Mission of the Advanced Leadership Institute

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 to everyone in the United States and around the world, uh, and also Yoshiko, Yoshiko, thank you for your support, Yoshiko. You know how much I love you. A special shout-out, she is formerly married to the great, late Justin Dart Jr., and just a wonderful friend of mine. So, we have a shout-out to Yoshiko on every show, and to my friends with the State Department around the world. Richard Roberts, I love you, Richard Roberts, who just left has left Asia and will be soon going to Brazil. Ganyoung in South Korea, just a wonderful person. Veniamin in Kazakhstan and Cheryl in Tunisia. Had to think about that one for a minute. But I just want to tell you, I appreciate everything you all do every day trying to help me when we are fighting for people with disabilities. So I have great Great friends. Thank you all for being so supportive of me. You all know I— we lost Mary Brocker, who— oh my God, one of the hardest things I've ever been going through. But we started that at the Bender Leadership— we started the Bender Leadership Academy, the Mary Brocker Healthcare Initiative on mental health. And thank you all, those of you that have made contributions, everyone It means so much, which comes to our sponsor, Highmark, who has been the sponsor of this radio show for years and who made a generous contribution to the Mary Brooker Mental Health Initiative without being asked. That's a great company. So with that, I also have a great person— that's really important since you're listening to the show— who I love very much, and he is a longtime friend. Friend. I was just thinking about that today before I came on the air with you. I was thinking about the Hill House, something we'll talk about in a minute, that I was on the board when Eric— when Evan was the CEO. But before I forget, to all my listeners around the world, thank you. China, you have a large listening audience. All of you, every country. Remember, if it's just one person, one single person listening, it makes a difference. And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Evan Frazier, the President and CEO of the Advanced Leadership Initiative, and just a great, a great civil rights leader in the country. So Evan, welcome to the show.

Thank you, Joyce Bender. It is such a pleasure to be with you. I always value the opportunity, and thanks for your Ongoing inspiration and deepest condolences to Mary Brocker. What an incredible person. So thank you so much for acknowledging her at the beginning of the show.

Absolutely. And I will be all the time. But thank— and thank you, Evan, for your support and friendship. But for people nationally and certainly around the world, how about if you start by telling our listeners about you, you know, your story, how you grew up in Pittsburgh and went on and Now here you are in this prestigious role. How about if you tell everyone a little bit about yourself? I know you have a family with political leadership, so I'll turn it over to you.

Well, thank you. Thank you, Joyce Bender. Well, again, great to be here. So for those who may not know me, I grew up here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so Pittsburgh is home for me. I've had the opportunity to go through the public school system, through our city of Pittsburgh. Ended up, the short version is, ended up going away to college, went to Cornell University where I was in their School of Hotel Administration. While I was in college, had an opportunity to do a number of things including start an organization, that still exists today, more than 30 years later, called NSMH, which stands for the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality, where we've had, uh, uh, basically campuses and chapters across the country. Wow. Um, uh, had a chance to have a, uh, uh, you know, after graduating, came back to Pittsburgh, uh, worked for a company that invested in me over the years, uh, Eat'n Park Restaurants, worked out of their corporate office for a number of years. And while I was with them, did a graduate degree at Carnegie Mellon and, you know, just had an opportunity to just have a lot of experiences in many different industries. So, I started in hospitality, had an opportunity to go into banking and finance and into the nonprofit sector, ultimately had a chance to go into healthcare and so I spent, you know, more than a decade as a senior vice president overseeing community affairs for a company called Highmark Health, one of the sponsoring organizations. And just recently ended up, you know, starting an initiative several years ago, as you heard Joyce Bender talk about, the Advanced Leadership Initiative. And as of earlier this year, we formed out of the success of the first few years of the initiative, we created the Advanced Leadership Institute. So we went from initiative to institute and are, are really building to go to full scale, you know, both for the work that we do here in our region. And ultimately the plan is to build nationally and have impact nationally as well. So that's the short version of my career has really been a combination of corporate nonprofit. I have an amazing family, two amazing parents who, you know, helped to bring me up in both in terms of leadership and, you know, the importance of giving back. And very fortunate to have this opportunity today to share.

