New Horizons Program With The CLO

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.

Well, happy holidays to everyone. We have Christmas coming upon us, but Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, I say to all of you, happy holidays. It is so hard to believe this time goes so fast. You know, I always feel as if I'm on a jet plane. I do. I mean, it's just, wow, already? What can I say? My mother always told me, let's enjoy san. When you get older, you're going to see how fast time goes. You better enjoy your school now. And I remember thinking, oh, that is so crazy. Oh, she was right. Here I am now saying the same thing. But I want to send out a very special greeting to Yoshiko Dart. Yoshiko, I just love you. Thank you for being so supportive of the Bender Leadership Academy. Thank you for being a friend and a International disability rights leader, and of course, she is the widow of the great Justin Dart Jr. I told you, Yoshiko, not going to let people forget. And then to my friends around the world, wow, we're now in 18 countries from China to Saudi Arabia. China actually has the largest listening audience. I want to thank you, but for those new countries, even if you're one, that means a lot to me. When I see that data, even if it's one, one person makes the difference and spreads the news. And wherever you are, whatever country you're in, thank you. Very much, and please keep spreading, you know, the good news about people with disabilities. And as I already said, regardless what your faith is, happy holidays to all of you. And to my great friends from the State Department, where I have gone with them to, well, really almost all across Asia, but Richard Roberts, I love him, and I have been with him in South Korea and Japan and spent a lot of time in Okinawa, and he is just a wonderful person. And I was with Gangyong Cho in South Korea twice. He too is a great friend and a wonderful person. And Gangyong, I know you're listening. I love you. You're a great friend. Cheryl Harris in Tunisia. And by the way, guess where she's from? Beaver, PA, and now she's in Tunisia. But hey, thank you for being such a great partner. And to Ambassador Norland for Libya, taking that chance and making that happen. You are such a great person. And now I have new friends in Austria and in Nigeria. So to all of you, Thank you this entire year. Thank you, thank you. You've been awesome. You've been wonderful, and it means so much to me. And then to our lead sponsor for what it is, I think the past 6 years now, not a sponsor, lead sponsor is Highmark. And you know, I always tell people Highmark sets the high mark for other companies to follow. I love David Holmberg. I love Deb Reich Johnson. I love Cindy Andy Hunterfeen and Mick Malek and Dan Honorato and Larry Kleinman. And you know what? Just everyone, everyone across the board that I'm close to, you are a giant in the world of disability hiring people. And that's why, folks, in March, David Holmberg will be receiving the prestigious Corporate CEO Champion Award in DC. Many senators there last year. We had President Biden, and he deserves it. Let me tell you, he deserves it. As I said, they have been just a great partner for 26 years, and they still continue on in the same way today. I have to tell you, I was really excited about this show today. Really excited. First, I love the two people on And you're gonna see we have very exciting news we're going to be talking about. So I want to tell you now, remember, if you hear the show and you think, oh, I wish that parent of a child with a disability had heard this, go to Spotify. You can subscribe to the show Disability Matters with Joyce Bender on voiceamerica.com. And tell everyone you know. You'll see how powerful it is, what we're going to talk about. But I have today my very, very close dear friend, uh, Christine Kobus, who I call Chris Kobus, of course, who is also the founder of her own consulting company, Kobus Consulting, and she is the Vice President of Education for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and one of the most dedicated board, long-term board members, and the person that recruited me to the board of the CLO. She's just a phenomenal person, phenomenal. And Keisha, Keisha, how could this be possible? La lama. Is that okay?

You did it. That's correct.

Is the director of community engagements for Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, but also teaches dance. And let me tell you, Keisha, from when I first met her, immediately jumped on board about people with disabilities. Immediately. And I, I just think she's awesome. And I have a scholarship that will go out every year now that I'm just starting, well, that I'm adding to. So, you'll see, they're both just rock stars, they are. So, Chris Kobus, how about if we begin with you? Hi, Joyce. Hi, how are you?

Good.

You know I love you, Chris Kobus.

I love you too, Joyce.

So, how about if we start by you telling our listeners, your story, like, you know, growing up wherever, you know, and then along the way what happened. But first, most important question, how many cookies did your girls bake?

