July 21, 2023 • 41 mins
Ross, a seasoned veteran with 17 years of service, suffered an injury during his time in the military. As he transitioned into the civilian workforce, he participated in numerous workshops aiming to translate his skills effectively. However, it wasn't until his career counselor at the Department of Veterans Affairs introduced him to Inclusively that he realized what had been missing all along.
Reflecting on his journey, Ross expresses, "I felt like I was exerting tremendous effort to align myself with employers, rather than finding a mutual meeting ground." Ross faced additional challenges due to his service dog named Perrin, his reliance on various assistive technologies, and his limited mobility stemming from his injury. When creating his profile on Inclusively, he swiftly realized that this platform provided what his previous experiences lacked—an opportunity for open and transparent conversations about his disability and the accommodations he requires.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Michelle Way (00:03):
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Estela (01:30):
Hey everyone, we are back for another episode of the
Embrace it series.
Hey Lainey, hi Estella, hieveryone.
We are excited to bring youanother powerful guest from the
disability community.
His name is Ross Barciacchi.
Am I saying that correctly?
Ross Barchacky (01:50):
It's Barciacchi, but don't worry, the CH makes
an SH sound, but it shouldn't.
Estela (01:55):
Well, we are so excited to have you on.
I know we've had a fewconversations in the past, but
we would love to share theincredible work that you are
doing.
But before we get started, Iwanted to just share with
everyone that you are the headof partnerships at Inclusively.
You are a relationship builder,a DEIA warrior, a disabled
(02:17):
veteran and a speaker.
So welcome, ross.
Ross Barchacky (02:19):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure and an honor tobe here.
Yeah, I give a quickintroduction about myself.
You know, as Estella said, I'mRoss Barciacchi.
I'm the head of partnerships atInclusively, which is a
workforce development platformthat's designed to match
individuals from our communitywith employers that are sort of
going the extra mile when itcomes to disability inclusion.
(02:41):
A little bit of background on me.
I did not start out incorporate America, in the
startup world.
I was actually a service member, joined when I was 18, spent 17
years total in there and endedup thinking that I was going to
go and work for government.
Afterwards, you know, moved toDC, go work for an agency pretty
much the traditional route.
I was about 15 years in and onan airborne operation and, as I
(03:06):
tell it, the wind shifted beforemy feet touched the ground on
my head touched first and endedup spending the next 18 months
in one of the Army'srehabilitation facilities out in
Washington state at Joint BaseLewis McCord had sort of come
into Jesus moment while I wasout there.
As far as the things that I thedirection I thought my life was
(03:28):
heading in wasn't necessarilythe path of least resistance
anymore.
You know, I had my wife and Ithere's a whole nother story to
get into another time but we hadfive kids in one year.
So we went from being, you know, just the two of us to having a
good number of otherindividuals that were relying on
(03:50):
us for support.
And so, you know, militarytransition in and of itself can
be a very stressful time for aservice member, especially one
that's been in for almost twodecades.
But then add on top of that adisability that's going to
require workplace accommodations, maybe having to look into
changing career fields, and nowhaving to worry as well on top
of that about benefits, right,so that's what we take for
(04:11):
granted in the service.
But you know, I know, out herenow in the civilian world is
much more stressful situation.
So sort of juggling all of that.
I started throwing applicationsinto the wind, you know, trying
to utilize the skills that I hadgained over the last almost two
decades and applying that insome way.
So I did probably load a lot ofpeople.
(04:32):
You know I was a recruiter, soI put myself down for sales, and
I, you know, was a manager fora long time, or a leader, so I
put myself for operationsmanagement.
I just wasn't hearing back Inthe few people that I was
hearing back from, as soon as Imentioned that I needed
workplace accommodations, now Istopped hearing back.
Right, I have a service dog now, I use assistive technology.
(04:52):
My memory is better than whatit was, in all fairness, two or
three years ago when I startedmy job search.
But, you know, letting anemployer know that, hey, I might
need reminders, right, I mightneed you to follow up, I might
need, maybe, a running documentto show where my tasks are that
we can both, you know accesslike a Mondaycom board or
something like that.
All of a sudden I wouldn't hearback, you know, and so I
(05:15):
thought there has to be a betterway.
I was sort of venting myfrustration to my counselor that
I was working with at theDepartment of Veterans Affairs
that was helping with mytransition, and he turned me on
to, inclusively, that you can gocreate an account and get
matched up with employers thatare specifically looking for
people from this community and Ithought, well, that's cool, you
were, you know, in the service,as you said, for two decades,
(05:39):
clearly not only able-bodied but, like you know, superman kind
of powers, because you are nowmilitary trained, physically
active, you know.
Lainie (05:48):
fit all of that, what was it like to then have a
disability?
I mean, like you know, you hadall these kids to be responsible
for, but you yourself dealingwith leaving the service and all
that, what about just dealingwith life with the disability?
Ross Barchacky (06:03):
Earth-shattering is the only way that I could
probably put it.
You know I didn't mention I waspart of the special operations
community, so I'd worked reallyhard to get to where I was in
the military and invested a lotof time.
I joined the military with aGED.
I ended with a master's degreein security.
You know, like security studies, I just I had put in a lot of
(06:24):
work to where I was and thenliterally in an instant it was
over.
You know, that path that mylife was heading down, as I said
, was no longer the path ofresistance, or maybe it wasn't
the thing that made sense.
Estela (06:36):
So what was that recovery process?
Like you said, you were inrehab for 18 months.
That is a significant amount oftime.
Where did you start off?
What kind of rehab did you have?
What skills did you have toregain Sure?
What were some challenges andinternal, you know shame or
doubt that you were feeling.
Ross Barchacky (06:56):
Yeah, most of the effects of my TBI that I had
were they had to do with mymemory.
They had to do with, like myfilter essentially thinking
before I spoke.
You know, it wasn't as bad ashaving to relearn to walk and
things like that.
I did suffer physical injuriesas well.
(07:17):
The TBI is what really made itto where it was the military's
decision to not keep me.
But I also have my hip as fused, my spine on my left side.
I have, you know, just wear andtear up 20 years in the
military I have.
I have a ton of stuff.
So it was a big, a big sort ofadjustment.
I worked with really a holisticteam.
They have an interdisciplinaryclinic there at JBLM that their
(07:41):
soldier recovery unit has accessto.
So it was physical therapy,occupational therapy,
acupuncture, chiropracticmassage, yoga.
I mean it was this reallyholistic sort of thing.
It was great.
I have nothing bad to say aboutthat, except for the fact that
COVID hit Like three monthsafter I got there, and so when
(08:06):
that happened, that clinic shutdown.
They tried to do stuffvirtually and, like many of the
rest of the infrastructure ofhealthcare you know, they just
found that it was lacking, andso part of the reason I ended up
staying there so long was dueto that, due to trying to figure
stuff out, barriers, to carethings like that.
But then also I went throughsurgeries, there was actual
rehabilitation time and thenthere was also the mental health
(08:29):
piece, which I don't talk abouta lot if you've heard me talk
anywhere else.
But I spent a considerableamount of time in therapy, in
and out of facilities, becausethe military, all these
deployments enough for stressand now you talk about that
earthshattering moment and stuffjust started falling apart.
Lainie (08:50):
So, like you mentioned before about having the struggle
of having to find a job,someone who would even hire you,
obviously now we're talkingabout after COVID, which is now,
for people with disabilities,somewhat better in that you know
there were more, there are manymore virtual opportunities for
(09:10):
people and which helps peoplewith chronic illnesses and
disabilities.
Obviously.
Yeah.
Yeah, so where does inclusivelyfit in?
How did you find them and likewhat are they?
Ross Barchacky (09:21):
doing.
Sure, yeah, so I think I leftout you know I was talking to
the counselor at the VA hadbrought me to inclusively, I
came.
I came here as a job seeker tofind, you know, my opportunity,
like most people do, and endedup getting about halfway through
the profile creation and sayingthis is what I've been missing.
You know, like most people thathave a disability and applied
(09:44):
for work understand what I'mtalking about with the do I
disclose?
When do I disclose?
How much do I disclose, youknow, in order to get what I
need but not lose out on the jobright to not be taken out of
the running.
And this just put all thataside, you know.
Just it took it out of theequation.
So I actually reached out toinclusively and it's like I love
what you all are doing here.
(10:04):
You know, do you have anythingavailable?