And you— your daughter works in the area of disability, and I've been telling everyone about her. Uh, do you want to tell everyone what she does?

Sure, sure. So, uh, I have a pretty famous daughter out there. Uh, her name is Nia, and she goes by Nia Sioux. That's her, her name that she, uh, that's actually her, her part of her real name, uh, but she goes by that, uh, Nia Sioux. And, uh, Nia grew up, uh, on television. She grew up as a dancer and then over time be— also became a singer as well as an actor. So she's kind of a triple threat out there. She's a social media person and very much an influencer. And so she, since the age of 9, she was on a show called Dance Moms. And so she was a part of a reality show where, you know, from— she participated from from a very young age for 7 seasons. And through that experience, that helped to give her the grounding to go into acting. She was on The Bold and the Beautiful, and she does stuff online. And what Joyce Bender is referring to is my daughter also recently had done a series called Dance with Nia. And it really is a series that focuses on disabilities, dancers with disabilities. And so she brings someone on her segment each show. It's something that is on both Instagram and Facebook. And so I want to say there were, I believe, 10 episodes where she would bring someone on, have them explain, engage them, have them explain what their disability is. And then they would prepare to dance and really share an amazing experience with one another in a very high-quality way and in a very inspiring way. And so I was so inspired when I saw the first few episodes. I was like, this is really something special and very important because she's really out there, you know, helping to bring to life, you know, some, you know, people who very often, you know, don't get the <LYRICS>—the focus and really have some amazing talents that don't always get a chance to showcase it for the world to see.</LYRICS> And she's a part of that experience and helping to do that, so I'm very proud of her.

Well, where do they go? Where does everyone go again? What is the name of the Facebook page?

So, ooh, I will get that for you, hopefully before we leave today, but it's Niasu, N-I-A-S-U. S-I-O-U-X is my daughter's name. And if you look that up, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find the series that's out there. But I'll try to get the specific— if there's a specific site to go to. It's probably on—

and you said it's on her Instagram also?

On— right, correct. On Instagram or on Facebook. And you could look up Nia Suze on her Instagram. And there should be a link from her kind of special home page there.

Yeah, and I mean, you got to see it. Like, it's awesome. And what I love about this is it's all about inclusion. And I'm going to have her on our radio show next year. I was so impressed with this because what she's doing is what this company's all about. Remember what— Evan just said, getting a chance to show your talents that other people would not normally see. It's the same thing about employment. So it's all about inclusion. I love it. I think it's so awesome that she does that, but you really have to see it. I mean, it's no pity. It's just treating the person the way you would any other person. I love it. I think it's so great.

Absolutely. And one thing I didn't mention to you, Joyce, is in the last week she just launched— she was the lead character in a Lifetime movie. And so that just launched on Lifetime this last week called Imperfect High. It's called Imperfect High, and it's about substance abuse, and, you know, particularly for teenagers and really, really talks about the importance of dealing with, you know, making sure people don't take the wrong pathway.

That is so exciting. Is that— when will that be out on Lifetime?

So it just aired over the last— this week, actually.

Oh, it did?

This weekend and last weekend. Oh. But so I'm sure it could be found out there on Lifetime on demand here.

Wow, what's next, huh? I better get her on soon. I better get her on soon before she's in Hollywood again and says, "Who? What? Call my agent." So I'm just trying to be like my daughter, that's all. Lucky I have you. Um, well, you know, you're very modest. He's very modest. I'll tell you all right now, if you would meet him first, he's this wonderful, gregarious, handsome, friendly, always dressed sharp guy. And you know what? Here's the thing that would really amaze you. Not one bit of arrogance, not one. He is so humble and modest. He is. But you are, you're always that way. So I will be the one that says, now how do you pronounce L-U-C-E Scholar?