Oh, I, we made, uh, we made 19 kinds of cookies. Uh, I didn't actually do the math. Um, we probably make an average of, uh, 6 or 7 dozen for each of those. So there's a lot. It's a boatload of cookies right now. There's many cookies. I could probably see both of your listeners' cookies.

Yes, they have like a wonderful Christmas, uh, tradition. Chris's family and her two daughters who are awesome, uh, they all bake. Everybody bakes and makes these cookies. And remember, Chris, you have to get a box and freeze them for me.

We're going to bring some to you, Joyce, no problem.

All right, so, um, okay, well, Chris, you know, for everyone, for everyone in the United States and around the world, uh, let's start here. Did you always live in Pittsburgh, and how did you start your career?

I, um, I actually did. I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Shaler Township, uh, and, um, and then I lived in Pittsburgh my whole life except for the 4 years that I went away to Poughkeepsie, New York, to Vassar College, and then came back home and started a management training program at Dollar Bank, which is a local bank here, and moved up to work in marketing. Actually became the first marketing person at Dollar Bank and met my husband at Dollar Bank. He was head of accounting, and couldn't both kind of stay there, so I moved over to Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania, which was the predecessor of Highmark, who you've been speaking about in glowing terms. It is a wonderful company. And I was at Highmark for 17 years and started in marketing there and became the troubleshooter and moved around to a lot of different areas, including customer service and Medicare, ran two business units, and ended up as the senior officer, and I needed actually at the time more time for my kids and my family, and I had gotten enough varied experience in banking and in insurance to become an independent management consultant. So, I've done that since that time, and now I'm kind of mostly retired independent management consultant. I can do it when I want to, which is nice. I don't have to travel very much. But I spend kind of more important to this show, I spend a lot of my time working on volunteer leadership, and one of those is the Pittsburgh CLO. And I've been on the board at the Pittsburgh CLO for over 25 years, and I'm very focused on the education part of what we do at the Pittsburgh CLO, even though it's a musical theater company. We have a big, big education program, which we will talk about more. But that is— and I do a lot of other volunteer work in Pittsburgh, too. But for the purposes of today, that is the most important. So that is about me.

Yes, you have done a lot of community work. Now, Chris, how then did you get first introduced to the CLO board?

You know, the guy who was the president of Blue Cross at the time was a man named Gene Barone, and he was, he was very active, very believed in, in giving back. And he was on the board of the Pittsburgh CLO, but also on the board of many other places. And he said to me one day, he said, you know, I, I'm on too many boards and I can't really take care of them, and I know you're interested in music, would you be interested in being on the board of the CLO instead of me? And that's how— and I said absolutely. And so that's how I actually became on— became involved, and it's— and I've been really deeply involved since then. It's a great organization.

Now, did you already then have like a passion for music and musicals and Broadway before that? Before you got involved?

Well, you know, I really didn't do anything with musicals, but I've done a lot in music. I did a lot of sacred singing, a lot of singing when I was in school, and So, I was pretty musical, and so, I enjoy— you know, once you're in the arts, you like the arts. I love the arts, and I do believe that if you're involved in a community and you have the opportunity, that you should give back in a bunch of different ways, and one of those ways you could focus is on the arts and helping the arts in any community you're in because they certainly help that community. To grow and prosper, and they give energy and life to any community a lot of different ways. And so I really believe that the arts are one of the, one of the things you should give back to.

I agree, and I think every school, I think they have to have arts. I think that it is terrible when they think of cutting arts programs because that develops a person, character, imagination, creativity. I mean, I could go on and on, but I too believe that the arts bring so much to us, and I want to thank you, Chris, for recruiting me to the board because I do love the CLO. So thank you. I used to— I did go. My husband and I would go to Broadway way back in time. We even went to the Pantages Theatre in Toronto to see Phantom of the Opera. But I mean, I love musicals, so this is perfect for me. I love it. And Keisha, what about you? How did you— where are you from and what happened to you and how did— what is your current role at the CLO? And originally, what led you to theater, your interest in theater?

