Watt Fuel Cell Corporation:Commited to Employ Disabled Workers

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.

Hello everyone, hope you're having a great day in the United States and around the world. Let me take a moment right there. And thank, oh my goodness, there were 19 countries listening to the show last week, 19. The largest being in China, and thank you so much. But every country, thank you so much for listening to the show. One person can make a difference, no matter who it is. And a special shout out to Yoshiko Dart, And to— oh, we're talking about around the world. Hey, I have some Champion friends around the world. First, Richard Roberts, who is in Japan, Gangyang Cho, who is in South Korea, Cheryl Harris in Tunisia, and Venyamin in Kazakhstan. Now, why do I mention these people? Because the first 4 All work for the embassy. They all work for the State Department. And you know what? They're fighting the fight all the time for quality of life for people with disabilities. And then Gang Yong, he's a disability rights advocate in Kazakhstan. So I've been to these countries and I admire all of you very much. Yoshiko, the reason I gave you a shout out is because we will never forget the late, great Justin Dart, your husband. And then the sponsors, oh my goodness. Highmark is going on, I believe it's the 5th year as the lead sponsor. And Wells Fargo and the Employment Options. And may I just mention, Last year, Peoples was a one-year sponsor, but I really should say Morgan O'Brien was, because that's why it happened. Morgan O'Brien, one of the best people I know, a CEO who cares, a CEO who cares about people with disabilities, just all around a great person. So Morgan O'Brien, Chairman of the Board of WAT— Fuel Cell. Welcome to the show.

Hey Joyce, it's a privilege to be here and I'm really excited to have this conversation with you.

Well, we are too. And you know what, since we do have listeners throughout the world, what if we start, Morgan, if you don't mind, sharing with our listeners a little about your background in the utility industry and your current role. And then after that, what fuel cell is.

Sure. So I've spent probably nearly the last 30 years, just about 30 years in the utility space. Spent almost 20 years at Duquesne Light Company, which is the electric utility that serves Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. 8 of those last years were as chief executive officer, CEO, of the company. And most recently, I spent the last 10 years as CEO of Peoples Gas, which is a gas utility serving Western Pennsylvania, including the city of Pittsburgh. So I'm a Western Pennsylvania person. I've been born and raised here. I'd say I've not only spent, you know, my professional career, you know, dealing with, I'll call it, the whole evolution of what's happening on the energy side, but also, you know, engaged in the community, understanding that, you know, as any business that serves a region, your prosperity is tied to you know, the fortunes of the region. So we've been, you know, a long-time person engaged in what's happening here in Western Pennsylvania, particularly obviously on energy issues, but even broader social issues. You know, so last March, Peoples Gas was acquired by Aqua America, which is a publicly traded water utility out of the Philadelphia area. And as part of that transaction, I moved on. So when the transaction closed in March, I ended my term and career as CEO at Peoples Gas. And, you know, since then I've stayed engaged with a lot of— I'll call it the initiatives that I was involved with as CEO there, you know. I chair the United Way campaign this year. I'm working with still the Pittsburgh Chamber and the Allegheny Conference as well as the, you know, other organizations around the region. But in addition to that, we had partnered with a startup company through our relationships with the folks at CMU, a company called Watt Fuel Cell. You know, for me, it was, I'll say, one of the more exciting businesses that I've been associated with. A fuel cell is basically a— it's the technology itself has been around a long time. It takes energy like natural gas and converts it into electricity without any combustion. So there's no fire, you know, that normally you would think of in a power plant or in a boiler in a manufacturing plant. There's just a chemical reaction that converts the gas into electricity. And because of that, it's much more, you know, responsible. It has significantly lower, almost zero environmental impacts to the conversion of the gas into electricity. And what Fuel— they took what I would say is a proven technology and have really begun developing a product that you could use in your home. So you could literally put one of these fuel cells in your house, and instead of buying electricity from the grid, which is powered by all kinds of various power plants, you could create the electricity in your home right there on site. And these fuel cells are if you could picture the size of your home computer. It's very small and, you know, would probably fit in like your basement. And similar to your hot water tank and your furnace. And, you know, from a— so from an environmental standpoint, it's a huge improvement from buying electricity from the grid where you've got big power plants that burn energy and then you have energy moving through power lines. With lots of energy and other environmental impact. You're now creating it in your home, so it's much more efficient, and it's right there at the source. So very little energy is wasted. There's almost no environmental impacts to it. And then from a resiliency, which, you know, if you think of everybody working from home, kids being schooled from their homes, losing your power is much significant in these days and in this setting than even before. But even before, with all the technology we use, you know, having your lights on all the time is becoming more and more important. So the fuel cell basically keeps the lights on all the time. And if anything would ever happen to the fuel cell, you can then, you know, have the electricity sitting there from the grid. So it creates like a natural backup facility for your house. And they also create fuel cells for recreational vehicles so that when you take your RV off into the woods and the mountains and go on your trip and you don't have any connection to electricity, you could turn the fuel cell on and power the RV in a very responsible way. So it's, it's an exciting technology. It's early in its development. There are, you know, I'd say a handful of these out in homes being tested as we speak. The goal is by the end of this calendar year 2021 to actually have a product that can be sold to the public. So this is truly a startup company. It's exciting. It's sort of disruptive to our current way of using energy and obtaining energy. And for me, it's, you know, keeping all of the skill sets that I've developed over the years and, you know, trying to help, uh, I'll say, a group of really smart people develop their business plan.