Oh, it's pronounced Luce. Yeah, Luce, L-U-C-E, right? Yep.

Okay, well, there are only 17 people named as a National Luce Scholar, only 17. 2019, and you are one of them. And to me, that just is a small example of, you know, how brilliant you are, which obviously when we'll be talking about this Advanced Leadership Initiative, it goes to the point. But what is that and how were you selected, Evan?

Thank you. Thank you. Well, so the The Luce Scholars Program is through a foundation in New York called the Henry Luce Foundation. And basically every year they would pick, you know, a handful of people to kind of live and work in Asia. And so it was a number of years ago. I want to say, you know, I'm embarrassed to say it's about 20 years ago for me. And essentially there are universities, they, amongst their alumni and I think the eligibility is up to 30, but so it's either professors, alumni, assistant professors, folks up to 30, and schools across the country compete. And every year the foundation, you go through a pretty extensive process and then they end up whittling it down to, you know, our year was 17 individuals who were selected. And basically, when you're selected, it's, it's, you're, you identify a country where you have a particular interest, particularly in Asia, you know, in the continent of Asia. And so, and then they select you to go to a different place and actually work in those areas, you know, in those particular countries. And so for me, I had expressed interest in the Chinese culture, and they ended up assigning me to a place, you know, working for a— working in Singapore for a Chinese-based hotel company. And since they look at your background, there are people who are doctors, researchers, you know, lawyers, depending upon which your background. So one that we had, someone in veterinary medicine, someone in music, and I happened to be in more business and they saw hospitality background. So I ended up working with Shangri-La Hotels which was in Singapore and a bit in Hong Kong as well. And it was a phenomenal, phenomenal experience.

It's different being in another country. It's so wonderful because it opens you up, you know, to a whole new culture and a way of thinking. I'm sure you really enjoyed that.

Oh yeah, it was, it was an experience I wouldn't, I would never trade. And the ironic part about it is my oldest son, right after I was selected, we found out my wife was pregnant. I was like, oh wow. And so we had quite a year. He and my wife spent at least half of the time overseas with me. And what an opportunity to spend that kind of time, not only with myself over there, but also to have my family be a part of that experience with me was also a pretty amazing, opportunity, and I'll never, never trade— would never trade that experience. I'm so, so glad I had that opportunity.

Yeah, that— well, not everyone did. We can see that from only 17 people being selected. I think that is just so impressive, and even more is this Advanced Leadership Institute, formerly initiative, but when you first created it, it was called Advanced Leadership initiative. How did that come to be? What made you do that? In other words, how did you get this idea that, "Oh, I'm going to do this"?