They just happened to be hiringfor their first sales
development rep, which is anentry level sales position, and
I remember I was a recruiter.
You know I can do that.
I'd love to go spread the wordabout what you all are doing and
it just sort of took off fromthere.
I now head up theirpartnerships.
I moved over from the businessdevelopment side and sort of use
what I learned from the painpoints that the employers are
(10:25):
having around disability hiringand applying that to the
organizations that are alreadyout there doing the work and
figuring out how we can meet inthe middle to find these
individuals meaningfulemployment.
Estela (10:36):
And what are some of those pain points that employers
are having, that's keeping themfrom hiring people with
disabilities?
Ross Barchacky (10:45):
Here I mean, I think, is, you know, the biggest
one and it's the one thatnobody talks about, right, it's.
You know people try to say,well, it's a money thing, or
well, they don't have the rightskills or things like that.
But at the end of the day, Ithink it comes down to risk
management.
Right, you have perceivedperceivably no benefits to
hiring someone with a disability, but a lot of risk, right?
(11:08):
It also hasn't been done before.
Everyone also is talk tosomebody who has a horror story
about it, or a legal team or acompany that's gone under or had
a big public suit.
Why would they?
Right, Like what's in it forthem?
There's so many other diversityinitiatives out there that are
high profile, that are visible,and it's such a lighter lift
right, so to them, they'rechecking those boxes and DEI
(11:29):
without having to dip their toesinto this area.
Another reason I think they'rehesitant to do it is because
it's hard to measure.
There's so many you know, withHIPAA and asking what questions
you can ask around disclosureand getting people in the
workplace, that this goes.
Go, look at, pull the top 10,you know, like this DEI reports
for any Fortune 500 company andit's a very small percentage
(11:49):
that has anything about peoplewith disabilities, because they
can.
Even the successful companies,even the companies that are
doing it really well, still havetrouble getting every employee
to get rid of all their negativeexperiences and come out and
admit that they need help, toadmit that they have something
that they need accommodated.
Lainie (12:06):
Someone might have done a whole TED Talk on this subject
.
Estela (12:13):
How do you break down those fears and really start to
show the benefits, and what arethose benefits and what's your
experience been with opening theopportunities to these
companies and to these employees?
Ross Barchacky (12:25):
Yeah, when we first started reaching out, you
know, like I said, I came on thebusiness development side, so
I'll conduct a lot of initialoutreach and a lot of the
hesitation that I heard fromemployers was well, we're not
even ready to start thinkingabout talking about having the
conversation about disabilityinclusion.
You know, like we got to have ameeting on the calendar and all
this stuff right, and our modelover here, inclusively, is just
get started, just do it right.
(12:47):
So I would say the answer tothat question is we meet
employers where they are intheir disability journey.
There's no judgment, we don'tcare if you're not even at ADA,
right, we applaud the fact thatyou're willing to start, because
everybody has to startsomewhere and it is a journey.
If there's no endpoint, there'sno finish line, there's no
winning.
You know, there's just selfdevelopment, learning in the
(13:07):
evolution of your organizationto put these individuals into
the mix.
And so you know, a big part ofwhat we do just starts with that
sort of information changingthe way that they're thinking
and then also reassuring them,comforting them, like you said,
that we're in their corner, thatwe're here sort of.
Is your insurance policy rightto make sure that you don't just
do this, you do it right, right, and that, even if something
(13:28):
comes up because stumblingblocks come up, I don't care if
you're, you know, just new tothis or you've been doing
disability inclusion before.
It was cool.
You know we want to make surethat you have everything that
you need to be supportedtraining, coaching, consultation
, ongoing support throughout thehiring process.
So we're a little bit different.
We're more hands on than a lotof the solutions out there that
(13:48):
are just going to match you withtalent and improve your
diversity.
You know our name is veryintentional with inclusively,
because without you know if yougot to build it and then they'll
come, and I think a lot ofcorporations try to solve for
inclusion by increasingdiversity.
Lainie (14:02):
I mean, your brand list is amazing.
It's so impressive the you knowenormous and amazing companies
that are you're partnering withFor our listeners who may be
looking for a job, you know, ifthey go to your website, what do
they do Like, what can theyexpect?
Ross Barchacky (14:23):
Sure, so they can go ahead and create a
profile as a job seeker.
It's completely free.
A lot of it's going to be veryfamiliar to a lot of the other
job sites that you've been on asfar as your work experience or
education, things like that.
Where you're really going tonotice a stark contrast is when
it starts asking about what youneed for accommodations
accommodations for the interviewprocess, accommodations for
actually in the workspace andthey're going to help you.
(14:45):
There's drop down menus andselection.
You can update it as you go.
So whatever you need in themoment, at that time you can let
the employer know, and thehiring managers and recruiters
have been trained to have thattransparent conversation about
that.
So they're going to understandwhat you're talking about when
you say screen reader or timeblocking or things like that.
So it's not like you're goingto have to wait until they get
(15:07):
compliance on board and things.
So they can go in, create thisprofile and then they can just
start getting matched withemployers.
And that can happen.
Really, one of three ways Oneare all of our employer partners
are active on the platform sothey're able to go in and
actually recruit from theplatform, so they can take a
look at our candidates.
So you always want to make surethat your information is up to
date as possible so that theycan find you.
(15:27):
The other way is through activesearching.
So any candidate can go inthere and search any employer,
any position, and go ahead andconnect with them through there,
based off of what industry theywant to get into, their
experience and whatnot, location.
And then the last would bewe've actually developed an
algorithm specifically for thispopulation to take out the
barriers that exist in a lot ofother hiring processes, like
(15:49):
with applicant tracking systemsand screening protocols, that if
it sees a block of time thatmaybe they weren't employed, you
know it might just shoot themout.
But here at Inclusively we makesure that we take that bias out
of there so that it can stillend up making it to the
recruiter.
So this it will recommend themto roles.
Both the recruiter and theindividual get notified and they
can get connected.
Lainie (16:10):
That's awesome.
So like are the jobs that arelisted on Inclusively.
Are they also like on indeed,those same positions, or are
these positions just for peoplewith disabilities?
Ross Barchacky (16:24):
Mostly they are posted everywhere else and I
think that has something to do.
I'm not a legal person but I'mpretty sure that when you post
for a role you have to make itpublicly available.
We do have roles that wespecifically advertise on
Inclusively.
So an example might be if we'reworking with an organization
and they're working on gettingtheir office of accessibility
stood up or maybe making it alittle bit more robust, you know
(16:45):
they post that informationeverywhere, but maybe they're
going to focus a little bit morehere at Inclusively so that
they can have sort of thatinternal voice and that lived
experience.
But really the benefit to doingit is you know that you're going
to be talking to someone who'sbeen enabled and trained and is
supported to have thatconversation with you from
application to, you know,professional development 10
(17:07):
years down the road.
And then also that conversationis going to be had around the
accommodations and not outsideof it.
Because that's going to be aproblem with a lot of
individuals.
They try and wait to discloseto the last minute where they
can still get the job.
But what if what you need hasto go to requisition and legal
and compliance and then it'sgoing to be six weeks or months
till you get it, and now youhave to perform.
(17:28):
You're going to be expected toperform at the level of everyone
else, but you're notaccommodated and unable to do so
.
So it's just.
We find it's a much betterprocess, from start to finish,
utilizing a platform like this.
Estela (17:39):
Yeah, I mean, you're really setting people up for
success and I think such animportant element of this is the
training for the employer howto really implement these
accommodations, because it's onething to request accommodation,
but it's another thing for thecompany to actually know what
that looks like, what that costs.
Sure, you speak to a little bitabout the, the financial
(17:59):
benefits that you've seenpersonally for these companies
that are are including peoplewith disabilities and are hiring
, you know, a diverse pool oftalent.
Ross Barchacky (18:09):
Sure, I don't have the study pulled up, but I
think it's a year, year and ahalf ago.
We commissioned a study withForrester to go out and
interview C-suite executives inorganizations all across the
country and specifically askthem about their disability
inclusion practices, and theresults are probably surprising
(18:29):
to no one.
Right that the more diverseyour organization is, the higher
your revenue is, the moreretention you have, you know,
the less turnaround and just allof this stuff, the more your
customer loyalty that you hadand brand awareness.
I mean, it's just.
You know everything that you'dexpect.
