Joyce Bender
Joyce Bender is the Founder and CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and the Bender Leadership Academy. Her focus for both organizations is employment for people with disabilities. As a woman living with epilepsy and hard of hearing, she dedicated her life to a crusade for youth and adults to gain the dream of competitive employment. She works tirelessly to break down the barriers and stigma that exist for people with disabilities. In 1985, Joyce had a life-threatening accident due to epilepsy that caused a cerebral hemorrhage requiring subsequent brain surgery. Against all odds, Joyce recovered from this accident that left her with a 70 percent hearing loss in one ear and a realization that she had epilepsy. This accident changed the trajectory of her life and led to founding Bender Consulting Services, Inc. in 1995. She serves on boards for the American Association of People with Disabilities (Vice-Chair), The Bazelon Center on Mental Health Law (Trustee), World Institute on Disability (WID), the National Advisory Group for National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), Homeless Children Education Fund, Variety the Children’s Charity, Civic Light Opera, Disability Rights of PA, and the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA (Chair). Joyce has served as a disability employment expert for the U.S. State Department in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Panama, Kazakhstan, Libya, and Tunisia. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Geneva College.
