Mission of Pittsburgh, PA Disability Inclusion Consortium
March 10, 2020
Hosted by Joyce Bender
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
Joyce welcomes Megan Grabski, consultant and project manager, and Heather Sedlacko, director, of programs for seniors and people with disabilities at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania to the show. In addition to sharing their prospective roles at United Way, they will discuss the Pittsburgh, PA-based Disability Inclusion Consortium. Led by Giant Eagle, FedEx Ground and the United Way of Southwestern PA, the consortium is made up of 30+ Western PA employers who are making it a business imperative to hire more people with disabilities. These employers have discovered successful ways to leverage an untapped talent pool to satisfy their hiring needs and realize business benefits. This year marking the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Ms. Grabski and Ms. Sedlacko will share what they think still needs to be done to see the unemployment rate drop for people with disabilities.
Disability Matters
Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
Competitive employment and empowerment for people with disabilities is the emphasis of this show. Broadcast live and captioned in real-time for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, we discuss how people with disabilities can secure career opportunities, and how employers, organizations and individuals can support employment and empowerment of people with disabilities.
Joyce Bender
Joyce A. Bender is the CEO and president of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. Bender Consulting recruits and hires individuals with disabilities, across the United States and Canada for competitive career opportunities in the public and private sectors. In 1985, Joyce survived a life-threatening accident caused by a misdiagnosis of epilepsy. Due to her personal experience living with both epilepsy and a hearing disability, she founded Bender Consulting Services, Inc. in 1995.
Joyce is the past-chair of both the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the national Epilepsy Foundation. She has received awards from both the Bush and Clinton administrations.
Joyce speaks across the United States and internationally representing the State Department on informational exchanges related to disability employment best practices. She has represented the State Department in programming with Panama, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Libya, and Tunisia.
Show Links