Wow. Now, now, just so my listeners understand this, so there's a— is there a manufacturing site where this fuel cell devices made? How does this work?

Yeah, so, you know, today— so this is, it's still in its, you know, we would call it testing stage, right? So we don't have a product that we actually sell to the public yet, but through a partnership with Peoples Gas, we are actually testing these in people's homes. So they are literally, like I said, about a handful of homes that these have been placed into, including a couple of, I'll call it facilities that Peoples Gas owns. And so they're, you know, going through making sure, you know, that it works, it's safe, all those good things. The company is located in Westmoreland County. They— it's a group of folks who, you know, this is a great Western Pennsylvania story for us. They started this company in New York. They came to Western Pennsylvania. They were actually purchasing a bunch of assets from Westinghouse that used to have an old fuel cell manufacturing facility. And they were going to take basically the old plant facility assets and move it back to New York. People here didn't want to see, you know, that business go away and made a proposal that these guys couldn't say no to. So they came here and set up shop, you know, about a year or so ago. And they're, they're tightly aligned with Carnegie Mellon University. They do a lot of their research and development with, with CMU. And so it's truly, while it's not considered an offshoot from the CMU team. It's still a close partnership, makes being here in Western Pennsylvania even more sense. So they don't currently mass manufacture this asset yet, but that's something by the end of this year we'll be prepared to start doing that. And it, you know, in almost all likelihood it will be here in Western Pennsylvania.

That is so exciting. You know, isn't it amazing, Morgan, how many startups. I realize this is not, but how many companies have come out of Carnegie Mellon?

Yeah, I mean, it's—

well, this is a startup, right?

Yeah, no, this is, and it's, it's just a great asset here. And, you know, and the fear always is that we get these startups and they go out to Palo Alto or down to North Carolina and they go to these you know, I'll call them sexier places, but it's nice to see when they, you know, the, I'll call it the great thinking and all the interesting things that happen at CMU, actually you get to watch them, you know, create businesses here.

I want to tell you how I know they'll be successful is because they have you leading it. That's how I know. I mean, I cannot tell you what a good man he is. For all of those, uh, around the world listening, especially people with disabilities, I've got to tell you, there isn't one time that Morgan has not stood behind me when it comes to any initiative helping people with disabilities. So this is a CEO, a chairman that really walks the talk. He really does, and that's one of the reasons I think so highly of him. So you can put this company on your list of good companies for people with disabilities. Hey, Morgan, the way you're talking, then there's many ways this is going to benefit the environment. Is that correct?

