Disability Matters

Disability Matters

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.

Episodes

November 25, 2025 52 mins
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Joyce welcomes Nanette (Nan) DeTurk, executive level leader with financial, strategic, and operational expertise in health care, insurance, and consumer product/service industries, to the show.
 
As the retired Executive Vice President, CFO & Strategy, Highmark Health, she will be discussing her extensive career in the healthcare industry. Additionally, Ms. DeTurk will discuss her commitment to finding talented people with disabili...

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ENCORE PRESENTATION of May 27, 2025, Joyce welcomes Dr. Louis Olander, Ph.D., Director of Research and Veterans' Initiatives at Disability: IN. As a veteran and advocate, Dr. Olander will share his work with Disability:IN,...

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As we enter National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Joyce welcomes Landis Wiedner one of the leading voices in epilepsy today. She's the founder and host of What the EF?, a top 10% global podcast which, was recognized by the California State Legislature with a Media Excellence Award. She will be discussing the latest advances in the treatment of epilepsy for those that are living with the condition.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

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Responsible Joyce welcomes Molly Burke, a multi-hyphenate creative and advocate who uses her voice—on stage, on screen, and on the page—to educate, entertain, and drive meaningful change for the world. With over 5 million followers across social media, she has built a globally recognizable brand as a speaker, content creator, author, consultant, and model.
 
Diagnosed at age 4 with Retinitis Pigmentosa—a rare degenerative eye disea...

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Joyce welcomes Melissa Anderson, Executive Vice President, Chief Auditor & Compliance Officer at Highmark Health to the show. She serves as the primary staff liaison to the audit committee of the board of directors for Highmark Inc. and Highmark Health.

She will discuss her support of the Bender Consulting Services, Inc. partnership with Highmark Health.

 

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

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Joyce welcomes back to the show, Scott Hammerstrom, Manager of Programs and Partnerships with Bender Leadership Academy. Joining Mr. Hammerstrom will be Emily Burkhart, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Officer at Dollar Bank and Laina Fusarelli, Business Controller (Operations Leadership/Innovation/IT) & Capital Planning Leader, Nova Chemical Corporation.

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Joyce welcomes Joy Matoney, Vice President, Diversified Businesses & Growth Planning and Enablement at Highmark, Inc.
 
She will discuss her stellar career at Highmark, Inc. and her commitment to the Bender partnership to hire people with disabilities.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

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Joyce welcomes Congressman Steny Hoyer and former Congressman Tony Coelho to the show. They will be discussing the 35th Anniversary of the ADA and what progress has been made over the years and what has not been fulfilled.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

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Joyce welcomes Mark Fleischer, Executive Producer, and Brady Patsy, Community Engagement Manager, with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO) to the show.
 
Among the topics discussed will be current Pittsburgh CLO programs, the history of the organization, its partnership with the Bender Leadership Academy, and its plans for the 2025 Production of A Christmas Carol.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights

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Joyce welcomes back to the show, Scott Hammerstrom, Manager of Programs and Partnerships with the Bender Leadership Academy and Gerald Homme, Manager of Talent Acquisition for Bender Consulting Services, Inc. 
 
Mr. Hammerstrom will talk about Bender Leadership Academy  and its resent golf outing in memory of Mary Brougher and plans for the upcoming Disability Mentoring Day, Wednesday, October 22, 2025.
 
Mr. Homme will share the n...

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Joyce welcomes Tim Hindes, CEO of Trailblaze Creative, to the show. Mr. Hindes leads a dedicated team in delivering marketing and creative capacity solutions to mission-driven organizations who share a passion for community-building. across North America.
During the ...

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Joyce welcomes Jeanette Towles, Founder and CEO of Synterex, a Disability Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE). 

Synterex is the home of AgileWriter.ai™, an AI-enabled authoring platform that prioritizes accessibility and gets your important information to the intended audience, be it plain language or technical content. 
 
Ms. Towles will share her background as a seasoned and dedicated medical writer with extensive medical/regulato...

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Joyce welcomes Tom Doran, President Highmark Health Plan at Highmark, Inc. Mr. Doran champion's the voice of the customer and members within the organization.
Among the topics discussed will be his commitment to help people with disabilities maintain their health so ...

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Joyce is honored to have back as her guest Christine Griffin, a strong disability rights advocate and current Bender Consulting Services' Senior Search Specialist Consultant on the show.
 
During the show, she will be discussing her long career which includes her past work as Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management during the Obama Admini...

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Joyce welcomes Craig Leen, K&L Gates Partner, President-Elect of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, GW Law Professorial Lecturer in Law, Former OFCCP Director at the U.S. Department of Labor, and Former Coral Gables City Attorney to the show....

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Joyce welcomes Marcia Oglan, Chief Human Resources Officer at Allegheny Health Network and Senior Vice President of Enterprise Human Resources at Highmark Health to the show.

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Joyce closes Disability Pride Month, with Veronica Villalobos, Vice President of the Institute for Strategic Social and Workforce Programs for Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network. She strives to ensure the workforce enables belonging and health access is achieved among members, patients, and communities in PA, western...

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As part of Disability Pride Month, Joyce welcomes former Senator Tom Harkin back to the show. Senator Harkin will reflect on the significance of the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. 
 
Senator Harkin will share his thoughts on the work that still needs done to advance the lives of Americans with disabilities. Also, he will discuss the work of...

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Joyce welcomes Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health back to the show.  Since 1972, the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has advocated for the civil rights, full inclusion and equality of adults and children with mental disabilities.  Ms. Mathis will share how the Center was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990) and played a key role in ...

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