Yeah, no, so it really started with some personal observations as well as conversations with colleagues, particularly African American or Black colleagues who, you know, recognized that that the representation as it relates to Black leadership within our region really did not, was not significant enough in that we felt that so much more needed to be done. And it was clear that the region as a whole and corporate leaders and foundation leaders were all saying, this is an area that's important, diversity inclusion. And this is, This is many years ago. So this is at least 6 years ago when that was the environment. And it really started from that conversation. And then actually, you know, it had a spark when I was having a conversation with one of our funders who was saying, you know, we're trying to, you're really trying to figure out something that will help make a difference in creating more diverse leadership in our region, but there didn't seem to be an active mechanism to really make that happen. And so the idea that I had and some colleagues and I spoke about really stemmed from this idea of, you know, creating this idea of an executive leadership program that would help to do that. And so what I had the opportunity to do, and this was back in 2016, which is the summer of 2016, I ended up writing a concept paper to create a world-class executive leadership program that is really customized towards African American professionals and executives. And so, you know, did that, came back, you know, after I wrote it during vacation, came back and started to socialize it over the next several months.. And it became clear that, one, there was a great need, two, that people were excited about it. They also said that, you know, really depends on the institutions and partners that we bring on will make a difference. I'm fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve as a trustee in the past for Carnegie Mellon University and was able to introduce the idea to the dean of the business school at the time, Bob Davin. And from that conversation, CMU had really expressed interest in working with me to help create what we call the Executive Leadership Academy. And so that was really the first iteration of the programming that we put in place. And so we built that and built momentum for it, created structure around it, and launched our first cohort in 2019. We had 23 Black professionals. It's executives, really geared towards executives and mid-level managers. And so we rolled it out in 2019, had great support from community. We had a 2020 cohort. We went from 23 to 28 our second year. And then in 2021, we had another 28 cohort members who just graduated. As a part of our alumni. And so over that time, we're seeing tremendous success in people finding opportunities to connect at higher levels within their organizations. There are some who are identifying other organizations even in our region, which is really our goal, is to, you know, help build diverse leadership within our region.. And so we have been, we are very successful in that. And then certainly last summer with everything happening with the national protests, George Floyd incident, and many others, that just elevated the importance and need of what we are doing. And we were already in motion, you know, pre-George Floyd, right? And so what we found is that we were able to build momentum with some amazing partners. That were able to invest in the work that we are doing to go from being an initiative to creating an institute. You know, and it was groups like the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Highmark Health, and the Highmark Foundation being an important part of that. And we also received a major grant from the BNY Mellon Foundation, all being kind of founding underwriters recognizing and the importance of the work that we're doing and the impact that we're having and really giving us the strength so that we can, you know, take it from a program to an initiative. And so we transitioned into the Advanced Leadership Institute back in the spring. I left my previous role to come do, with the great support of Highmark Health, and I was able to step into this role to really build out the institute. And that's exactly what we're doing right now. We're building out the Institute. So in addition to the Executive Leadership Academy that we have, we also just— we're in the process of launching the Emerging Leaders Program, which will pilot next month, which is October. So in a few weeks, that will begin. And we've also launched some pretty extensive alumni programming so that once people finish the program, it becomes a part of their ongoing network and ongoing education and lifelong journey to continue to grow and build together. And so that's, that's kind of where we are. Our goal is to help people to elevate within leadership roles of corporate as well as institutions as well. And the other goal is for people to feel more connected and less isolated out there so that people actually have a strong peer network as well as a strong regional network of professionals, because one of the key things that's important is that, you know, people have opportunities to, you know, to better themselves and to advance, but also that people have an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging and want to stay within our region instead of automatically assuming they need to go to a different city or part of the country.

Wow, I mean, that is so exciting. And I assume the way you partnered with CMU is, as you said, because you were on the board. Well, that was the initial—

yeah, that was the initial entrée because I at least knew who to talk to. But once they heard the idea and saw the saw what we were doing, they immediately felt that it was really important for them to be a part of it. And they were a really essential part, particularly as we were launching, that to be able to work with a world-class institution like Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School of Business really made a difference for being able to launch the program. In the right way at the right level.

Oh, I mean, to me, yeah, that adds so much credibility. I mean, how could it be better? That really signals how prestigious this whole Institute is. I just think it's fabulous. I wanted to ask you this question: if you are selected to attend the Institute, I mean, what happens? You go through classes or What happens?

