and like Healthcare, as you mentioned, there has been such issues with healthcare for people with disabilities. And backing up for a moment, when we were talking about people that can't drive, you know, and work from home, in my career, it wasn't until COVID that people had such an opportunity to work from home. How it normally was is I would call and I would say, hey, I have someone, they need a personal attendant, and you know what, they don't, they can't drive, would it be possible for them to work from home? Oh no, hey Joyce, we do, you know, everyone has to be treated the same. And to get to even be off one day, that's a perk, that's a big deal. When we allow people to work from home, that's a big deal. And it was Yes, and people used to— that have years of experience, and they'd be so thrilled when they got to work 1 or 2 days from home. This wasn't that long ago. Now, there were some companies that were really innovative and, you know, awake companies and knew what they were doing, and they did allow certain groups like IT to work from home.

Mm-hmm.

But I had people with disabilities say to me on the phone, it took a pandemic for me to be able to work because I have epilepsy, I don't drive. I have a disability such as what you were talking with you, Maria, that I'm unable to drive, whatever it would be. Now those people are losing their jobs because they're telling people to come back. So, you know, the employers that said to me, and so many did, "Well, here's one good thing about this pandemic. Now you're gonna see people with disabilities, they're gonna be able to work because, you know, they're at home." Well, guess what came back? The coming back to work came back. And there are several well-known major corporations that said, You don't have to, but you won't have a job. So not all people with disabilities should work from home, or, I mean, I always say equal, you know, make it equal across the board. But boy, Maria, that has really changed things.

It really has. And we actually saw an increase in disability employment during the pandemic, and many people attribute that to the expansion of remote work options. But like you said, Joyce Bender, now, you know, we are seeing many companies really limit the use of remote work, and it's preventing people from, from keeping those jobs. And, you know, I don't want to see remote work basically used as a form of segregation for people with disabilities who may need different types of accommodations. And what, what I hope to see in the future is both a commitment to inclusive, accessible remote work and inclusive, accessible in-person opportunities. And I just want to name that disabled people have really and continue to fight for the right to exist in public freely and safely. And part of what gets lost in remote work is, you know, you're, you're not necessarily seeing people in their full embodiment. And I don't know if this has happened to you, but As things have returned to in-person, a lot of people have said to me, "Wow, you're really short," because they've only met me on Zoom and never seen me fully in person. And what I hope is not happening is when someone with a disability, whether it's cerebral palsy or deafness or blindness or autism, is showing up in person's faces, people are still being welcoming to them and not like, oh wow, they weren't kidding when they said they were disabled, you know. We really need to maintain our commitment to inclusion on both fronts.

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. I agree with you. Maria, I don't want to not talk more about AAPD. What, what are some of the programs at AAPD. And by the way, it's AAPD.com. And if you go to the page, you can make a donation. And you know what I always say to people? It not only takes a village, it takes a village that will donate money. So, you know, we, we need to donate money. Sometimes people think of a not-for-profit. I know this because of the Bender Leadership Academy. Yes, but because of years being on different boards of not-for-profits, that they don't get it, that it's like running a company. I mean, it, you know, you still have to pay the light bills, and when you hire people, salaries and benefits. And when we sit back and say, I want to see AAP do this, or why doesn't Maria Town do that, they can. You can make a donation. Go to aapd.com. But, Mary— I mean, Maria, what are some of the big programs you're working on at AAPD?

So, at AAPD, we have a number of really incredible programs. Many of our programs are really designed to foster leadership development and community connections in the disability community. So, we have our summer and fall internship programs, which provide students and recent graduates with internships, both in-person and remote, on Capitol Hill, in federal agencies, in nonprofits, and in for-profit companies. And interns get mentors. They get to participate in our Disability Advocacy Certificate Program. and they also have opportunities to connect with the larger disability community. We also have our Disability Mentoring Day, which Joyce, you are such an incredible leader on, which is focused on younger students and even our internship program to give them some initial career exposure experiences as they begin to think about what they want to do when they grow up and what they want to be. One program that I love too is our Paul G. Hearn Emerging Leader Award. This award is named for AAPD's founder, Paul Hearn. This award provides funding to two people or groups of disabled folks who are really doing phenomenal work in the disability community., and they receive funding to work on a project, as well as support from AAPD on the execution of this project. And our HURN awardees, I mean, there's just some truly incredible people in that cohort, and I can only imagine what would happen if we got them all in a room together. In addition to these more kind of leadership and career-focused programs, we also have our REV UP campaign. REV UP stands for Register, Educate, Vote, Use Your Power. And the REV UP campaign is focused on building the power of the disability vote. And I know, Joyce, you are very involved in REV UP Pennsylvania. Bender is a leader of that coalition. And so, through REV UP, we have a number of state disability vote coalitions. and we actually have Rev Up projects running in 33 states across the country. We provide a number of resources and technical assistance to really make sure that disabled people know their rights when they go to the polls and can make informed decisions as voters. Some of our Rev Up coalitions host nonpartisan candidate forums. Others facilitate accessible rights to the polls.. It's really incredible to see the work coming out of REV UP. And in addition to our programming, you know, we also do a lot of advocacy on a variety of issues. Some of the issues that we're really focused on right now are ending the use of subminimum wage for people with disabilities through a program called 14. And we're really hopeful that we'll see some progress on that sometime soon. You know, we're also focused on increasing funding for home and community-based services so that disabled people and older adults don't feel like they have to go into nursing homes if they need support, that they can continue to live in their homes with their families and in their communities. I just think that's so important. Anyway, I could keep going, but that's a snippet of what we do at AAPD.