Yeah, I mean, so, you know, today Nearly all of our electricity is purchased and used off of the electric wires that we have. And that's in this country and around the world. The idea of having— I'll call it these— it's almost a microgrid inside your house. This is fairly revolutionary and really forward-thinking. Yeah, this is the biggest— I'll call it the biggest change is not only the fact that it doesn't burn gas. So today in a power plant, we put gas into a big power plant that creates a lot of electricity for thousands of homes. They burn the gas. And you'll see, you know, there's the smokestack where the heat from the the fire in the boiler where the smoke goes up into the environment. And obviously that's, you know, that's an environmental impact that creates concerns for a lot of people. This technology, it doesn't burn the gas. It actually literally comes into your home and through a stack of ceramic cow creates a chemical reaction that creates the electricity. And so there's no burning of gas. There's no smokestack where, you know, gas is being put up into the atmosphere. So that's, that's huge. That's a huge change. And the other thing, which, you know, we don't talk a lot about, is that energy is lost. And as you burn it at these power plants, about, you know, half of the energy is going up the smokestack out into the environment. And then the electricity that you do create travels far distances from where the power plant is to where your house or your business is. And as it goes across those power lines, energy is lost. Not all of the electricity makes it from where it started to where it ends up needing to go. And so there's— that wasted energy, you know, has environmental impact. So when you add up the cost combination of burning gas going up a smokestack to the impacts of energy being lost through the— just the normal distribution system that we have in place around the world. Those two factors, it's a significant improvement from where we are today on the environment. Like, it's a couple— two or three times better from the environment, as well as, you know, our— the goal of this is to be, you know, economic as well. So it'll be resilient, your lights will stay on, it'll be environmentally positive, but also be economic for you to have this versus buying off the grid.

Wow, you know what, this is amazing to me. How revolutionary is this? I mean, this is really Awesome. How many people work at your company right now, Morgan?

So yeah, I mean, it's a startup company, Joyce, so we've got— and most of these are folks with PhD degrees, right? These— this is not a big manufacturing process yet, so we probably have up to about 30 people. And again, many of them are advanced degree folks who are designing and working up design issues and really setting the stage for when it becomes more of a manufacturing process later this year.

And then what do you anticipate the size to be at that point?

Yeah, it's, you know, a lot depends on the, you know, how quickly the product gets out into the market and gets accepted. You know, the interesting things, right, because this is what the world is, you know, the manufacturing process is basically a big 3D printer. So I don't know if you've ever seen a 3D printing process, but it's not a lot of people involved. It's very technical, and, you know, it basically replicates an item and creates that item using computer technologies. So it's— everything about this is, you know, literally beyond state of the art. It's, you know, looking at the future world. But, you know, the reality is we would expect, you know, hundreds of jobs eventually being created here with, you know, a lot of opportunities here that, you know, to be part of a company that's changing the world and disrupting the energy world in a really positive way here in Western Pennsylvania. So, you know, we think it's obviously going to be exciting. And, you know, we've— I've learned the lessons, right? You know, the 30 years I've had in the utility space of how important a workforce that really is committed and you know, sort of owns what they do every day and then supporting a vision around that is really critical. So this, you know, building the workforce will be a really important part of this more in the second half of this year, but still really, really important to come here.

Well, I know you'll include people with disabilities when you look for talent because, You know, when I've done work for the NSA or Department of Defense, they would hire people from us, mathematicians, engineers, PhDs. It's just people don't realize they're out there. So I'll be really excited, you know, when this takes off. And I've got to tell you, I think it will take off more than you think. I really can see this being something big. I'm so excited for you, Morgan.

Yeah, you know, and, you know, we— I have the— I'll call it the blueprint. You know, when we were running Peoples, you know, we had the opportunity to create jobs here in the region. And, you know, so 10 years ago, we brought a call center that had been outsourced out of state back to Pittsburgh. And we, you know, purposely went about staffing that with, you know, diverse employees. And at the time, the outsourced provider was one of the worst, call it, performers in the state of Pennsylvania for utility call center. And, you know, 10 years later, we, you know, through focusing on minorities, people with disabilities, really a cross-section of folks who really had been left behind. We built a, I would say, a call center with people who, you know, really valued that job. And 10 years later, when we look, you'll see that we had the lowest turnover. And a big part of that turnover, the lack of turnover, were having people who really valued the job, right, who that job meant a lot to them. And not only that, but saw it as a career path. And so we became more diverse and more successful in the quality of service by focusing on diversity. And a lot of those folks got promoted. And so we were more diverse at the management level because we helped develop those folks. And so, you know, I'll call it the importance of a company and a business understanding what jobs mean to people who are diverse and with disabilities and, you know, have other challenges, that how important that is to them and what it means to them and their ability to really value that job and the, from a business perspective, the company is the beneficiary of that, you know, from not having to refill those jobs, retrain people, invest in the, you know, the turnover challenges that most companies have. And, you know, I— those lessons stay with you forever. It's not a Harvard Business Case, but it's the Morgan O'Brien business case. And, you know, the folks at Watt clearly understand and appreciate, you know, especially anything where you, you've spent training and quality is really important to have that, I'll call it lack of turnover and people who are committed to what they do here. And so there's no question in our minds being both diversity and color and race and religion and all the, all the, I'll call it all the, flavors of diversity, plus, you know, ensuring that we are a place that welcomes and embraces folks with disabilities. That's the, the business case for that is one that, you know, it's, as I said to you, I completely have seen it and witnessed it, and there's no question in my mind about it.