Yeah, so, so really there are several components to it. First is, you know, there is a class or academic component that is a part of it, and I will come back to that in just a moment. But that is important. And so usually a 7, 7 to 8 month, several, a couple days a month, usually it is a back-to-back Friday and Saturday. And then each person is also assigned their own executive coach. So each cohort member will interview coaches. We have a network of coaches. We work with CMU and people from across the country. And so ultimately, we have coaches that people will then have personal coaching sessions throughout the 7 or 8 month period of time. And we also connect people to individual mentors. And the idea here is executive mentors are really important in helping to create sponsorship relationships. What we found, the research says it as well as, you know, our board and other stakeholders all affirm it from our own experiences, is that, you know, one of the biggest barriers to executive success is you have to have a sponsor. And very often, sponsorship, you know, people have mentors but not sponsors. So our goal is to create sponsorship relationships that will help people to break through the glass ceiling and to be really considered and given opportunities to grow and expand at the highest levels. And that's really one of the things that we recognize as we built this program is that you have to have sponsorship Hard work is important. You know, you've got to keep growing. But the reality is, as you get towards the high end of organizations, sponsorship is critical. And then the other thing is that we recognize that cultivating the peer network and the cohort relationship is critical. And so as we, as someone who gets into the program, we'll start with the Executive Leadership Academy, they would essentially The way we started in an in-person environment, it would be an all-day Friday, all-day Saturday session, basically once a month for those, for that period of time, for 7 to 8 months. And so that's where we started in-person. Last year, we ended up starting in-person but had to pivot with COVID you know, with that really hitting our whole world, the global pandemic, right? We had to go into more virtual learning, you know, both, you know, finding unique ways to connect online and in different ways that would be virtual. And so we were successful in making that pivot, but we changed the schedule so that it became every other week a half a day instead of 2 full days back to back. And then we started our third cohort in the COVID virtual environment, and then towards the end, we went more into a hybrid environment, and we were able to make these pivots fairly seamlessly, even though it took some work to figure out what worked most effectively. But having CMU as a partner from a technology standpoint really was helpful in making sure that we didn't miss a beat even during the pandemic., you know, in all the things that we've been facing as a society. And so that's kind of what we've been doing. We build a curriculum that is both similar to what you might find at, you know, Harvard or Wharton, that type of thing, but then we customize it, you know, really focused on, you know, what are those things that African American— that make the African American experience unique. And so, in addition to the faculty at CMU that might be driving topics such as operations, strategy, you know, finance, negotiation, some of those kind of topics, we pull people from across the country as faculty who have specialization in areas, you know, that deal with culture and deal with, you know, so how does race play itself out in organizations? And what are best practices for dealing with bias. And since those aren't usually packaged in any one place, we had to go out and find them and integrate them into our faculty and into our curriculum. And so that, that's what makes it really unique is that experience. And then again, we're getting ready to roll out a program for our emerging leaders. And these are for the executive program, just for people who are either executives or kind of mid-level managers with higher-level executive aspirations. Our Emerging Leaders Program is really focused on individuals who are either individual contributors or early managers, you know, just a little earlier, not to say time-wise, but from a career ladder standpoint, and really helping to invest in those individuals from a leadership standpoint. And we're building that out. That will likely be And again, it's going to be 2 days a month, more of a half day, 2 days a month. And we've been rolling that out and we're really looking forward to the first pilot program that's upcoming here. Wow. I mean, that is so exciting.

Now, how do you let people across the country know about this?

Well, the best way is to visit our website, which is the Tully Institute. Taliinstitute.org, taliinstitute.org, and that's probably the best way to connect with us and to get a really good sense for the programming that we've done both with the Executive Leadership Academy as well as with the Emerging Leaders Program. You'll often hear of our organization referred to as TALI, T-A-L-I, Again, that just stands for the Advanced Leadership Institute.

Wow. You know, you're going to be a game changer here. You're going to change history with this. This is wonderful, Evan. Well, you know that one thing you said about sponsorship? That is so true. You know that? That is so true. You can work hard, do everything, but when you get to the One level at the top, that is so key. And with that, hey, on every half hour we have our news break, Advocacy Matters, with our own Perry Jude Radesik to give us an update on the news in the world of disability. Perry, are you with us?

I am, Joyce, and thanks again for having us.

Of course. So what's our news today, Perry?