Well, thank you for having me, Joyce. Hi, Chris. You both know how much I love you. You've been tremendous mentors and and just giant inspiration in my life. So thank you both, and thank you for having me. I mean, for me, it's a very different path than Chris, of course. So I'm born and raised in Pittsburgh. This is my home. So glad that I could stay here and raise my own two boys, which has been such a tremendous gift for me. I was a gymnast and athlete first, and was always a choreographer, right? So I was always driven and inspired by music. It was huge in my world. In my family, in my life, in my home, in almost every aspect of our daily life, of course. And so, I was always choreographing and making dances when I was younger, and I think my first memory of choreography was correcting my gymnastic coach when he was choreographing part of my floor routine. He said, "What's wrong with you?" And I said, "It doesn't really go with the music." And he said, "Then choreograph it yourself," and I did, and I was 7. Wow. That was the beginning of my understanding of the arts and music and how it moved me. And so, I always, as much as I might have tried some different activities and sports and, I don't know, just different outside interests, I was always pulled back into dance and choreography. So, that took me to my college years, and I trained as a dancer in my undergrad at Point Park University. A few knee injuries deterred my performance career, but just kind of led me down the road of teaching sooner. And I, at 18, launched my own business where I was teaching dance and wanted to branch out, and I was always teaching dance and theater and really every aspect of the arts because I feel as if dance is only one component, but, you know, acting and music and singing really allow for confidence building, social skills, all the life skills necessary for young people to kind of find their way through life and, you know, their purpose and what they want to do. And so I, when I had my own business here in Beaver County right outside of Pittsburgh, I had always tried to encourage every aspect of the arts through education. And then fast forward, I got a phone call from Point Park University and they had asked me to come to teach. So, I started there as an adjunct. Throughout that time, from the time I was 18 until about 23, 24, I was still with CLO. So, throughout my college years, I was choreographing for CLO, participating in their summer camps as a teacher. I would choreograph some of the events. I would help and assist with the Dean Kozie Awards. I was certainly there for the award shows. Our field ball entertainment, big events that we had. So I had always been a part of the CLO. I was at Point Park University and I got a phone call to come down and interview for the Director of Education at CLO. And through that interview process, I, you know, was granted the opportunity to become the Education Director. And so I hold two full-time positions. One with the Pittsburgh CLO and one with Point Park University as a professor, but between the two of them, the consistency and I would say my passion lies within, you know, arts education, certainly. So, yeah.

Wow.

Well, we're very lucky someone made that phone call and that you joined us because you bring so much. You're such a good person, so I'm so glad that you did that. Well, Chris, as I told you the other day when we're speaking. We're so lucky to have the Civic Light Opera in Pittsburgh. I always tell people, we, we have more people that, that weren't like Gene Kelly and all these people, uh, that started or worked here in Pittsburgh, but that Civic Light Opera, I feel, is such a treasure and gift, you know, in the city of Pittsburgh. And I love it so much that I wondered if you would mind sharing with our listeners a little bit about the history of the CLO.

Sure, I can do that. It's called the— we kind of call it the Pittsburgh CLO because most people don't know what light opera is any longer. Back in 1946 when this started, light opera was the term everyone used for musicals, and they were just— musicals were really just launching at the time. And Edgar Kaufman, who was a great city leader and a person who— he owned a big department store in Pittsburgh, but he gathered a lot of— Pittsburgh at the time was very powerful because of the steel industry and had a lot of money. And he gathered people together and said, we need more culture in this town, and one of the things we do need is to have some kind of cultural life in terms of theater. They really didn't have any theater at the time. And so the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera was born, and they actually did it outside as what was called at the time a Straw Hat Theater because it was in the summertime at Pitt Stadium, if you can believe it. It's a huge stadium. They did it under the stars, and they performed it. Rained out probably more often than they were— than it was dry. But that's how it began in 1946. And then kind of fast forward, they built a large facility in Pittsburgh called the Civic Arena, and it was what everyone thought was actually built for hockey and those kinds of things, but it really was built for the Pittsburgh CLO to perform inside., and the dome actually opened. It was a big deal back in the day when they did that. We've moved since then to first Hines Hall and now to the Benedum Theatre in Pittsburgh, which is a— they are beautiful old theaters. And the main focus of the Pittsburgh CLO for up until like 1985 was really mainstage productions and getting that all set. In 1985, though, we realized we were a charitable organization, a 501, and we really had a responsibility to do more than just bring theater to town. We really needed to do some other things and realized that arts education was something that we needed to become a part of and started off with a program called Gallery of Heroes, which is a school assembly program we still do, which is we take a full musical, it's a 60-minute show about someone in history and take it to schools every year. Then we started the Academy, and that's— and what we'll kind of focus on, I think, today is the Academy in 1989. We have an Academy of Musical Theater for children. It starts at age 3, I think, and goes all the way up through pre-professional schools, and we help kids to graduate and go on to higher education or onto the stage right away, although we do encourage higher education. But through that academy, we've been able to launch a bunch of other education programs. And the program that we'll probably talk about more today than anything is New Horizons, which is a program specifically for people with disabilities. But the CityLab effort is very focused on two areas. Now. It's the mainstage productions, and we have a cabaret as well, which is a kind of shorter, smaller musical venue. So we do all those things, and in fact, we develop musical theater for Broadway, and we were the producer for American in Paris on Broadway most recently. But we do all those things, but education is a huge component of some of the things that we do. At the Pittsburgh CLO, and it actually has expanded over the last— the pandemic in a funny way allowed us to expand our reach because we went within 5 days of being live in session, we had to shut down our academy. Keisha and her people who work with her figured out how to do Zoom classes, and we were back up and running within a week. And we have been able to extend the reach of the CLO Academy through that. So, that kind of gives you the short version of the Pittsburgh CLO.