Individuals with disabilitiesmake up a significant portion of
the population of this world,either directly or indirectly,
(18:51):
like they're the parents or aloved one, or they just they
have someone that they careabout that suffered a disability
.
You know, like it's just, you'dbe hard pressed to find
somebody whose life hasn't beentouched by somebody with a
disability, and so when you'rean organization that's really
doing the work, you have accessto that right.
People are starting.
The world is small with socialmedia and everything else.
(19:12):
People can see when it's just amarketing campaign and they can
learn really quickly throughreviews and Reddit and all these
little communities that exist,whether or not, you're actually
an employer of approach when itcomes to disability inclusion.
So I think the benefit isaccess to a larger market.
You know, like I said, moreloyalty and then actually higher
revenue, because your entireorganization is more productive,
(19:33):
because they feel supported inthe work they're doing.
Estela (19:37):
We'll be right back.
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Estela (20:37):
We'll let you get back to the show.
You were listening to anothergreat podcast from Launchpad 516
Studios.
You're tuning in to embrace itwith Laini Anastella, brought to
you by Launchpad 516 Studios.
Yeah.
Lainie (20:53):
I read that report when I was prepping for that to talk
and although they had me cut somuch from it that we never got
to any of those steps.
But what I remember feelinglike really was really cool was
the climate that's changed ingeneral.
When the focus is on hiringpeople with disabilities into
(21:17):
the workplace, how much happiernot just the employee with
disabilities is, but all theother employees feel, more valid
, more happier because thecompany is promoting people to
be themselves and not high Iasked these people all the time
(21:38):
if you think of the best jobyou've ever had, what was it?
Ross Barchacky (21:41):
And I think for a minute I said, but why it
wasn't pay?
It's never pay, it's never timeoff or things like that.
It's how you feel, where youappreciate it, where you
supported, what were yourrelationships like?
Those are the things peopleremember, those are the things
people value and if yourorganization is homogenous, if
your organization is one flavor,it's going to be really hard to
(22:03):
provide that.
Estela (22:05):
On a personal note, you work for inclusively.
You have your own accommodationneeds.
What are some of those?
And then maybe you could tellus you have a service dog as
well and you work in that?
Oh, there he is.
Lainie (22:24):
He's doing a lot of service right now.
That's right.
Estela (22:28):
He's on that duty.
Tell us a little bit about whatthose accommodations mean for
you on a day-to-day basis, whatit's like having a service dog,
how your work also includesworking with veterans and
community.
Ross Barchacky (22:42):
I'm going to ask you to come back to some of
those.
I'm going to go with the firstone before I forget all the rest
.
But accommodations I want tostart with.
Accommodations are somethingthat service members don't
really have experience with, andI'm speaking in broad terms
here.
Not for everyone, but for themost part in the military,
disability is a four letter word.
(23:04):
Just the ability to not performat 110% can be a four letter
word.
Going to sick call, having acold, spraining your ankle right
those are things that you justlearned to power through and
that people will praise you andpat you on the back when you do.
Man, this guy just ran amarathon and he broke his ankle
six weeks ago.
You know, like, for somethingyou know it's supposed to be
(23:24):
like get the help you need right, and it has to right.
The military has to run thatway.
I'm not trying to downplay theculture or anything like that.
I love the military, but itdoesn't really set you up for
success.
When you come outside and youthink that you're just gonna get
by, you know that you thinkthat people are gonna praise you
for putting in 110% every dayand going past your limit.
(23:44):
You're not.
You're just gonna get burnedout and then you're gonna get
fired, right, you're gonna quitor something else is gonna
happen.
And so it was a strangetransition for me that I never
probably would have done if itwasn't for being accepted into
that soldier recovery unit andhaving that time during COVID to
really just learn about allthis stuff.
The service dog was really thefirst accommodation that I'd
(24:05):
ever even looked at, which issort of really on the more
difficult end as accommodationsgo.
But when I was doing it I was atthe soldier recovery unit and
there was a woman there thatwhen you know, I was sort of
going through the more mentalportion of my trauma that she
had said there's a nonprofitthat worked there that helps
(24:27):
veterans to train their ownservice dogs and it's a more
sort of inclusive process.
You get to build thatrelationship and be a better
handler at the end of it and Iwas like I don't know, that's
kind of weird.
I've never owned a dog in mylife before parent, I'm a cat
guy.
I'll just put that out thereinto the universe, right.
So it was a really weird and Ihad just got five kids.
I don't want more sort of thing, but I met some of the people
(24:49):
that had gone through theprogram and just listening to
their stories about the nightand day of where they were and
where they are now, I was like Igotta do this.
I at least got to try, so Iended up.
I waited that whole 18 monthsto be paired or to get a service
dog there that it didn't workout, I ended up having to move
(25:10):
back to the East Coast where wehad already had a house, and so
I ended up having to go on andwork with another nonprofit.
But long story short, I finallygot into a program with the
service animal, went through itfor about a year, where they
essentially trained you to be adog trainer so that you can be
your own handler, and it's beenan amazing experience for him.
I do things now that I neverwould have done.
(25:31):
I mean, I went two conferencesback to back last week.
I could not do that by myself.
Lainie (25:36):
For our listeners who mostly have physical challenges,
some with heart illnesses, whomay tire easily, may fall trip,
et cetera, have variousneuromuscular and neurological
conditions.
How can a service dog bebeneficial?
Ross Barchacky (25:53):
You know, I knew nothing about it at first
either.
You know service dog.
I think the two that come tomind are seeing eye dogs, right
or guide dogs, and then mobilityassistance dogs, so somebody
that's in a chair that mightneed help with actually being
pulled in the chair, retrievingitems, things like that.
But there's a whole new world.
Psychiatric service dogs, whichis what Perrin is, is one of
the newer ones.
But there's also allergydetection dogs that they have.
(26:16):
They have autism service dogsto help individuals that can
help, like if they're having ameltdown or need deep pressure
therapy or go and get assistance.
There's hearing dogs, which youdon't hear about a lot, but you
know if the doorbell's ringingor the door is knocking or
something like that, they cancome and inform their handler.
I mean, there's just so manydifferent types out there that a
(26:36):
lot of people don't understand.
But specifically with Perrin andwhat he does for me, there's a
few different tasks that he doesand we're working on more all
the time, but right now heessentially just provides me
with the ability to create space, I would say as first and
foremost, so he can actuallyposition stationary at different
(26:58):
parts, so left side, right sideand front behind.
He can circle around me tocreate space.
He's actually been trained todeescalate situations so he can
tell when I'm starting to getagitated.
Anger is one thing that a lotof people don't think about when
they think about PTSD.
But you tend to have a shorterfuse and so if he starts
noticing that he can startescalating right, so he'll start
(27:19):
nudging me, then licking myhand, then maybe pulling on my
pants, and he's been trained togo and just find the nearest
exit and get me out of there andthen provide deep pressure
therapy so that you can get thatinput.
I'm pretty sure it'sproprioceptive my wife is
probably gonna correct me laterbut to be able to sort of
deescalate that, deescalate thatsituation.
But I mean they can do amazingthings all the way to.
(27:40):
They can clear a house.
You know they can go.
You go run to Airbnb.
You can let your service dog infirst.
He'll clear each and every roomto make sure no one's there and
turn the lights on when theroom is clear.
So they can do amazing, amazingwork.
Parents not there yet.
He just turned two.
So we're really just startingto get into this journey.
Estela (27:57):
Oh, I work with a few people who have service dogs for
their CMT and just by hearingtheir experiences with helping
them you know, support them whenthey're walking or picking up
packages or you know, there'sjust so many things that we
don't necessarily think of howthey can have that and on top of
the emotional side of it andthe companionship of that.
(28:20):
But Laney didn't mentionsomething about travel and I did
notice something about travelon your I believe it was on
LinkedIn the situation where youface some ableism on the
airlines, which unfortunately isstill a hotspot for tons of
ableism and wheelchair mobilitydevice damage and all of a whole
nightmare of issues for thedisability community.
(28:42):
Can you speak a little bit towhat that experience was and
what you came away with?
Ross Barchacky (28:48):
Sure, so I will not mention names of airlines,
but I will say I've taken otherairlines before and I've never
had a problem.
Right, perrin and I haveprobably made about a dozen
trips now everywhere, fromshort-term regional flights all
the way to right across thecountry from DC to San Diego and
back, and if not run into anyissues, there's a few different
(29:08):
things that the airlines can askyou.
You know a couple of questions.
