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WIB-National: Inclusion for People With Disabilities – What You Think You Know and Should Consider
January 27, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Commit to becoming leaders among leaders in the disability inclusion space. You will have the unique opportunity to hear directly from deeply engaged leaders on this issue, including Former Congressman Tony Coelho, the primary author, and sponsor of the ADA; Joyce Bender, a female founder and internationally recognized leader in disability employment; and Ted Kennedy Jr., a leading health care regulatory attorney for over 20 years, who since June 2017, has served as Chair of the Board of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). The discussion will be moderated by Laura E. Randa, a WIB leader who serves as Chief Executive Officer for Randa BioPharma Solutions.
This national webinar is a continuation of WIB’s virtual event we hosted during the BIO Convention last June. We will be offering best practices related to hiring people with disabilities and why that is important. We will also break out into smaller groups with our speakers for a round-robin conversation of experiences and insights. Please plan to join us for this important conversation.
Program
5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Pre-event polling questions
6:00 p.m. – 6:05 p.m. Opening Remarks
6:05 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Keynote speaker
6:30 p.m. – 7:25 p.m. Rotating break out rooms with our guest speakers
7:25 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
Speaker Bios
Joyce is the Founder and CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. and the Bender Leadership Academy, located in Pittsburgh, PA. 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.
Experiencing a life-threatening accident due to epilepsy that caused a cerebral hemorrhage requiring subsequent brain surgery. This accident changed the trajectory of her life and led to founding Bender Consulting Services, Inc. in 1995. She serves as the Vice-Chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities, as a Trustee for The Bazelon Center on Mental Health Law, 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 is Chair of the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA.
Joyce has served as a disability employment expert for the U.S. State Department in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Panama, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia and has been featured in periodicals including Reader’s Digest, New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Chicago Tribune. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Geneva College and hosts the radio show, Disability Matters with Joyce Bender on www.voiceamerica.com. Read more of Joyce’s bio here.
Tony is a former United States Congressman from California, and primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. By 1994, the US Census Bureau reported that some 800,000 more people with severe disabilities had found employment than were employed when the bill was first enacted.
In March 2009, Tony was named as Chairperson for the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC). In this capacity, Tony works to amplify the voice of the Partnership’s diverse members, including patients, people with disabilities, their families and caregivers, racial and ethnic communities, and the elderly, among others. Tony is also currently the chair of the Disability Council for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), founder of the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation at Loyola Marymount University, and serves on the Boards of Directors for the American Association of People with Disabilities and the Epilepsy Foundation.
Ted represents many of the foremost health care investors and entrepreneurs that are transforming the health care delivery system. His clients also include corporations seeking ways to modernize their policies and practices relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to hire more people with disabilities, engage the disability marketplace, and make their organizations more diverse and inclusive.
A pediatric bone cancer survivor and amputee, Ted continues to be an active leader in the movement to expand opportunities for persons with disabilities. Since June 2017, Ted has served as Chair of the Board of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), one of the country’s preeminent civil rights and public policy organizations dedicated to social reform and equal rights for people with disabilities. A trusted advisor, Ted counsels employers on best practices and ADA compliance. One of AAPD’s signature programs is the Disability Equality Index (DEI), now the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. The DEI scores and tracks businesses on their disability employment, accommodation policies, and socially responsible corporate practices. Read more of Ted’s bio here.
Laura Randa, Moderator
Laura is a global commercial executive who maximizes top and bottom lines in tight-margin environments by elevating people, processes, and organizations’ thinking to new levels. A transformational leader and valued member of executive teams, she has been recognized for providing practical, sustainable solutions to business challenges that impact large-scale, complex commercial operations. She is adept at designing and implementing customer-centric commercial strategies for driving growth and blends deep subject matter knowledge, big picture perspective, and keen business savvy with a transparent, engaging, and collaborative approach to deliver results in key performance areas.