Yeah, we have some famous people that went there, like Billy Porter, right?

Absolutely. You want me to tell you the funny story about Billy Porter? Yeah. When we were starting a We— at the Academy, we started— actually, before the Academy, I think they started something called the Mini Stars. It was kind of the formative part of the Academy. Right at the beginning, we decided to try to get some kids together and to teach them and to allow them to do performances. And someone had told Billy, who went to one of the Pittsburgh city schools, had said, "You should go down there and try out." I think he was 11 years old. Keisha, you probably know more than I about that. But he was very young, and he went down, he snuck out because I think it was on a Sunday, and his mom always wanted him to go to church. But he snuck out and went down there to the place they were doing the auditions, and he auditioned, and everybody wanted him. He was very talented when he was young. They wanted him to be a part of this, and he asked, when do we have rehearsals? And they said, Sunday. He said, I can't do that, my mom would never let me miss church. So he started to leave, and one of the guys who still is involved ran after him and said, no, no, wait, stay here, come back. We'll work it out so that your mom won't be upset with you. And that's how Billy Porter started in the arts. He started with the Pittsburgh CLO as a mini star for us and went on to do wonderful, wonderful things. He's been a great friend ever since. We have a lot of other people, and Keisha can tell you, who graduated from the Academy who have gone on to Broadway or to Los Angeles and then do things on television and in movies.

That is just so awesome. That is so, yes, he is. I remember Kinky Boots. We were really lucky to have him. Yes, he is wonderful. But right now, oh, everyone knows that has listened to my show, which has been on 18 years. And you all know I'm a woman living with epilepsy, and Bender Consulting Services is our national for-profit company where we find employment for people with disabilities. And if you've heard me talking over the years, you all know who my favorite author is, and that would be Charles Dickens. And I have been so upset that with things going on in my life and, you know, with losing my best friend and just someone I love so much, Mary Brocker, who was the president of the company, I have not been there for 2 years for, you know, COVID and then this, and— but I will be there next year, absolutely. We produce—

The Musical Christmas Carol.

To see.

We have a wonderful production called— that we haven't talked about— it's called, uh, Musical Christmas Carol, which— yeah, Keisha, how many years have we done that? 25?

This is the 30th anniversary.

Oh, 30th. There we go, 30 years.

Yeah, this year is our 30th anniversary, so 30 years of performing a musical Christmas Carol. It's beautiful.

30 years, and I am of course having to miss this, but I want to tell you We're really like knocking it out of the park. Charles Dickens would be so proud of us. Keisha, tell everyone what we're doing this year since it is the 30th anniversary.