One is is this a service dogthat's required because of a
disability, and what tasksspecifically are the dog able to
provide?
Right, it's pretty standard,but airlines are sort of in
their own piece when it comes tothe ADA.
They sort of have their ownjurisdiction and certain
portions of it, so they cancreate additional requirements.
(29:29):
In this particular airline hadsome very standard ones.
Right, there's a form that youhave to fill out with the
Department of Transportation andTSA attesting to things, but
they had a lot of verbalconfirmations that I just didn't
think might be best practice,right, one of which was actually
you understand that you can becriminally charged if you are
(29:50):
found to have a fake service dog, which one I just feel is like
wow, so I'm guilty until proveninnocent, right or able until
proven disabled, you know, whichI just I don't think a lot of
other communities would do ifthey had a more visible
disability or things like that.
In my particular interactionwith the woman, when I asked her
about it, she said because wehave to make sure that people
(30:12):
aren't faking their disabilities, which I replied do you?
You know, do you, though,because I go on airlines all the
time and I've never been askedthat before, and so I just think
that, you know, if I hadanything to say, if I have the
ear of anyone that works in theairline industry or any industry
where you're gonna interactwith service dogs, would be what
do you have to provide?
(30:33):
Right, like, what level ofsafety and caution do you need
to take?
And is there another way to doit in a more private and, I
guess, just humanistic method?
Right, you know?
As opposed to having to go,because to them it's one right,
every person that comes throughthey have to ask those questions
.
I get asked those questions allthe time, right?
All the organizations I go into, every time I check into a
(30:55):
hotel, every time I check intoan airline flight, you know,
it's just, it's exhausting.
By the end of it.
I started off my journey asbeing a great ambassador for
service dog handler teams and Idon't think I am so much anymore
because you know it really.
Just it takes away your sort ofemotional Tolerance yeah,
tolerance that you have.
Estela (31:16):
Yeah, I mean, and I do feel like you would be questions
that questioned as much if youhad some kind of mobility device
or if you were in a wheelchair.
Do you feel like, because youhave a non apparent disability,
that you're, your question moredoubted, more in that regard?
Ross Barchacky (31:31):
I'm gonna.
I'm gonna say this without anyscientific data, but yes, I do.
I do think so, and I do have avery close friend of mine that
is a wheelchair user, and whenher and I go out with parent
together, I get asked nothing,right.
And it could just be coincidence, right, it's one, it's one case
.
But to me, you know, that'swhat it feels like.
Is that?
(31:51):
You know, they see me, I'mwalking, they see the dog,
obviously I can see, and sothey're like, well then, what
fake service dog you know.
And so I think that you knowthere's a big piece of education
that needs to happen, you knoweven in the disability community
about that.
Lainie (32:08):
I'm sure you're familiar with it, but that's the
sunflower project that took offin Europe and now it's like I
just looked there in, I think,50 different airports across the
US currently about.
Do you familiar with what I'mnot familiar?
Ross Barchacky (32:25):
with that.
Lainie (32:25):
So the sunflower project is like this badge that you put
on yourself and basicallysaying I have an invisible
condition, not impaired, and theairlines, tsa workers and the
staff in particular, aresupposedly now trained with
(32:46):
these different airlines torecognize that yeah.
Yeah, I mean I want to get themon this podcast too at some
point because I think it's sointeresting.
But, like, obviously it onlyworks the more people know about
it and you know you're not likeI have to have a lot of
disability advocates who are,and no one's heard of it, so I'm
like they need some help.
(33:07):
I think, yeah, I the only theonly thing.
Ross Barchacky (33:11):
I know that this is already going to be split.
I don't even have to do anyresearch on it, but I know
there's probably going to be agood number of people that don't
feel okay about that, right,because they, because they don't
want to put it out there, andpeople with disabilities have
had to wear it more historicallyand it didn't work out well for
them.
And so you know I'm not tryingto take it away from this
program.
Lainie (33:28):
It sounds like they've they found a solution to this
sort of unique problem, but Ilook at it as a tourniquet and
not a solution I'm thinking likefor our people who always talk
about the angst of leg bracesand going through metal
detectors and they don't have tosay pre screening or whatever.
(33:49):
You know, holding something toshow.
I don't think it's somethingthat you necessarily have to
like, wear on, but showing itinstead of having to explain to
the TSA officer and wearingbraces going to go off, blah,
blah, blah, Supposedly you holdup this thing and they know what
that is.
Estela (34:07):
It sounds like it's a more discreet version of holding
like a disability parkingsticker or something.
It's not more discreet but atthe same time still
communicating non verbally thatyou know they they have some
form of non apparent disability,but I think it really speaks to
you know your experience andmany of our listeners that we
(34:28):
are.
We are many times forced to bein a situation where we have to
defend ourselves or explainourselves and that can be
exhausting, and I think the workthat you're doing, the, the
talk that Lainey did oninvisible, non apparent
disabilities is what we needmore of, because we really need
(34:50):
to show the full spectrum ofdisability, that it's not always
obvious that it has such a widespectrum and range and that
there are so many accommodationsthat can be made to set people
up for success, to create anaction, to create empathy, to
create collaboration, and Ithink your organization is doing
(35:12):
such a great job from that.
Where can people find moreabout you?
What projects are you currentlyworking on?
What should people you knowlook out for in the next coming
months of the year?
Ross Barchacky (35:27):
Yeah, so I mean wwwinclusivelycom.
Anybody can go create a freeprofile, start getting connected
with employers.
You know anyone that identifiesas having a disability Right.
So you know, even if you don'thave a formal diagnosis or
something like that, if you canbenefit from workplace
accommodations, come create aprofile and get a job with our
employers, because I know that'sa big part of it too, part that
(35:49):
a lot of people don't don'tnecessarily talk about.
Some of the projects that wehave coming up.
We just launched last month ourcommunity, and so we have the
ability for creatingconversations and dialogue and
housing services and trainingsas well, not just for our
employer partners, but also forour job seekers.
So once you create a profile,you'll have access to that as
(36:10):
well.
And then the last thing I'llmention is we actually just
launched, starting yesterday,our partner series.
So there's, you know, so manyorganizations.
You all are so excited for that, you know to really highlight
the work that everyone's doingin this space, because it's big
and we tend to get put in ourlittle bubbles when it comes to
(36:31):
disability inclusion.
You know I work at this.
You know place that providesservices for individuals with
blindness and low vision.
I know a lot about that, but itdoesn't necessarily make you an
expert in disability, and soyou know.
One thing that I would say isyou know, come get linked in
with these other organizations,hear about the work that they're
doing, because we're all in thesame fight, right?
(36:51):
We're just fighting differentfights within this, this sort of
larger war of disabilityinclusion, and so knowing what
everybody's doing around you isjust going to help set you up to
be able to sort of do thistogether and support each other.
Estela (37:02):
Yeah, and hearing those examples from your partners and
how they're implementing theprogram, I think really speaks
volumes to its success and howrealistic it can be, because,
yes, it sounds good, but how,how are people actually doing it
and making it successful?
And I'm proud to say that ahereditary neuropathy foundation
is one of your partners.
We did a presentation duringour Thrive Summit virtual summit
(37:27):
last year, which is actually onthe H&F website.
If you go to h&f-cureorg andyou click on the CMT at the top
and patient resources, you'llsee a whole slew of menu topics.
One of those are inclusive isinclusive employment, and we
have a great webinar there bySarah the CEO, and she kind of
(37:50):
did a demo of the platform andreally went step by step on how
to create a profile.
So we encourage everybody tocheck that out, sign up for
inclusively, join the communityand and let's get to work, yeah
and get a service dog if you areinterested.
Lainie (38:06):
I mean, like for our listeners who aren't looking for
jobs and not really interestedin that, I mean a service dog is
something to think about.
I mean I guess you first haveto like dogs or cats, but you
know, I mean it could really.
I mean, all the things that youmentioned that are that a
(38:27):
service dog is potentiallycapable is kind of mind blowing.
So I wonder how things willchange with the AI app.
You know, did you see thatthere's this like new AI app
that you know that you know theC for me app, that for people.
So now they have an AI.
Well, ai that leads you througha store like a virtual robot is
(38:55):
crazy.
But until you can get yourvirtual dog, you know, check out
service dogs.
Estela (39:03):
Yeah, there's action section in the patient care
section as well on caninecompanions.
