Human Potential At Work

Mr. Ichiro Kabasawa, Executive Director of the Nippon Foundation, joins the program to discuss the work that the foundation does to further social change and innovation. He discusses the various ways in which the Nippon Foundation is supporting disabled people to live dignified, fulfilling lives in which their latent talents and possibilities can fully develop.

Martyn Sibley, CEO of Disability Horizons, discusses the bottom line impact that disability inclusion has on businesses and brands. He reveals how brands can start on their journey towards inclusion, and addresses some of the fears that keep them from getting started. 

As we begin the new year and new decade, Debra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Impact, reflects on the past year, and shares what she is most excited about for the coming year. She also shares her thoughts about some of the potential challenges for 2020 and beyond and how we can address them. 

Dave Steele, award-winning poet, author, public speaker, singer, and advocate for the blind, joins the program to share his story and journey. He also reads some of his poetry on-air! Don't miss this moving special holiday episode. 

Crystal C. Rivera, Program Officer for Special Projects at the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s Office of Financial Empowerment, joins the program to discuss the importance of financial empowerment for persons with disabilities. Discover why self-advocacy and empowerment are the first steps to achieving true independence, and shares details about EmpoweredNYC, a public/private initiative that offers free, tailored and confidential one-on one financial counseling to New Yorkers with disabilities and their families.

This episode features an interview with Rosemary Musachio, Chief Accessibility Officer at Ruh Global Impact, and LaMondre Pough, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ruh Global Impact, as they share their personal and professional perspective on caregiving. You'll hear powerful stories from Lamondre and Rosemary about their good and not-so-good experiences with caregivers and some of the systemic changes that need to happen in order to improve the quality of caregiving for persons with disabilities. LaMondre also reveals a new media initiative that will highlight and amplify diverse voices.     

In this special episode, Debra Ruh is interviewed by her producer, Doug Foresta, as she discusses the importance of including the community of persons with disabilities in the conversation about artificial intelligence. Discover some of the ways in which A.I. will impact job development, the economy, and even the criminal justice system. 

Rebecca Palpant Shimkets returns to the program to discuss the work that she is doing around reducing the stigma of mental illness particularly for cancer survivors, and addresses myths and misconceptions about cancer survivorship. Discover some of the unique challenges that cancer survivors face when it comes to mental health, and why additional support is needed for survivors after they have completed cancer treatments. 

Debra is joined by Tim Danks, Vice-President of Risk Management and Partner Relations at Huawei Technologies. Discover the challenges and opportunities that come along with emerging 5G technologies, how Huawei is creating a global supply chain, and the need to work collaboratively and cooperatively on developing standards for critical infrastructure. 

Debra is joined by Tim Danks, Vice-President of Risk Management and Partner Relations at Huawei Technologies. Discover the challenges and opportunities that come along with emerging 5G technologies, how Huawei is creating a global supply chain, and the need to work collaboratively and cooperatively on developing standards for critical infrastructure. 

Debra is joined by Tim Danks, Vice-President of Risk Management and Partner Relations at Huawei Technologies. Discover the challenges and opportunities that come along with emerging 5G technologies, how Huawei is creating a global supply chain, and the need to work collaboratively and cooperatively on developing standards for critical infrastructure. 

This episode features an interview with Margaux Joffe, an award-winning producer and Associate Director of Accessibility & Inclusion at Verizon Media, a Global Media Company with brands such as Yahoo, AOL, Tumblr Huffpost, TechCrunch and MAKERS. Margaux discusses the Kaleidoscope Society, a community that she founded for women with ADHD.     

Jonathan Thurston, Head of Accessibility, Director of Product Management at Pearson, joins the program to discuss the work that Pearson has done to create accessible education resources. Discover industry trends, as well as challenges and opportunities when it comes to creating content and finding partners. 

Kunal Mahajan, Vice President, Leveraged Finance / Financial Sponsors at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, joins the program. As a child growing up, Kunal began stuttering at the age of three and continued to stutter throughout his life. Kunal shares his journey of spending much of his life feeling insecure about his stutter and struggling to gain acceptance. Kunal shares tips about what to keep in mind when speaking to someone with a stutter, and lessons he has learned from his own journey.       

Nick Corby, Director at Equal International, joins the program to discuss his experience co-creating the Disability Consultant's Group, and what led him to create the group. Nick shares his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing those doing disability inclusion work, and the benefits of creating a community of practice. 

This episode features an interview with Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden, Professor in the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Director of the Trace Research & Development Center at the University of Maryland. Dr. Vanderheiden is the principal investigator of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Information Technology Access, and a co-principal investigator for the RERC on Telecom Access funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Most recently, Dr. Vanderheiden initiated and co-leads an international effort to create a Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) that focuses on lowering the cost to develop, deploy and support access technologies and to make special access features available on demand, anywhere, any time, on any device. 

This episode features an interview with Shaholly Ayers , Model, Activist, Brand Ambassador for Global Disability Inclusion, and Meg O'Connell, CEO and Founder, Global Disability Inclusion. Shaholly shares her story of breaking into the modeling industry as a person with a visible disability, and the work that she is doing to change the way that society views and perceives persons with disabilities. Meg shares her thoughts on the work her company is doing to break down the barriers of exclusion. 

This episode features an interview with Caroline Casey. Caroline is the founder of The Valuable 500, BINC, Kanchi and the O2 Ability Awards, and is also an international speaker and adventurer. A social entrepreneur, Caroline set up The Aisling Foundation (known today as Kanchi) in 2000, with the aim of changing the way people think about disability.  In this episode, Caroline discusses the importance of accountability for leaders and the need for leaders to tackle disability inclusion in every organization. She also reveals her own journey towards becoming a business disability inclusion  advocate. 

This episode features an interview with Samanta Bullock, Activist, Ambassador, Model & Influencer.  Dedicated to inclusivity and with a background in fashion, Samanta is actively seeking to improve the presence of minorities in the media, with personal projects and collaborative campaigns geared towards raising awareness.  Sam has been a paraplegic wheelchair user since 1992, after being struck by a bullet in Brazil as a teenager. Undeterred by her obstacle, the model and sportswoman continued to work in fashion, fronting brand campaigns, featuring in magazines and modelling collections on the catwalk.  Samanta discusses some of the unique challenges of inclusive fashion design, as well as the challenges and opportunities of her work in general.     

This episode features an interview with Karen Tamley, Commissioner for the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) under the Mayor of Chicago. Discover the ways in which we can use technology and data to make cities more inclusive and accessible to all.