Sure, it's the 30th anniversary, uh, and I think what's most impressive to me is our new executive producer really wants to expand the idea of arts education throughout the community, uh, instead of traditionally thinking of arts education as academy training for young children. It's really about expanding the knowledge from every aspect, from our board members to our volunteers to our audience members to teaching people about behind the scenes at the construction center. Uh, the list is endless when you actually encompass the entire idea of what education really means, arts education, and how it influences my goodness, right, humanity and everything else that we're trying to do. Storytelling at its finest. Changing and impacting lives. And Mark Fleischer, our new Executive Producer, had this wonderful idea to really begin inviting the audience to participate in everything that we do from the moment, I think he said today, from the moment they hit the street Street to the Seat. So Street to the Seat, we want to give you an experience of theater and everything that theater allows, right? So he commissioned a brilliant work from the genius artist Jason Kantrowitz, and there are 75 Christmas trees in our lobby, which has turned into an immersive event celebrating 75 years of the Pittsburgh CLO. So there are 75 Christmas trees thematically designed and crafted for musicals that we have done throughout the 75 years. So there's an American in Paris Christmas tree, Guys and Dolls Christmas tree, Phantom of the Opera Christmas tree, of course a musical Christmas Carol Christmas tree, and It is extraordinary. Through this, we've also invited our community to come in and join us in different ways. We partnered with the Best of the Batch Foundation. The Best of the Batch Foundation is an organization founded by former Steeler Charlie Batch and his wife. She's amazing. Tasha Batch. Shout out to her. She is so fierce, and just one of the smartest, most passionate women I have ever met in my, in my lifetime. So much respect. And the two of them together had this dream years ago to, you know, really create an opportunity and provide an opportunity for children in their community in Homestead. And so we partnered with, with the Best of the Batch Foundation, and we did a toy drive. So they have what's called Batch of Toys drive, which provides Christmas toys for families in need during the holidays. So, we opened up the doors for people to bring a gift, and we actually had a staff wrapping party yesterday at the Foundation headquarters. And I think we've collected over 100 toys so far, which is great. And then, we still have the run, so I'm interested to see how many toys come in. But yeah, so, in addition to that, right, so, so far we've We've had this immersive tree experience, the Best of the Batch Foundation and toy drive experience. We've opened up the door for our choirs to come in from our, from our Pittsburgh CLO education programs. So our Academy students had an opportunity to sing before the show in the lobby. We also had our New Horizons students. The New Horizons students and families came in, and these are students with disabilities disabilities, and they were, you know, provided the opportunity to sing and perform in front of everyone before we went into the theater to enjoy the show. So lots of wonderful things happening. And in addition to that— I keep saying in addition— we are working on a sensory-friendly production for next year. We're teaming up with the Autism Center of Pennsylvania to provide a sensory-friendly production for all of our families and, you know, children and families on the autism spectrum. So we'll be working towards that to incorporate that component next year for 2022. So there are some wonderful— I'm gonna go with evolutions happening which are really inspiring and just wonderful.

Yeah. Oh, that is— and you forgot who's the star. Who's the star of the show?

Richard Thomas. I didn't even talk about Richard Thomas. Richard Thomas. I'm talking about all the other components. So Richard Thomas is Scrooge, and we have this new cast that has also come out, and it was refreshing, and just there's a new energy on the stage, and it's really, it's quite powerful, and the holiday spirit is definitely alive and thriving. Within the Pittsburgh CLO right now. It's just fantastic. Richard Thomas is amazing. He's just wonderful.