We've had some people towebinars and some some great
experiences with that, so we'llput the whole yeah, and feel
free to contact me as well.
Ross Barchacky (39:20):
Ross and inclusivelycom connect with me
on LinkedIn If you havequestions about service dogs
where to get started, resourcesto help you fund one, how to
train one yourself.
I've gone through the journeymyself.
I help other people do it nowJust a sort of a side project,
and I'd be more than happy toshare what knowledge I have with
you to get you started.
Estela (39:38):
Wow.
So when you're not taking careof your five kids, you're doing
that.
Ross Barchacky (39:45):
You gotta keep busy.
Lainie (39:49):
It was super informative , interesting, and thank you so
much, and we're looking forwardto talking with you again soon
yes, when ours is going to airversus yours, but we're going to
be on theirs too.
Estela (40:02):
So we'll link to all.
Thanks so much, ross.
Thanks everyone for listening,hi everyone.
Lainie (40:37):
We're going to be on our next podcast, so leave us a
voicemail, or you can even sendus a text to 631-517-0066.
Estela (40:48):
Make sure to subscribe to this feed wherever podcasts
are available and leave us afive star review on Apple
podcasts.
While you're at it, follow usat embrace it underscore podcast
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Lainie (41:04):
We hope you join us next time and continue to embrace it
.
Welcome to the Embrace-It series, where women
with all types of disabilitiescan be real, resourceful and
stylish.
With each episode, you'll walkor roll away with everyday tips,
life hacks and success storiesfrom community leaders and
influencers.
So take off your leg braces andstay a while with Lainey and
Estella.
Estela (00:25):
Hi, I'm Lainey and I have CMT.
I'm a neuro-muscular disorderaffecting approximately 2.6
million people worldwide, that'sas many as MS.
Lainie (00:38):
We believe disabilities should never get in the way of
looking or feeling good.
Both of us wear leg braces andhave learned through our own
personal journeys to embrace itBrought to you by Launchpad 516
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Estela (00:51):
each episode is designed to challenge your own stigmas
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We want our listeners to getthe most value for their time
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Estela (01:30):
Hey everyone, we are back for another episode of the
Embrace it series.
Hey Lainey, hi Estella, hieveryone.
We are excited to bring youanother powerful guest from the
disability community.
His name is Ross Barciacchi.
Am I saying that correctly?
Ross Barchacky (01:50):
It's Barciacchi, but don't worry, the CH makes
an SH sound, but it shouldn't.
Estela (01:55):
Well, we are so excited to have you on.
I know we've had a fewconversations in the past, but
we would love to share theincredible work that you are
doing.
But before we get started, Iwanted to just share with
everyone that you are the headof partnerships at Inclusively.
You are a relationship builder,a DEIA warrior, a disabled
(02:17):
veteran and a speaker.
So welcome, ross.
Ross Barchacky (02:19):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure and an honor tobe here.
Yeah, I give a quickintroduction about myself.
You know, as Estella said, I'mRoss Barciacchi.
I'm the head of partnerships atInclusively, which is a
workforce development platformthat's designed to match
individuals from our communitywith employers that are sort of
going the extra mile when itcomes to disability inclusion.
(02:41):
A little bit of background on me.
I did not start out incorporate America, in the
startup world.
I was actually a service member, joined when I was 18, spent 17
years total in there and endedup thinking that I was going to
go and work for government.
Afterwards, you know, moved toDC, go work for an agency pretty
much the traditional route.
I was about 15 years in and onan airborne operation and, as I
(03:06):
tell it, the wind shifted beforemy feet touched the ground on
my head touched first and endedup spending the next 18 months
in one of the Army'srehabilitation facilities out in
Washington state at Joint BaseLewis McCord had sort of come
into Jesus moment while I wasout there.
As far as the things that I thedirection I thought my life was
(03:28):
heading in wasn't necessarilythe path of least resistance
anymore.
You know, I had my wife and Ithere's a whole nother story to
get into another time but we hadfive kids in one year.
So we went from being, you know, just the two of us to having a
good number of otherindividuals that were relying on
(03:50):
us for support.
And so, you know, militarytransition in and of itself can
be a very stressful time for aservice member, especially one
that's been in for almost twodecades.
But then add on top of that adisability that's going to
require workplace accommodations, maybe having to look into
changing career fields, and nowhaving to worry as well on top
of that about benefits, right,so that's what we take for
(04:11):
granted in the service.
But you know, I know, out herenow in the civilian world is
much more stressful situation.
So sort of juggling all of that.
I started throwing applicationsinto the wind, you know, trying
to utilize the skills that I hadgained over the last almost two
decades and applying that insome way.
So I did probably load a lot ofpeople.
(04:32):
You know I was a recruiter, soI put myself down for sales, and
I, you know, was a manager fora long time, or a leader, so I
put myself for operationsmanagement.
I just wasn't hearing back Inthe few people that I was
hearing back from, as soon as Imentioned that I needed
workplace accommodations, now Istopped hearing back.
Right, I have a service dog now, I use assistive technology.
(04:52):
My memory is better than whatit was, in all fairness, two or
three years ago when I startedmy job search.
But, you know, letting anemployer know that, hey, I might
need reminders, right, I mightneed you to follow up, I might
need, maybe, a running documentto show where my tasks are that
we can both, you know accesslike a Mondaycom board or
something like that.
All of a sudden I wouldn't hearback, you know, and so I
(05:15):
thought there has to be a betterway.
I was sort of venting myfrustration to my counselor that
I was working with at theDepartment of Veterans Affairs
that was helping with mytransition, and he turned me on
to, inclusively, that you can gocreate an account and get
matched up with employers thatare specifically looking for
people from this community and Ithought, well, that's cool, you
were, you know, in the service,as you said, for two decades,
(05:39):
clearly not only able-bodied but, like you know, superman kind
of powers, because you are nowmilitary trained, physically
active, you know.
Lainie (05:48):
fit all of that, what was it like to then have a
disability?
I mean, like you know, you hadall these kids to be responsible
for, but you yourself dealingwith leaving the service and all
that, what about just dealingwith life with the disability?
Ross Barchacky (06:03):
Earth-shattering is the only way that I could
probably put it.
You know I didn't mention I waspart of the special operations
community, so I'd worked reallyhard to get to where I was in
the military and invested a lotof time.
I joined the military with aGED.
I ended with a master's degreein security.
You know, like security studies, I just I had put in a lot of
(06:24):
work to where I was and thenliterally in an instant it was
over.
You know, that path that mylife was heading down, as I said
, was no longer the path ofresistance, or maybe it wasn't
the thing that made sense.
Estela (06:36):
So what was that recovery process?
Like you said, you were inrehab for 18 months.
That is a significant amount oftime.
Where did you start off?
What kind of rehab did you have?
What skills did you have toregain Sure?
What were some challenges andinternal, you know shame or
doubt that you were feeling.
Ross Barchacky (06:56):
Yeah, most of the effects of my TBI that I had
were they had to do with mymemory.
They had to do with, like myfilter essentially thinking
before I spoke.
You know, it wasn't as bad ashaving to relearn to walk and
things like that.
I did suffer physical injuriesas well.
(07:17):
The TBI is what really made itto where it was the military's
decision to not keep me.
But I also have my hip as fused, my spine on my left side.
I have, you know, just wear andtear up 20 years in the
military I have.
I have a ton of stuff.
So it was a big, a big sort ofadjustment.
I worked with really a holisticteam.
They have an interdisciplinaryclinic there at JBLM that their
(07:41):
soldier recovery unit has accessto.
So it was physical therapy,occupational therapy,
acupuncture, chiropracticmassage, yoga.
I mean it was this reallyholistic sort of thing.
It was great.
I have nothing bad to say aboutthat, except for the fact that
COVID hit Like three monthsafter I got there, and so when
(08:06):
that happened, that clinic shutdown.
They tried to do stuffvirtually and, like many of the
rest of the infrastructure ofhealthcare you know, they just
found that it was lacking, andso part of the reason I ended up
staying there so long was dueto that, due to trying to figure
stuff out, barriers, to carethings like that.
But then also I went throughsurgeries, there was actual
rehabilitation time and thenthere was also the mental health
(08:29):
piece, which I don't talk abouta lot if you've heard me talk
anywhere else.
But I spent a considerableamount of time in therapy, in
and out of facilities, becausethe military, all these
deployments enough for stressand now you talk about that
earthshattering moment and stuffjust started falling apart.