Well, I mean, you do a lot at AAPD, a lot, and a lot of good. And once again, AAPD.com, go to the donate button today. Gerald, are you on the line? I think Gerald's on the line. I didn't know he was on the line. Are you there?

I am here, Joyce.

Hi, Gerald. How are you?

I am great. And hello, Maria. What a wonderful show, and thank you for everything you are doing for our community, and happy Disability Pride Month.

Happy Disability Pride Month to you, Gerald. It's so nice to hear your voice.

Likewise. I'm looking forward to seeing you this month. It's awesome. I love Disability Pride Month. So I've been following all the social posts of AAPD celebrating Pride Month. And I just love the stuff you guys are putting out there.

Thank you. Me too. Me too. Gerald, thank you so much for calling in, and sorry I didn't get you on right away.

Oh, no worries, Joyce. Well, the news at Bender is for all of you listening to be looking out for us, because the next few weeks we'll be playing a game I like to call Where in the World is Joyce Bender? Because first we will be in Las Vegas for the Disability:IN! conference next week where you can meet our CEO at events. That's right, Joyce Bender, the first Doby at the Disability:IN! conference, will be seen all throughout the conference speaking at panels, moderating panels, up on the big stage for different events, and at our expo at booth number 65 if you want to stop by and say hello to me and Joyce Bender. Come on down at Disability:IN at the conference. We are so looking forward to that event with what a great job Jill Hauben and everyone at Disability:IN does for that. And then we'll be seeing Maria Town the following week at AAPD. So for the week of Disability Pride, that's right, July 26th, Disability Pride Month. I love this month. I was born in July on Friday the 13th, and 13 days later is the celebration of the ADA. So lucky 13 for me.

Yes, that is amazing, Gerald. Um, and, and I will look forward to so much going on this month, so many things going on. As a matter of fact, the ADA Pride celebration is January 25th. What day is it, Maria?

Yes, it's July 25th. It's the evening of July 25th. We will be having an ADA anniversary celebration, and it will be both in person and streamed. So no matter where you are in the world, you can attend. It'll also be recorded, and you can purchase a ticket on AAPD's website.

AAPD.com. AAPD.com. Make sure you go there and go to that, and you can follow what AAPD is doing. Can't you subscribe, Maria, to an email at AAPD.com?

Absolutely. And you can subscribe to our email list, like, on the homepage if you just scroll down, you can sign up for our email alerts and newsletters. We would love to, um, we would love to share all of our work with you.

And you can follow Maria on Instagram and X and Threads, on everything. I would go to Instagram though, because you'll also see the great photograph she puts out. You know what, Maria? Laura Hershey was with me in 1999 when I received the President's Award at the White House because she was the year before and they had not had a, you know, a celebration. So President Clinton invited her and Jim— Jim Click, was that his name? And, and Laura. Laura's who I remember the most because I talked to her a lot, uh, but I was with her the day I was at the White House and received the President's Award. So when I saw that photo you put out, uh, I mean, she was one awesome person, really awesome, uh, and I was so happy to see that. But anyway, hey, it has been a great day on the show with Maria Town, CEO of AAPD. Maria, thank you for being with us.

It's my pleasure, Joyce. Thank you as always for having me, and lead on.

Lead on is right. And we end every show with a quote, and today it is: I'm paralyzed from the neck down, but I am completely in control of my own life. I make decisions about what I want. And when you get— begin to believe that, it's very empowering and powerful, said Ed Roberts. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Join me next week as we continue to celebrate Disability Pride Month with Dr. Chris Rosa. 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.