Joyce Bender. Yeah, today is National Voter Registration Day. Now, people with disabilities have been celebrating Voter Registration Week since mid-September, but today it's a day to celebrate democracy. Organizations across the country are collaborating today to register people to vote, and we're asking individuals to update their registration. If they have moved or changed their name, that's important too. And the goal today is to register 1 million individuals, including people with disabilities, today. So no matter our background or political beliefs, we all believe democracy works for us. But you have to participate. And to participate, every eligible American needs to be registered and be ready to cast a ballot. And so, this November, there aren't any federal races on the ballot, but there are local and state elections. And oftentimes, people will ask, "Well, do local and state elections matter?" And the answer is they do, and they do significantly for people with disabilities because at the local level, it's the local politicians who decide who will manage our schools. Who's going to manage public transportation? Who's managing local policing? Now, Joyce, here's an interesting statistic. According to the Census Bureau, 1 in 4 Americans reported not being registered to vote in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. So now that— surveys of those unregistered voters, and here are the reasons that they give about why they did not register to vote. And there really are 4. Some— there are 4. Some people said they did not know how to register. Some said they did not have the time. Some said they recently moved. And others say they keep forgetting. Those are the 4 big reasons. But today, it's our day to remind all eligible voters to register or update your registration. We don't want unregistered voters. Registered voters to be left out of our democratic process. So you can read more about this and find a link to your state's voter registration page by going to disabilityrightpa.org and clicking on today's advocacy matters segment.

And you know what, thank you, Perry, but that is so true what you said. It doesn't matter what your political political affiliation is. What matters is that you vote, because I always tell people, believe me, if you lived in another country such as Russia, you would be— or China, anywhere where there is a dictatorship and you don't have that freedom, you would suddenly wish that you did and how important and how valuable that would be. So that is so true. You have a chance to speak up. And you know that in many of even the presidential elections in different states, it's a small number of votes that made the difference in how that state came out Republican or negative in the presidential election. At the same time, I have to also agree with you, Perry, that it's the local and state is also important, and somehow people, uh, don't get that and, you know, overlook that. So I, I'm with you, Perry. I couldn't stress enough how important, uh, the voting is, uh, and, and thank you very much. So you go to, uh, disabilityrightspa.org to Advocacy Matters, and you can always read about the show and what what Perry's talking about. Thank you, Perry, so much for your update. Thank you, Joyce Bender. Boy, how important that is, huh? We know that, don't we?

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. That is absolutely critical. I was so glad to hear the message and the importance of getting people to be registered. That is important, like you said, no matter what their background or affiliation or party might be. The fact that you get people out and registered is something we all need to push for.

Yes, that's right. Amen to that. And your family was in politics, so you know that very well.

Yes, yes, yes. My mother being a former county councilwoman, yeah, really put that in my mind all of my life, that you have to, you have to be counted and you have to vote and you have to participate to make our society better, for sure.

Well, Evan, when you were talking about, you know, the Institute, one thing I want to be clear on is, do you go out and recruit people, or do people apply, or how does that go?

Yes, no, it's a great question. We get the question a lot, and it really is twofold. Well, first, as she mentioned, is the goal is to have employers invest in their high-potential Black talent. That's really part of the goal is we want to get employers to, one, identify people within their organization that they want to help grow and develop, develop for future leadership or continue to develop. And so we ask companies to identify people within their organizations that, again, they want to grow and advance. So it comes from that direction, but it also comes from the other direction. We have people in the communities who hear about our programs either through the work that we're doing, they'll visit the website, we'll meet people out there, other alumni, word of mouth. Who are very interested in the program. So then they then go to their employers to say, hey, I would like to participate in this, will you sponsor me? And so we definitely get support coming from the individuals who are saying, I want to be a part of this and getting support. And we have companies that are corporate partners and our sponsors who are, integrating it into their talent development function within their organization. So on an ongoing basis, they can look at, you know, one, you know, where is the talent, the diverse talent within their organization that they can look to develop and promote. And it's a way for companies to then— we become a partner to companies to help develop their Black talent within their organizational structure.

Wow. And you know, Evan, how are you getting that message out to CEOs or boards? How are you getting that message out?