Lainie (08:50):
So, like you mentioned before about having the struggle
of having to find a job,someone who would even hire you,
obviously now we're talkingabout after COVID, which is now,
for people with disabilities,somewhat better in that you know
there were more, there are manymore virtual opportunities for
(09:10):
people and which helps peoplewith chronic illnesses and
disabilities.
Obviously.
Yeah.
Yeah, so where does inclusivelyfit in?
How did you find them and likewhat are they?
Ross Barchacky (09:21):
doing.
Sure, yeah, so I think I leftout you know I was talking to
the counselor at the VA hadbrought me to inclusively, I
came.
I came here as a job seeker tofind, you know, my opportunity,
like most people do, and endedup getting about halfway through
the profile creation and sayingthis is what I've been missing.
You know, like most people thathave a disability and applied
(09:44):
for work understand what I'mtalking about with the do I
disclose?
When do I disclose?
How much do I disclose, youknow, in order to get what I
need but not lose out on the jobright to not be taken out of
the running.
And this just put all thataside, you know.
Just it took it out of theequation.
So I actually reached out toinclusively and it's like I love
what you all are doing here.
(10:04):
You know, do you have anythingavailable?
They just happened to be hiringfor their first sales
development rep, which is anentry level sales position, and
I remember I was a recruiter.
You know I can do that.
I'd love to go spread the wordabout what you all are doing and
it just sort of took off fromthere.
I now head up theirpartnerships.
I moved over from the businessdevelopment side and sort of use
what I learned from the painpoints that the employers are
(10:25):
having around disability hiringand applying that to the
organizations that are alreadyout there doing the work and
figuring out how we can meet inthe middle to find these
individuals meaningfulemployment.
Estela (10:36):
And what are some of those pain points that employers
are having, that's keeping themfrom hiring people with
disabilities?
Ross Barchacky (10:45):
Here I mean, I think, is, you know, the biggest
one and it's the one thatnobody talks about, right, it's.
You know people try to say,well, it's a money thing, or
well, they don't have the rightskills or things like that.
But at the end of the day, Ithink it comes down to risk
management.
Right, you have perceivedperceivably no benefits to
hiring someone with a disability, but a lot of risk, right?
(11:08):
It also hasn't been done before.
Everyone also is talk tosomebody who has a horror story
about it, or a legal team or acompany that's gone under or had
a big public suit.
Why would they?
Right, Like what's in it forthem?
There's so many other diversityinitiatives out there that are
high profile, that are visible,and it's such a lighter lift
right, so to them, they'rechecking those boxes and DEI
(11:29):
without having to dip their toesinto this area.
Another reason I think they'rehesitant to do it is because
it's hard to measure.
There's so many you know, withHIPAA and asking what questions
you can ask around disclosureand getting people in the
workplace, that this goes.
Go, look at, pull the top 10,you know, like this DEI reports
for any Fortune 500 company andit's a very small percentage
(11:49):
that has anything about peoplewith disabilities, because they
can.
Even the successful companies,even the companies that are
doing it really well, still havetrouble getting every employee
to get rid of all their negativeexperiences and come out and
admit that they need help, toadmit that they have something
that they need accommodated.
Lainie (12:06):
Someone might have done a whole TED Talk on this subject
.
Estela (12:13):
How do you break down those fears and really start to
show the benefits, and what arethose benefits and what's your
experience been with opening theopportunities to these
companies and to these employees?
Ross Barchacky (12:25):
Yeah, when we first started reaching out, you
know, like I said, I came on thebusiness development side, so
I'll conduct a lot of initialoutreach and a lot of the
hesitation that I heard fromemployers was well, we're not
even ready to start thinkingabout talking about having the
conversation about disabilityinclusion.
You know, like we got to have ameeting on the calendar and all
this stuff right, and our modelover here, inclusively, is just
get started, just do it right.
(12:47):
So I would say the answer tothat question is we meet
employers where they are intheir disability journey.
There's no judgment, we don'tcare if you're not even at ADA,
right, we applaud the fact thatyou're willing to start, because
everybody has to startsomewhere and it is a journey.
If there's no endpoint, there'sno finish line, there's no
winning.
You know, there's just selfdevelopment, learning in the
(13:07):
evolution of your organizationto put these individuals into
the mix.
And so you know, a big part ofwhat we do just starts with that
sort of information changingthe way that they're thinking
and then also reassuring them,comforting them, like you said,
that we're in their corner, thatwe're here sort of.
Is your insurance policy rightto make sure that you don't just
do this, you do it right, right, and that, even if something
(13:28):
comes up because stumblingblocks come up, I don't care if
you're, you know, just new tothis or you've been doing
disability inclusion before.
It was cool.
You know we want to make surethat you have everything that
you need to be supportedtraining, coaching, consultation
, ongoing support throughout thehiring process.
So we're a little bit different.
We're more hands on than a lotof the solutions out there that
(13:48):
are just going to match you withtalent and improve your
diversity.
You know our name is veryintentional with inclusively,
because without you know if yougot to build it and then they'll
come, and I think a lot ofcorporations try to solve for
inclusion by increasingdiversity.
Lainie (14:02):
I mean, your brand list is amazing.
It's so impressive the you knowenormous and amazing companies
that are you're partnering withFor our listeners who may be
looking for a job, you know, ifthey go to your website, what do
they do Like, what can theyexpect?
Ross Barchacky (14:23):
Sure, so they can go ahead and create a
profile as a job seeker.
It's completely free.
A lot of it's going to be veryfamiliar to a lot of the other
job sites that you've been on asfar as your work experience or
education, things like that.
Where you're really going tonotice a stark contrast is when
it starts asking about what youneed for accommodations
accommodations for the interviewprocess, accommodations for
actually in the workspace andthey're going to help you.
(14:45):
There's drop down menus andselection.
You can update it as you go.
So whatever you need in themoment, at that time you can let
the employer know, and thehiring managers and recruiters
have been trained to have thattransparent conversation about
that.
So they're going to understandwhat you're talking about when
you say screen reader or timeblocking or things like that.
So it's not like you're goingto have to wait until they get
(15:07):
compliance on board and things.
So they can go in, create thisprofile and then they can just
start getting matched withemployers.
And that can happen.
Really, one of three ways Oneare all of our employer partners
are active on the platform sothey're able to go in and
actually recruit from theplatform, so they can take a
look at our candidates.
So you always want to make surethat your information is up to
date as possible so that theycan find you.
(15:27):
The other way is through activesearching.
So any candidate can go inthere and search any employer,
any position, and go ahead andconnect with them through there,
based off of what industry theywant to get into, their
experience and whatnot, location.
And then the last would bewe've actually developed an
algorithm specifically for thispopulation to take out the
barriers that exist in a lot ofother hiring processes, like
(15:49):
with applicant tracking systemsand screening protocols, that if
it sees a block of time thatmaybe they weren't employed, you
know it might just shoot themout.
But here at Inclusively we makesure that we take that bias out
of there so that it can stillend up making it to the
recruiter.
So this it will recommend themto roles.
Both the recruiter and theindividual get notified and they
can get connected.
Lainie (16:10):
That's awesome.
So like are the jobs that arelisted on Inclusively.
Are they also like on indeed,those same positions, or are
these positions just for peoplewith disabilities?
Ross Barchacky (16:24):
Mostly they are posted everywhere else and I
think that has something to do.
I'm not a legal person but I'mpretty sure that when you post
for a role you have to make itpublicly available.
We do have roles that wespecifically advertise on
Inclusively.
So an example might be if we'reworking with an organization
and they're working on gettingtheir office of accessibility
stood up or maybe making it alittle bit more robust, you know
(16:45):
they post that informationeverywhere, but maybe they're
going to focus a little bit morehere at Inclusively so that
they can have sort of thatinternal voice and that lived
experience.
But really the benefit to doingit is you know that you're going
to be talking to someone who'sbeen enabled and trained and is
supported to have thatconversation with you from
application to, you know,professional development 10
(17:07):
years down the road.
And then also that conversationis going to be had around the
accommodations and not outsideof it.
Because that's going to be aproblem with a lot of
individuals.
They try and wait to discloseto the last minute where they
can still get the job.
But what if what you need hasto go to requisition and legal
and compliance and then it'sgoing to be six weeks or months
till you get it, and now youhave to perform.
(17:28):
You're going to be expected toperform at the level of everyone
else, but you're notaccommodated and unable to do so
.