Well, I told Keisha, Chris, that since I missed it this year, that she has to have him come back next year because I missed this year. And I want to say, you know, when you were talking about that choir, we should do that, you know, out in the hall. We should do that all the time. You know what that reminds me of? If you go to a White House holiday party, throughout different parts they have choirs, you know, out there singing, and I was just thinking, wouldn't it be great if they could sing like songs for the upcoming musical? So here we are marketing on the show today, marketing ideas. But I want to tell you, I am like over the top. Okay, get ready everyone. You know I've been building this up and I don't have a drum here to have the drum roll, but the Bender Leadership Academy, we are happy to announce that next year there will be a launch of the CLO and the Bender Leadership Academy to partner. And what does that mean? That means Bender Leadership Academy Joyce Bender is a not-for-profit, as you know, that we have that trains high school students with disabilities about the world of work, about leadership, and about self-esteem. But it also teaches them how to deal with bullying, because I don't know if you all know this, but kids with disabilities are bullied more than any other group. And it wasn't— it was about 3 months ago that a young African-American girl with autism, 10 years old, they would call her the N-word at school, which is to me reprehensible. You know, I always say, oh, thank goodness I'm not at any of these things because I, you know, I'd be ready to have an explosion on the site. But in addition to that, they— she went to school one day and her mother said, Honey, why do you have that Febreze with you? And she said, because they tell me I smell. I want to spray, you know, the seats. Well, her mother went to the school, but this continued, brutally continued. And at the age of 10, she took her life. I hope you— everyone listening to the show, age of 10. That's what I mean about what happens to kids disabilities. So we have a new initiative, the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative, and with my partnership with Highmark and AHN, we're going to provide a lot of support to students that go through the Bender Leadership Academy. And so when Keisha told me, you know, like how they were having classes for the CLO virtually, I thought, oh, this would be so great if we could get involved. So in 2022, Bender Leadership Academy will be partnering with the CLO, and we will be sending students to the CLO, you know, to take these classes. And Chris and I are going to be sending a letter out so that all the donors and sponsors will know what we're doing, because I guarantee you there are many subscribers that have children with disabilities. And just think, for your child to be able to do this is just like so phenomenal. And already I've told people nationally, and they're like over the top, uh, that we're that we're doing something like this. And, and I am just beyond words, I'm so excited. So, uh, Keisha and Chris, I know you're both equally excited, but Keisha, before we go on, would you mind telling everyone a little bit about this class? Because we're going to raise money for this. Chris and I are donating, but we're going to raise money and we're going to— Chris and I are going to write a letter and it's going to go out to everyone, every subscriber, everyone at the CLO. And then of course we'll be telling everyone at Bender Leadership Academy, and we will be sending people to this class. And then Keisha, at our big event that Ted Kennedy and Dora Bush and everyone over the years has come to speak at, which is for Disability Mentoring Day at the Heinz History Center. It's a big deal with all of the corporations, uh, and we sponsor that. We are going to give a student a scholarship to the CLO class, and then we'll figure out how to have some entertainer come there to sing a song that night, but we'll do something. But Keisha, could you tell everyone about that class?

Absolutely. First of all, thank you. Your passion, support, and endless fight is extraordinarily— inspirational is the only word I can use, but you make a difference every day. And Chris Kobus Joyce Bender, you know how I feel about you. I love you so much. You both are a true force of change, and to be in this conversation with you is a tremendous honor. So, you make me want to be better, which is awesome. And through the years, the New Horizons program has grown and developed because of both of you. So, I just want to be clear and recognizing our conversations and how the program has developed through your leadership, through your guidance, and through your counsel. So I am forever grateful for that because these opportunities wouldn't exist without either one of you. So thank you for everything you do for the Pittsburgh CLO, and thank you for everything you do certainly for our community and students with disabilities. So thank you.

You're welcome.

The Pittsburgh Cielo. No, no, it's, it's a, it's must recognize the true force behind everything that's happening. So thank you both.

Yes, Keisha, I just want to say I wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't a Keisha. So the feeling is mutual. But go ahead, go ahead, Keisha.

You're the best, you're the best. So the New Horizons program offers classes for students, uh, whether they're on the autism spectrum or adults all the way through unlimited age, right? So it became, I think, very real to us that during the pandemic when we shut down with COVID the immediacy, the urgency to get online to ensure stability, consistency, and mental health, right? So to allow everyone on some kind of positive outlet in such a time of uncertainty was vital. It was necessary. It had to be done. So my team, who was awesome, Mike, Patty, Jim, I mean, I don't know what I would do without such a dedicated team of people who get it, who understand it, and who believe in every single thing that we're doing. In 4 days, we were able to transfer all of our classes from on-ground to, or, you know, in-person to online. And we realized at that moment that there was no way we were leaving our students with disabilities out of the loop. We didn't know how people would respond. We didn't know how they would react and if it would even work. And it worked, and it was awesome, and it was one of my favorite Zoom classes to jump in on and observe because no matter what had happened, the students and families and friends still had a sense of community. They could see each other on the screen, and so many of our New Horizons students find that our classes and their classmates and their peers and the faculty is their kind of second family. It's their second home. So then it kind of opened the conversation for What about people with disabilities who don't have transportation, who might not be able to get downtown for classes? Beyond COVID, when we do go back to in-person, how can we expand further? So through that conversation, we realized that Zoom allows us to reach so many more people and much further beyond what we could have ever, ever imagined. And so these possibilities you know, turned into opportunities. And now we're looking to reach as many people as possible. And to be able to bring the arts—we offer classes in acting and singing and dance through Zoom—it provides everyone an outlet, an opportunity to fill their spirit with joy. I don't know that I've ever seen so much joy and experienced so much joy that I have in a classroom with students with disabilities. And it's something that we are dedicated to making happen and grow and expand and looking forward to, you know, the conversations and partnerships ahead. Yes, it's so exciting.