Well, you know, thank you for making that clear to a lot of the business leaders who listen to this show, uh, because as my listeners know, this show is on demand, and so thousands of people listen to it on demand. And if you are a business person, keep in mind Morgan has been the CEO at these different companies, is now the chairman at this company, uh, so you heard it from him. So true, those words are. Um, well, okay, we're almost to our break time. As you know, we have a break on the half hour at every show with our anchor person, Perry Jude Radesik, who has done a phenomenal job for us and is presently the CEO of Disability Rights PA. So Perry, are you with us? So, what do you have for us today, Perry?

Well, I don't think we should get too far into other issues without discussing the terrorist activity that was focused on the U.S. Capitol last week and how it impacts disability policy. And I think that's an appropriate topic. I mean, we face turbulent times. Strife. And we're only 12 days into this new year, and we face the possibility of more protests and extremist activities in our state capitals across the country next week and in Washington, D.C. So, let's bring this back to disability policy. What does this mean? And how do we move forward? And, It means that there's still not a national plan for really ending COVID-19, and the attention is focused off of disability policy while our nation has to face this constitutional crisis. So we always talk at Advocates Matters, what can you do? Well, first, I think we have to condemn the insurrection, and this is completely different from the right of people to disagree, assemble peacefully, but to actually move to overthrow the first branch of our constitutional government or attempt to harm our elected officials, I think, is just a step too far, and we have to condemn that. It's jarring to watch that insurrection happen on television, and, and so we have to condemn Second, we have to focus attention back on disability policy because, again, it shifted disability policy out of sight and out of mind in the middle of a pandemic that is impacting our community just so deeply. It's taking the lives of people of color and people with disabilities in disproportionate ways. So, I also think we have to think about emergency emergency plans, those of us who are advocates and work in the field, think about emergency plans through this time period. You know, we heard stories of members of Congress with disabilities who were having a hard time being evacuated at the U.S. Capitol. So, what are the plans that legislators have in place, that our state capitals across the country have in place to evacuate people should there be violence, as, as is projected. So, at Advocacy Matters, I think hope lies in all of our hands. I think hope lies in your hands, and we have to communicate with our elected officials now. Let's start our advocacy with a phone call or an email. You can go to www.house.gov or senate.gov for a list of all the members and their contact information. You should let them know that you condemn that insurrection, not the peaceful right to protest, but the insurrection, and urge members to get back to the business of supporting people with disabilities through an issue like the pandemic. And so, Joyce Bender, that's the best we can do at Advocacy Matters today as we are still reeling from the events of last week?

Well, Perry, I too am reeling from this. I have to tell you, as a citizen of the United States, truly this was people that, in my opinion, were treasonous. It was sedition, uh, it was murder, it was desecrating And something you said that I did not think of is, of course, we are still dealing with thousands of people with disabilities dying during this time, and we will somehow have to keep our eyes on that in the midst of who knows what is going to happen with the inauguration. But in addition to that, I'm glad you brought You brought that up. I did not think about that, that there are people that work in the Capitol that are in wheelchairs or that are blind or who are deaf. And what happens to them if they— if there's a situation where they have to be evacuated from the Capitol? That's a really good point. And we all have to make sure that we don't think about it, but that we speak now about it. And Perry, I hope you'll keep us up to date, you know, on what happens and what's happening to people with disabilities as we go through all of this.

Absolutely, Joyce, and thanks for having us on the show.

Of course, thank you. You know, I know that's true because, uh, Senator Duckworth is in a wheelchair Congressman Langevin is in a wheelchair. I mean, there are people that have disabilities that are in our Congress. But right now we have to— I've told employees and people with disabilities, please be careful January 20th because I know this is supposed to hit all the capitals in our states. So please be careful and know that we believe in the power of democracy. Well, Morgan, um, what a time, what a time. We never thought we'd see the coronavirus. We never thought we'd see this. It has been an amazing 2 years when you think about it. Morgan, I have to ask you a question. As I said earlier on the show, you have always been a proponent of people with disabilities. Why, why is that? Like, why is it important to you?