So it's just.
We find it's a much betterprocess, from start to finish,
utilizing a platform like this.
Estela (17:39):
Yeah, I mean, you're really setting people up for
success and I think such animportant element of this is the
training for the employer howto really implement these
accommodations, because it's onething to request accommodation,
but it's another thing for thecompany to actually know what
that looks like, what that costs.
Sure, you speak to a little bitabout the, the financial
(17:59):
benefits that you've seenpersonally for these companies
that are are including peoplewith disabilities and are hiring
, you know, a diverse pool oftalent.
Ross Barchacky (18:09):
Sure, I don't have the study pulled up, but I
think it's a year, year and ahalf ago.
We commissioned a study withForrester to go out and
interview C-suite executives inorganizations all across the
country and specifically askthem about their disability
inclusion practices, and theresults are probably surprising
(18:29):
to no one.
Right that the more diverseyour organization is, the higher
your revenue is, the moreretention you have, you know,
the less turnaround and just allof this stuff, the more your
customer loyalty that you hadand brand awareness.
I mean, it's just.
You know everything that you'dexpect.
Individuals with disabilitiesmake up a significant portion of
the population of this world,either directly or indirectly,
(18:51):
like they're the parents or aloved one, or they just they
have someone that they careabout that suffered a disability
.
You know, like it's just, you'dbe hard pressed to find
somebody whose life hasn't beentouched by somebody with a
disability, and so when you'rean organization that's really
doing the work, you have accessto that right.
People are starting.
The world is small with socialmedia and everything else.
(19:12):
People can see when it's just amarketing campaign and they can
learn really quickly throughreviews and Reddit and all these
little communities that exist,whether or not, you're actually
an employer of approach when itcomes to disability inclusion.
So I think the benefit isaccess to a larger market.
You know, like I said, moreloyalty and then actually higher
revenue, because your entireorganization is more productive,
(19:33):
because they feel supported inthe work they're doing.
Estela (19:37):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
This is George, fred and Jason, the co-leaders of
Speak, interrupting to say thatwe hope you're enjoying this
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New episodes available everyweek on all of your favorite
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Speaker 6 (20:08):
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Estela (20:37):
We'll let you get back to the show.
You were listening to anothergreat podcast from Launchpad 516
Studios.
You're tuning in to embrace itwith Laini Anastella, brought to
you by Launchpad 516 Studios.
Yeah.
Lainie (20:53):
I read that report when I was prepping for that to talk
and although they had me cut somuch from it that we never got
to any of those steps.
But what I remember feelinglike really was really cool was
the climate that's changed ingeneral.
When the focus is on hiringpeople with disabilities into
(21:17):
the workplace, how much happiernot just the employee with
disabilities is, but all theother employees feel, more valid
, more happier because thecompany is promoting people to
be themselves and not high Iasked these people all the time
(21:38):
if you think of the best jobyou've ever had, what was it?
Ross Barchacky (21:41):
And I think for a minute I said, but why it
wasn't pay?
It's never pay, it's never timeoff or things like that.
It's how you feel, where youappreciate it, where you
supported, what were yourrelationships like?
Those are the things peopleremember, those are the things
people value and if yourorganization is homogenous, if
your organization is one flavor,it's going to be really hard to
(22:03):
provide that.
Estela (22:05):
On a personal note, you work for inclusively.
You have your own accommodationneeds.
What are some of those?
And then maybe you could tellus you have a service dog as
well and you work in that?
Oh, there he is.
Lainie (22:24):
He's doing a lot of service right now.
That's right.
Estela (22:28):
He's on that duty.
Tell us a little bit about whatthose accommodations mean for
you on a day-to-day basis, whatit's like having a service dog,
how your work also includesworking with veterans and
community.
Ross Barchacky (22:42):
I'm going to ask you to come back to some of
those.
I'm going to go with the firstone before I forget all the rest
.
But accommodations I want tostart with.
Accommodations are somethingthat service members don't
really have experience with, andI'm speaking in broad terms
here.
Not for everyone, but for themost part in the military,
disability is a four letter word.
(23:04):
Just the ability to not performat 110% can be a four letter
word.
Going to sick call, having acold, spraining your ankle right
those are things that you justlearned to power through and
that people will praise you andpat you on the back when you do.
Man, this guy just ran amarathon and he broke his ankle
six weeks ago.
You know, like, for somethingyou know it's supposed to be
(23:24):
like get the help you need right, and it has to right.
The military has to run thatway.
I'm not trying to downplay theculture or anything like that.
I love the military, but itdoesn't really set you up for
success.
When you come outside and youthink that you're just gonna get
by, you know that you thinkthat people are gonna praise you
for putting in 110% every dayand going past your limit.
(23:44):
You're not.
You're just gonna get burnedout and then you're gonna get
fired, right, you're gonna quitor something else is gonna
happen.
And so it was a strangetransition for me that I never
probably would have done if itwasn't for being accepted into
that soldier recovery unit andhaving that time during COVID to
really just learn about allthis stuff.
The service dog was really thefirst accommodation that I'd
(24:05):
ever even looked at, which issort of really on the more
difficult end as accommodationsgo.
But when I was doing it I was atthe soldier recovery unit and
there was a woman there thatwhen you know, I was sort of
going through the more mentalportion of my trauma that she
had said there's a nonprofitthat worked there that helps
(24:27):
veterans to train their ownservice dogs and it's a more
sort of inclusive process.
You get to build thatrelationship and be a better
handler at the end of it and Iwas like I don't know, that's
kind of weird.
I've never owned a dog in mylife before parent, I'm a cat
guy.
I'll just put that out thereinto the universe, right.
So it was a really weird and Ihad just got five kids.
I don't want more sort of thing, but I met some of the people
(24:49):
that had gone through theprogram and just listening to
their stories about the nightand day of where they were and
where they are now, I was like Igotta do this.
I at least got to try, so Iended up.
I waited that whole 18 monthsto be paired or to get a service
dog there that it didn't workout, I ended up having to move
(25:10):
back to the East Coast where wehad already had a house, and so
I ended up having to go on andwork with another nonprofit.
But long story short, I finallygot into a program with the
service animal, went through itfor about a year, where they
essentially trained you to be adog trainer so that you can be
your own handler, and it's beenan amazing experience for him.
I do things now that I neverwould have done.
(25:31):
I mean, I went two conferencesback to back last week.
I could not do that by myself.
Lainie (25:36):
For our listeners who mostly have physical challenges,
some with heart illnesses, whomay tire easily, may fall trip,
et cetera, have variousneuromuscular and neurological
conditions.
How can a service dog bebeneficial?
Ross Barchacky (25:53):
You know, I knew nothing about it at first
either.
You know service dog.
I think the two that come tomind are seeing eye dogs, right
or guide dogs, and then mobilityassistance dogs, so somebody
that's in a chair that mightneed help with actually being
pulled in the chair, retrievingitems, things like that.
But there's a whole new world.
Psychiatric service dogs, whichis what Perrin is, is one of
the newer ones.
But there's also allergydetection dogs that they have.
(26:16):
They have autism service dogsto help individuals that can
help, like if they're having ameltdown or need deep pressure
therapy or go and get assistance.
There's hearing dogs, which youdon't hear about a lot, but you
know if the doorbell's ringingor the door is knocking or
something like that, they cancome and inform their handler.
I mean, there's just so manydifferent types out there that a
(26:36):
lot of people don't understand.
But specifically with Perrin andwhat he does for me, there's a
few different tasks that he doesand we're working on more all
the time, but right now heessentially just provides me
with the ability to create space, I would say as first and
foremost, so he can actuallyposition stationary at different
(26:58):
parts, so left side, right sideand front behind.
He can circle around me tocreate space.
He's actually been trained todeescalate situations so he can
tell when I'm starting to getagitated.
Anger is one thing that a lotof people don't think about when
they think about PTSD.
But you tend to have a shorterfuse and so if he starts
noticing that he can startescalating right, so he'll start
(27:19):
nudging me, then licking myhand, then maybe pulling on my
pants, and he's been trained togo and just find the nearest
exit and get me out of there andthen provide deep pressure
therapy so that you can get thatinput.
I'm pretty sure it'sproprioceptive my wife is
probably gonna correct me laterbut to be able to sort of
deescalate that, deescalate thatsituation.
But I mean they can do amazingthings all the way to.