Yeah, well, we're really fortunate. Even in the early days, you know, we would share with anyone who would listen. We had a group early on called the Corporate Equity Inclusion Roundtable who gave us a wonderful platform to speak with corporate partners as well as the community at large to introduce the topic. This is several years ago. And then as we were building, we had a platform there as well as many other groups. What we have done to date, though, is we have some amazing groups that are connected with us. So one, we have initially we— well, first we have a board of directors of deeply committed group of volunteers who are well-connected and reflective of the mission and vision that we have, which is cultivating Black executive leadership, you know, within companies, institutions, and communities. So we have a great board. We have an advisory board, which is also amazing. It's really top leaders, institutional leaders, some corporate representatives, that really span the broad community. So we're able to help get the word out through our advisory board. We also were fortunate enough to be able to put together a corporate CEO council. So we have a CEO council of 15 CEOs and some are, there are a few that are retired CEOs, but that have bought into and are really dedicated to the work that we do.. And so we have this consortium of CEOs who meet with us twice a year in a formal way, but also in addition to putting resources behind the program, they also are deeply committed on a personal level to support our cohort members, you know, both the cohort members who are going through the program as well as our alumni. And so what we're creating is really this whole ecosystem of support within our region to help, you know, to help, you know, change the trajectory and really create a much more diverse, broader society and model. One, seeing impact within their own organizations, but then two, seeing impact within the broader region. And so this whole stakeholder group, along with the— right now we have 79 alumni who have graduated from our programs. They're all ambassadors helping to get the word out, helping to recruit new folks. Our corporate partners, we meet with them so that they know what's coming up and they are continuously looking at people in their organization that they can, you know, that would be good fits for our program. Wow.

Well, you know what, I would encourage all— this is such a great thing. You know, you have You have corporate America and everyone, especially since George Floyd, we're out with our, you know, diversity, equity, inclusion programs and an emphasis on recruitment and, you know, making sure that you're bringing in African Americans into the workforce. And this is all great. But, and with me, you know, there's always a but coming, Evan. But this I have to say, where are they in the company? Where are they? So, you know, you could hire 100 people tomorrow, African American, and like, not everyone can be the head of diversity inclusion. This seems like the job that this is it, this is what you're going to do. But, you know, what about like the C-suite? What about— That's exactly right. And so if you want to really invest, you know, you've got to invest to get people in the C-suite. And of course, hopefully, you know, to the top role, but also preparing them for board positions. But you know, talk is cheap. It's just as I say about hiring people with disabilities, don't tell me how great I am, hire someone. That's where the rubber meets the road. But it's the same thing here. If you really want to change the culture, you've got to get people up to that C-suite level. And to get them to that level, you know, you've got to go to people throughout the organization as Evan said, at the manager or vice president, whatever the level would be, and say, hey, you know what, I do want to invest in this person. I want this person to be a leader, you know, in this, this corporation. Or I don't know, do not-for-profits also come to you, Evan, or just corporate America?

Yes. Yeah, well, the majority is corporate, but we do have nonprofits and we also have some public public candidates as well. We just had someone who was the COO of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. We had a person who was executive director. Actually, you know that person, Shannon Austin, was a part of our program as well, who's very much a part of state government in a very high leadership role. Yes, she's awesome. Yes, she's awesome. It really is a combination. Joyce, I think when I think about the work that we're doing, I also think about the inspiring work that you've been doing for so many years through Bender Consulting and then through Bender Leadership Academy. And I'm so, so impressed with the work that you have been doing and being a fierce advocate for people with disabilities. And so it's that same drive and that same tenacity that we're approaching TALI and the Advanced Leadership Institute in a way that we're committed in a very deep way to making sure that there are results. And so you are very much an inspiration in the work that we do when I think about our task and I think about all that you have done and continue to do. And so I first want to just thank you for that example, and I'm deeply committed to what you're doing as well. Through the Vendor Leadership Academy and looking forward to finding ways to continue to be of support. I know you will.

So Evan, what message do you have for companies today and not-for-profits, as you mentioned, and the public sector? Because, you know, there are huge not-for-profits, you know, so I mean, no matter what the organization is, if you were speaking to them, what would you say?