You know, I mean, I think the, the first, the simple and you know, the sincere of who we all are, right, is that one, it's the right thing to do, right? I mean, treating people with dignity and respect and providing opportunities to people is just, it's absolutely the, just the human and the kind of, I'll say the kind of people we all want to be. And so, you know, that's one aspect of it. The other is, and, you know, I really try to force this with other business people, is there's an incredible business case around it. You know, I look at, you know, how expensive it is for a business to have a lot of turnover. And there's lots of businesses that deal with that all the time. You invest in employees. You train them. You know, you go through a great deal of effort to screen them, as you know, Joyce Bender, to make sure, you know, their background is what their background is. And then, you know, to do all of that and invest all that and to see them, you know, moving on to other jobs, you know, where those opportunities present, you know, is just— it's expensive for a business to do. And so to get a group of people who, you know, one, have all the skill sets and training, I'll call it the tools necessarily to be successful, but then to understand and to see how much they value that job and how much they value, you know, the company and the embracing of what they provide. And really, you know, they become role models. For people all around them. And so, you know, to me, it starts with the human side. It's just the right thing to do. But secondly, and, you know, I think that gets more and more people thinking about it, there's an incredible business case that says, you know, that people with disabilities, the return on those investments we make in employees is significantly higher and with greater certainty that those people are going to value that job because it means so much to them.

Yeah. Now let me ask you this question. So you feel like that, but still today it's almost going up to 80% of people with disabilities are not counted in the workforce.

Yeah.

What— why are you so different? Why are you different than other CEOs?

You probably need another hour show to know the answer to that. But I think it's, you know, and the good news, this is the good news, I see it more and more. And I know, you know, you recently had David Holmberg and there's some really, really good people out there that just, you know, value people and that become models. And what I've said, Joyce Bender, you know, I think hopefully people listening to this broadcast feel this way too, is that, you know, we can't— you can't— I can't solve all of the world's problems. And no matter how big your organization is, you know, in the grand scheme of things, it's typically just a small movement of the needle to extend your you're able to do something positive. But I think we can all be, call it models, and to be a light for other people to look at to see, okay, you know, it's funny, somebody said to me, how did you, how'd you get your turnover so low at Peoples Morgan? You know, and so that gives me a chance and an opportunity to explain the business case around both the diversity issues and the hiring folks with disability. And so I think there's a real opportunity for everyone to differentiate themselves in a positive way from a valid business perspective to invest and really recognize the value of everyone, and particularly the people with disabilities. And again, everything's a return on investment in the business world, and I don't think there's a greater return of what a company, a business leader, a department manager, you know, take it down to whatever the lowest level is. If you embrace it and become a model for others, either in your company, others in your, the area that you work, or if you're sitting at a CEO level, see, All of us can be role models for others that, you know, others will want to follow when it's successful. So I'm, I'm still optimistic that, you know, we're, we're, we're, there's progress being made. It's never fast enough and it's never great enough. But, you know, I'm half, the glass is half full here. I think I see more and more people understanding both the business case and then I think the, I call it the human side. Side of why this is an important issue for all of us. And I do see, I'll say, more and more people wanting to be leaders and really role models for others to show them the business case around doing this.

Why is that though? With you, I mean. Where— was this instilled in you, this feeling of including all?

Yeah, I mean, so I was, you know, my parents, we were, call it a lower, at best lower middle class family. My father was an immigrant here. And he taught us from an early age to respect everybody and respect how important a job was. And that it wasn't an entitlement, it was a gift. Whether you were sweeping floors at the grocery store in the summer, moving furniture in the, you know, as a part-time job while I went to college. Every job we had, it was, it's a gift and treat it like a gift and be appreciative and understand that every worker, you treat them with dignity and respect because of that. And, you know, it just— then it just follows, right, that when we think about that, you know, whether it's the security guard in your building or the CEO who lives in the penthouse or everybody in between, everybody's job is important and everyone should be valued. And, you know, and then you apply that to people and you see, you know, once you see You see it. I think that's the part I really try to explain to people. If you see people with disabilities and how important their job is to them and the commitment and real dedication that they bring to the workplace, that is really, I'll call it, infectious so that others around them, they become sort of role models for others. And once you see that, it is just, I think as a human being and as somebody who just respects all people, that just, it stays with you. And you cannot ever go back to, I will call it being ignorant and not understanding that and just being not aware of how important this issue is. Yeah.