It really is. Because just as you said— It's so exciting. You know, I'm loving every moment of it. I can tell. People with disabilities from anywhere will be able to do this. And that's why we want to make sure that we raise funds. And I might add one other thing. If you're not a subscriber to the CLO, boy, are you missing out. What is the website, Keisha, for the CLO?

Sure. It's pittsburghclo.org.

So Pittsburgh spelled out.

And then C-L-O dot org.

Pittsburgh C-L-O dot org.

I should tell, for those of you who are not living in even the United States but who aren't close by, Pittsburgh has an H at the end, so it's P-I-T-T-S-B-U-R-G-H C-L-O dot org. You won't get us if you don't leave the H on the end of Pittsburgh. This is true. But yeah, and And I have to say, one of the other things you should all know about the New Horizons program, and really anyone who can probably listen to this, and I don't understand the internet connections too well, but if you can get PittsburghCLO.org, I believe that you can take a CLO class, a New Horizons class. But I think one of the important One things of the important things about this is that so many people I know who have disabilities spend so much of their life in different therapies, doing therapeutic things, doing medical things, and you need to know that this is not a therapeutic class. This is a real acting, singing, dancing class that you can do and be a part of one of the things that a lot of people would like to be able to to do. And it's fun and joy, and it's a great creative outlet. And everyone should be able to be a part of the arts, and that was kind of the driving force at the beginning of the New Horizons program many years ago in 1996. We've been doing this for a long time. So our teachers understand the limitations sometimes and figure out ways to get around them. And figure out how to make this the most joyful and fun experience you could possibly have.

And what are— how is it working?

Oh, I'm sorry, Joyce.

No, no, go ahead.

Well, I was just going to add to that, just in regard to our faculty. Our faculty are trained actors, dancers, and singers. So the faculty are professional— professional working dancers, singers, and actors, and so it really is just a fun environment that allows for genuine development of the artistic skill set.

Yeah, that's what I love about it, Chris. I'm glad you said that because you know me, I'm all about no pity. So, when I say this is a class, a learning class, art art, learning the arts, whether it's, as Keisha said, dancing, singing, acting, whatever. This is the real deal. This is not sponsored by some medical association. You know, this is the real deal. This is it. You're being trained by people that, you know, have this background. And Chris, you told me you think it makes a change. In people?

In a person's life? I mean, anyone who has been in any of those kind of performance opportunities realizes you grow from them. I mean, you grow because you learn life skills just from being in the performing arts. You know, self-confidence comes from learning how to use your body, learning how to express yourself, Standing up in front of people, learning how to use your voice as best you can. All of those things give you poise under pressure, give you the ability to speak to an audience, how to present yourself in the very best light you can. And it gives you a lot of confidence. You know, bullying is harder on people who do not have self-confidence. If you have a lot of self-confidence, You can look past the bullying. You can say, "It doesn't matter to me because I know I am worthwhile." And I think that happens because of the collaboration that you have with the other people who are in the classes, collaboration that you get from being in performances, the, that positive self-image that you have. You learn teamwork. And you learn that you are good and you are good enough. And I think all of those Those things are so wonderful for anybody, disabled or not, for every person to have that opportunity, and most especially for people in the disability community because they have challenges that many of able-bodied people do not have. And this is a— I think it's just a great opportunity.

It's very exciting. It is. And I'm going to tell every—

Yeah, I'm so sorry.

No, no, go ahead, Keisha. I'm glad you're excited.

Go ahead. No, you know, I'm so excited. I'm so sorry. Us three in the room together, can you imagine us on a radio talk show? It's so funny. But I just get so excited, of course. But exactly what Chris is saying, the impact of the arts in and of itself builds such a strong sense of community. Community and acceptance, and that's what it does for everyone. And so that was the question from the very beginning is why aren't we including everyone, and it's very important to bring the arts to everyone. So yes, inclusion, like just community and acceptance, and that is the power of the arts.

Dignity. Pride. I agree with you 100%, I do, and I'm going to be saying this to everyone, and I'm telling all of you because— website again, Keisha?