Yeah, I would say, you know, don't just talk the talk, you know, you got to walk the walk. And part of being able to have real impact as it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion is you have to be deliberate about it, you know, and you have to recognize that, you know, you really have to take tangible steps that are going to allow you know, your organization to one, you know, be as diverse as they can be, but then also create a culture so that, you know, people of all backgrounds can thrive there. And then at the end of the day, I mean, studies continue to show that those organizations who are diverse, who really take the time to invest in having diverse leadership and diversity across their organizations, because they're yielding the benefits financially even. And, but it really, in our society, it's the type of thing where you can't just allow osmosis to take its course. You know, you have to be deliberate in taking tangible steps that are really going to make a difference and not just, not just talk about it and really demonstrate what steps you're taking. That's what we try to do through the Advanced Leadership Institute is we try to give opportunities opportunities for direct investment, you know, in talent, in their own talent that is going to, you know, grow, hopefully grow within their organizations and help to strengthen our region as a whole. But it really starts, really starts with taking concrete deliberate steps that are going to move in that area as opposed to just allowing nature to take its course.

Right. Yeah, that would not be good. You know, I want to say also to— and remember, if you're hearing this show and you're saying, oh, you know, I need to send this to this chamber, or I need this CEO, or I need this small business, whatever it is, to hear this, remember Spotify, Apple, go to Spotify and subscribe to Disability Matters with Joyce Bender on voiceamerica.com. Or go to our website, or go to voiceamerica.com, you can share this show with someone else. So don't forget that, because we have a huge on-demand listening audience, because of course, you know, people's work during the daytime. But I, I hope you will share this, uh, with everyone and to get back one more time, Evan, to what you just said. You know, you were saying, don't, you know, don't just say it, do it. Well, one other thing I want to say, don't go to the African American community and make all these promises and then not come through because, you know, 2, 3, 4 years from now, we want to look back and see change. It's not just a rah-rah thing. It's not like, this is my special thing I'm doing. This is change. And the only way you'll see change is if you have people at the top. And that is why, you know, if you mean it, this institute is where I would be going if I were you. That's what I would be doing. But you know what I mean, Evan? People remember.

Absolutely. 100% agree with everything you just said there, Joyce Bender. You're not going to get real change unless you can have diverse leadership. And that's really what we're aspiring to do is help organizations become more diverse at leadership levels. And that's really, that's part of, you know, our core mission. And we do it by having employers invest invest in their Black talent. You know, and again, that takes investment and takes deliberate willpower and action to move in that way. But it's tangible and it's doable. It's just you got to take the first step in starting the process. And that is—

here's how. Now, what is your website? What's the website? Yep.

Once again, our website is taliinstitute.org. Again, taliinstitute.org.

And I'm sure there's a place they can go on that website to get more information and contact, uh, you, correct?

Absolutely, absolutely. We would, we would love to hear from folks who are interested. And, uh, and, and again, right now as we're anchored in the Pittsburgh region. We clearly understand that there are other regions around— other cities and regions around the country that probably need exactly what we're doing here in Pittsburgh. So, we're very proud of what we're developing. We're seeing progress, and I believe that over time there will be opportunities to expand what we're doing here into other parts of the country.

And I know you will, and then you'll be international. I have No doubt in my mind. Evan, it was a pleasure to have you on the show today. Um, I admit it, I'm biased. I love Evan Fraser. I could be the head of his fan club, but he is a great human being, and I know you will be successful, uh, with Tally. And once again, thank you for taking time to be on the show today, Evan.

Thank you, Joyce Bender. Always appreciate— thank you for your inspiration and all that you do. I'm always honored to have you as a friend and as a mentor and someone I look up to.

So thank you so much, Joyce Bender. Feelings mutual. So we end every show with a quote, and today that quote is from Martin Luther King Jr., who said, "Our lives begin to end when we become silent about things that matter." Favorite quote of Mary Brocker. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. See you next week.

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