Well, as I said, You are a special person. So you listen, that's for sure. Hey, Morgan, I know you love Pittsburgh. For all of our listeners, what would you say are some of the best reasons to live in Pittsburgh?

You know, I'm a huge believer in Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh, I would I would say to everybody listening that we are just hitting our stride. And, you know, this pandemic shook everybody's, you know, economic stability off its four wheels. And so, we're all, you know, just getting our feet back under us. But I think the future of this region is really exciting. And I think we, you know, truly have business leaders and community leaders who work together. That, you know, we're going to be successful and continue to grow the region with jobs and opportunities, but do it in a way that I think is the right way and the only way, and that's to be inclusive. And I think, you know, the secret to Pittsburgh, which makes it unique, is that, you know, I think it's a, you know, an area that, you know, a lot of us came from the working class. And, and, you know, we appreciate and value hard work and the importance of what a job means to every one of us. And so solving a lot of the social issues that are going on in the world, whether, you know, it's Black Lives Matter, whether it's, you know, just the separation that people feel from everything that's going on nationally, that, you know, part of that and not the entire cure is to give people a job that builds dignity with themselves and others and provide opportunities for those careers to continue to grow. And I think, you know, people in Pittsburgh embrace that and support, I'll say, across the board of inclusion. You know, we're not perfect. And we've got a lot of challenges, as you could describe. But I do think it's a— we're a community of people that care about each other and really, you know, work hard at making this a better place for our kids and grandkids. Because, you know, the one thing that happens in Pittsburgh is people tend to stay here because it is a welcoming place and a place where you feel your neighbors, cares about you. But so that means your kids are going to be here, your grandkids are going to be here. And so a lot of us, our legacy is that we have a vested interest that, you know, we get better. We make, you know, next year we're better than we were this year. And 5 years from now, we're even better than we are now. And I think that type of sort of community engagement around, moving important issues like disability, like diversity, like inclusion, all that moving, moving that forward, you know, it's exciting. And I think, you know, like I said, it won't solve every problem we have, but I think, you know, I've seen, and I think all of us recognize that, you know, giving people a job with dignity and the opportunity to expand that career will solve a lot of our social problems.

Right, and I would say about that, you know, Pittsburgh people are great people. They really give back. It is a city that people give back. In addition to that, I mean, we have opera, symphony, museums, national museums like the Warhol and the Aviary and the Heinz History Center and great restaurants and Carnegie Mellon. You know, you could go on and on, but we really have a great city. We really do. Hey, I'm going to give you a minute to talk also about the United Way. Uh, you said you're the chair, so why don't you tell our listeners the United Way helps many people, and wow, I guess it really would be needed right now with what's going on in this country with the pandemic. Uh, but why did you agree to chair And, you know, what do you like about the United Way? Why do you think it's so valuable for this region?