Pittsburgh with an H, thank you, Chris. C-L-O. So Pittsburghclo.org.

Pittsburghclo.org. And as both have mentioned, Pittsburgh ends in G-H, not G. What I'm going to be saying to everyone, you know, 26 years ago, Bill Lowry, who was the CEO of Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania, and during his tenure, you know, they merged and when we became Highmark, and, you know, he wonderful, great man. So, you know, I wrote an op-ed about him when he passed away. And why is I told him, Bill, I have this dream. I want to start this company, but I need someone to work would you agree to bring on 6 people with disabilities with a 3-year contract just so I could get started? It took them one day, one day to say yes. Now, when I'm in Kazakhstan or one of these countries, I say, "Bill would never believe it," from that one decision. So I'm going to say this to everyone about this partnership. Your one decision could change a life, save a life. Your one decision to support this. You cannot believe the impact. At these classes, just when I speak to them at the beginning and tell them how awesome they are, I mean, imagine this, they, oh, they will be so thrilled, so proud. You, when you hear me talk, are going to hear me say, In life, you make a decision, one decision that could impact other lives. This is it. This is it. So as you're thinking of the year-end, make sure you're thinking of the Pittsburgh CLO. And I'm assuming, Chris, if you want to be a subscriber or donate, that there's somewhere on the page you can go to, right?

Right, right on the front page, pittsburghclo.org, there's a button that says Donate Now, and you can click there. There's also, you'll see across the header, a thing that says Support. If you want to look at all the ways you can support the Pittsburgh CLO, you can look there. The other thing that is interesting to look at for those listening and want to be a part of, of actually being part of the class, go to the Education tab and look at New Horizons. And you can see the classes that are available. And I know that there is a way to email us, and if you're interested in getting involved, if you want to take classes online, you can do that, and we'll find a way to get you in. And that's the exciting part about this. And the other thing is, and we've talked about this a lot, sometimes people can't come all the time or any of the time, in-person classes. So you can take them Zoom. If you have the opportunity to come to Pittsburgh after you've been taking these classes for a while and want to stop, come to actually meet people in person, that's available too. So, you know, so we would love to have people taking classes and come once a year or once every 6 months or once every month if you're taking it online and be able to come in and do some things in person or just to meet people in person. So, I think there's a broad array of things that we can do here, and so everyone can get involved. And obviously, we would love donations to the education program to help the New Horizons. You can specify that that's where you want to donate your money to, and we'd be more than happy to have that because it'll be used for good purposes, obviously.

Yeah, we're going to continue. We're going to come back in the first quarter of next year to tell you more details and about the launch and when the launch will be and how we already, already are getting people so excited about all of this. Chris, is there any other message you would like to leave with our listeners today?

You know, I would just say that the The performance arts are really for everyone regardless of your abilities or talents. And they help, I think they help us to become our best selves and to present our best selves to the world. They are a wonderful way to experience team building, collaboration, those wonderful things that we have talked about already. And at the CLO, Pittsburgh CLO, we want everybody to have that opportunity. And New Horizons Access is a great way for people in the disability community to become a part of the performance arts and to experience that which they may not have been able to do before. We're so excited to be able to bring that kind of learning to people who have not had the opportunity to have it before.

And remember, share this show with other people. Tell everyone about this. Keisha, before we close, is there anything you'd like to say?

I mean, we, the CLO, are completely dedicated to reaching as many people as possible. It is vital that we expand and reach and grow, and any help is tremendously— just, uh, we'll be grateful for any kind of support we can get, honestly.

Oh, you— you wait, we're off and we're off and running. Well, thank you two very much for being with me today. Chris Kobus and Keisha Lalama, I am thrilled to have UNB partnered with you. And we end every show with a quote, so you know it has to be— no, has to be a musical, right? And here's the quote, and I'm going to use this quote for this partnership. Ready? There's a million things I haven't done yet, but you just wait. From Hamilton. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. See you next week with Maria Town, Perry Jude Radesik, talking about what is going to happen next year, these disability rights leaders, what they hope to see next year, and Holly O'Donnell, the CEO of Baselon, will also be with us. So remember what I said, everyone. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, whatever your faith is. Here we go. Christmas Day, just 1, 2, 3, 4 days away. All right, talk to everyone next week. And in Mary Brocker's words, Everyone, choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.