Yeah, I mean, I've been a longtime supporter and really advocate for the United Way. It's, you know, on the utility— as I said, my background is in the utility space. And, you know, a big part of the mission of a utility is, you know, as a society is, you making sure that everybody's lights are on and their homes are warm in the winter, even if they can't afford their utility services. So we have a strong, I'll call it, social service aspect to a utility business. And understanding that, so I would tell people at the United Way, you know, we deal with one portion of a person's life challenges. They can't pay their utility bill. But if you think about it, right, and the employees I have that were dealing in those issues, you realize that if you can't afford to pay your utility, chances are you're having trouble paying your rent. Chances are you're having trouble getting food. Chances are you're having trouble getting access to medical care, right? It's like if you're missing one of the issues, chances are those challenges aren't just your utility issues. And so I got engaged early on in helping bring about— it's called 211, literally the number is 211. It's a helpline for people with social service issues. And so if you don't know who to call and you you can't find food for your family, or you can't pay your rent, or you're having trouble with your utility bills, you call the 211 hotline, and there are trained caseworkers who answer those phones, and they help connect you with resources in the community. And, you know, for me, it was the idea that if somebody's calling Duquesne Light or Peoples Gas and they can't pay their utility bill,, you know, you didn't want the call to end there. And so we started becoming a partner with United Way to say we'd like to transfer those folks after we deal with the utility issue to 211 so that they can help deal with the, I'll call it, the holistic challenges that people in economic challenges have. And so this year, you know, it's an incredible year, so you've got, it's the It's a perfect storm. You've got many people unemployed. So if you think of where United Way gets most of its funding, a lot of it's through employee campaigns. So a lot of companies and a lot of people who typically donate to the United Way were being let go, being let furloughed, dealing with their own economic challenges. So the— I'll call it the pool of dollars available to help became less. But then the need became greater, right? Just for that same issue that typically there are a number of people in our society that, that need help. And so United Way is there to help them. And this year right now we're going through, that population is bigger than ever before with more people unemployed, more people who never had to in the past ask for help to feed their family, or where am I going to get my rent payment, or how do I get medical services when I'm not working? All those questions, you know, so the need is greater than ever. And, you know, and as I said, I ended my full-time job at Peoples and, you know, knew this was going to be a big lift and an important year. And, you know, I still have, I'll call it the ability to connect with companies and you know, get people, I'll say, excited about potentially helping their neighbors and helping people in this community. And so for me to volunteer to chair the campaign was, you know, an easy one because I got it. I knew how important this is. And this year, as I said, I think it's probably the most important year we've had with the number of people that need help, many of them never having had to ask anyone ever before for help. And then also the challenge to raise money when a lot of people are, you know, having their own economic challenges. You know, it was— I knew it was important and I couldn't possibly not want to be a part of it.

Well, are you worried, Morgan, about the ability of people to give, or are you more going to corporations?

So I'll tell you, so we're, you know, the campaign is sort of in the throes, and you asked, you know, why earlier, what's so special about Pittsburgh. What you find is that when the need is real and growing, people step up. So, I'm going to, you know, throw out some company names here in the region. PNC completed their employee giving. This is where employees dedicate, you know, some portion of their salary to give to the United Way, and they do it every year. They had a significant increase in the amount of money that people are now setting aside just because people are aware of how great the need is. You know, I can, I can say Highmark has had a successful campaign. A number of our, you know, sort of the pillars of our community, UPMC, have really stepped up and their employees have stepped up and are giving more. Which is really uplifting, right? And so we actually think we are going to have a— I mean, I am a glass half full, so I start with that. I think we are going to have, you know, a record campaign as far as contributors. Everyone who has given, we have asked them to step up from what they have done in the past because of the need. And I think the need is so obvious to everyone that you do not have to You don't have to, you know, sell it too hard. People get it. And it's just, it's actually probably one of the most uplifting things I've seen is that across the board, executive level, middle management, you know, union workers, all stepping up in their own way, you know, giving from what they've given in the past increases. So, it's, Again, to me, it's what makes Pittsburgh special. And I think it's something we'll all be proud of when we get the campaign finished. There's still some challenges as companies deal with their economic challenges, but overall, there's just so many positive twists that we didn't necessarily expect going into this that It just makes you feel good about who we are and what we are as a community.

I think you will have a record year because Pittsburghers come forward when you need them. We had a great year this year at Bender this past year. Yeah. And it's for that same reason that when people say, hey, I care about people with disabilities, or hey, I care about the United Way because you reach out and help so many different constituents. So I would encourage everyone to participate. And as I once again, having you at the lead, we know it'll be successful. So Morgan, what message— first of all, thank you so much for being with us today. What message do you have for our listeners?

You know, I think, um, you know, we as a community and as a nation and as a world, right, we dealt with so many issues this year. And I think, you know, the— we're coming close to the end of this pandemic with the vaccine now rolling out. You know, we've got a new day beginning in Washington, you know, with a new leadership team that's stepping into place here. You know, it's easy to focus on all the negatives and the challenges that each of us have had. But I think 2021 is going to be an exciting year and full of, I'll say, growth and opportunities. And I think it's inherent in all of us that when we look at opportunities and growth that we are inclusive and that one of the most important audiences we have are those with disabilities. And I would build the business case for anybody out there that says if you invest with somebody with a disability, you will get that— that'll be the highest return you could have as far as investing in new employees. So I'm incredibly optimistic and excited about what the future here is going to bring. And I think for all of us, you know, our best days are ahead of us.

Absolutely agree. We end every show with a quote, and today that quote is, "It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people," said Martin Luther King Jr. This is Joyce Bender. America's Voice: Where Disability Matters at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you all next week.

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.