(27:40):
They can clear a house.
You know they can go.
You go run to Airbnb.
You can let your service dog infirst.
He'll clear each and every roomto make sure no one's there and
turn the lights on when theroom is clear.
So they can do amazing, amazingwork.
Parents not there yet.
He just turned two.
So we're really just startingto get into this journey.
Estela (27:57):
Oh, I work with a few people who have service dogs for
their CMT and just by hearingtheir experiences with helping
them you know, support them whenthey're walking or picking up
packages or you know, there'sjust so many things that we
don't necessarily think of howthey can have that and on top of
the emotional side of it andthe companionship of that.
(28:20):
But Laney didn't mentionsomething about travel and I did
notice something about travelon your I believe it was on
LinkedIn the situation where youface some ableism on the
airlines, which unfortunately isstill a hotspot for tons of
ableism and wheelchair mobilitydevice damage and all of a whole
nightmare of issues for thedisability community.
(28:42):
Can you speak a little bit towhat that experience was and
what you came away with?
Ross Barchacky (28:48):
Sure, so I will not mention names of airlines,
but I will say I've taken otherairlines before and I've never
had a problem.
Right, perrin and I haveprobably made about a dozen
trips now everywhere, fromshort-term regional flights all
the way to right across thecountry from DC to San Diego and
back, and if not run into anyissues, there's a few different
(29:08):
things that the airlines can askyou.
You know a couple of questions.
One is is this a service dogthat's required because of a
disability, and what tasksspecifically are the dog able to
provide?
Right, it's pretty standard,but airlines are sort of in
their own piece when it comes tothe ADA.
They sort of have their ownjurisdiction and certain
portions of it, so they cancreate additional requirements.
(29:29):
In this particular airline hadsome very standard ones.
Right, there's a form that youhave to fill out with the
Department of Transportation andTSA attesting to things, but
they had a lot of verbalconfirmations that I just didn't
think might be best practice,right, one of which was actually
you understand that you can becriminally charged if you are
(29:50):
found to have a fake service dog, which one I just feel is like
wow, so I'm guilty until proveninnocent, right or able until
proven disabled, you know, whichI just I don't think a lot of
other communities would do ifthey had a more visible
disability or things like that.
In my particular interactionwith the woman, when I asked her
about it, she said because wehave to make sure that people
(30:12):
aren't faking their disabilities, which I replied do you?
You know, do you, though,because I go on airlines all the
time and I've never been askedthat before, and so I just think
that, you know, if I hadanything to say, if I have the
ear of anyone that works in theairline industry or any industry
where you're gonna interactwith service dogs, would be what
do you have to provide?
(30:33):
Right, like, what level ofsafety and caution do you need
to take?
And is there another way to doit in a more private and, I
guess, just humanistic method?
Right, you know?
As opposed to having to go,because to them it's one right,
every person that comes throughthey have to ask those questions
.
I get asked those questions allthe time, right?
All the organizations I go into, every time I check into a
(30:55):
hotel, every time I check intoan airline flight, you know,
it's just, it's exhausting.
By the end of it.
I started off my journey asbeing a great ambassador for
service dog handler teams and Idon't think I am so much anymore
because you know it really.
Just it takes away your sort ofemotional Tolerance yeah,
tolerance that you have.
Estela (31:16):
Yeah, I mean, and I do feel like you would be questions
that questioned as much if youhad some kind of mobility device
or if you were in a wheelchair.
Do you feel like, because youhave a non apparent disability,
that you're, your question moredoubted, more in that regard?
Ross Barchacky (31:31):
I'm gonna.
I'm gonna say this without anyscientific data, but yes, I do.
I do think so, and I do have avery close friend of mine that
is a wheelchair user, and whenher and I go out with parent
together, I get asked nothing,right.
And it could just be coincidence, right, it's one, it's one case
.
But to me, you know, that'swhat it feels like.
Is that?
(31:51):
You know, they see me, I'mwalking, they see the dog,
obviously I can see, and sothey're like, well then, what
fake service dog you know.
And so I think that you knowthere's a big piece of education
that needs to happen, you knoweven in the disability community
about that.
Lainie (32:08):
I'm sure you're familiar with it, but that's the
sunflower project that took offin Europe and now it's like I
just looked there in, I think,50 different airports across the
US currently about.
Do you familiar with what I'mnot familiar?
Ross Barchacky (32:25):
with that.
Lainie (32:25):
So the sunflower project is like this badge that you put
on yourself and basicallysaying I have an invisible
condition, not impaired, and theairlines, tsa workers and the
staff in particular, aresupposedly now trained with
(32:46):
these different airlines torecognize that yeah.
Yeah, I mean I want to get themon this podcast too at some
point because I think it's sointeresting.
But, like, obviously it onlyworks the more people know about
it and you know you're not likeI have to have a lot of
disability advocates who are,and no one's heard of it, so I'm
like they need some help.
(33:07):
I think, yeah, I the only theonly thing.
Ross Barchacky (33:11):
I know that this is already going to be split.
I don't even have to do anyresearch on it, but I know
there's probably going to be agood number of people that don't
feel okay about that, right,because they, because they don't
want to put it out there, andpeople with disabilities have
had to wear it more historicallyand it didn't work out well for
them.
And so you know I'm not tryingto take it away from this
program.
Lainie (33:28):
It sounds like they've they found a solution to this
sort of unique problem, but Ilook at it as a tourniquet and
not a solution I'm thinking likefor our people who always talk
about the angst of leg bracesand going through metal
detectors and they don't have tosay pre screening or whatever.
(33:49):
You know, holding something toshow.
I don't think it's somethingthat you necessarily have to
like, wear on, but showing itinstead of having to explain to
the TSA officer and wearingbraces going to go off, blah,
blah, blah, Supposedly you holdup this thing and they know what
that is.
Estela (34:07):
It sounds like it's a more discreet version of holding
like a disability parkingsticker or something.
It's not more discreet but atthe same time still
communicating non verbally thatyou know they they have some
form of non apparent disability,but I think it really speaks to
you know your experience andmany of our listeners that we
(34:28):
are.
We are many times forced to bein a situation where we have to
defend ourselves or explainourselves and that can be
exhausting, and I think the workthat you're doing, the, the
talk that Lainey did oninvisible, non apparent
disabilities is what we needmore of, because we really need
(34:50):
to show the full spectrum ofdisability, that it's not always
obvious that it has such a widespectrum and range and that
there are so many accommodationsthat can be made to set people
up for success, to create anaction, to create empathy, to
create collaboration, and Ithink your organization is doing
(35:12):
such a great job from that.
Where can people find moreabout you?
What projects are you currentlyworking on?
What should people you knowlook out for in the next coming
months of the year?
Ross Barchacky (35:27):
Yeah, so I mean wwwinclusivelycom.
Anybody can go create a freeprofile, start getting connected
with employers.
You know anyone that identifiesas having a disability Right.
So you know, even if you don'thave a formal diagnosis or
something like that, if you canbenefit from workplace
accommodations, come create aprofile and get a job with our
employers, because I know that'sa big part of it too, part that
(35:49):
a lot of people don't don'tnecessarily talk about.
Some of the projects that wehave coming up.
We just launched last month ourcommunity, and so we have the
ability for creatingconversations and dialogue and
housing services and trainingsas well, not just for our
employer partners, but also forour job seekers.
So once you create a profile,you'll have access to that as
(36:10):
well.
And then the last thing I'llmention is we actually just
launched, starting yesterday,our partner series.
So there's, you know, so manyorganizations.
You all are so excited for that, you know to really highlight
the work that everyone's doingin this space, because it's big
and we tend to get put in ourlittle bubbles when it comes to
(36:31):
disability inclusion.
You know I work at this.
You know place that providesservices for individuals with
blindness and low vision.
I know a lot about that, but itdoesn't necessarily make you an
expert in disability, and soyou know.
One thing that I would say isyou know, come get linked in
with these other organizations,hear about the work that they're
doing, because we're all in thesame fight, right?
(36:51):
We're just fighting differentfights within this, this sort of
larger war of disabilityinclusion, and so knowing what
everybody's doing around you isjust going to help set you up to
be able to sort of do thistogether and support each other.
Estela (37:02):
Yeah, and hearing those examples from your partners and
how they're implementing theprogram, I think really speaks
volumes to its success and howrealistic it can be, because,
yes, it sounds good, but how,how are people actually doing it
and making it successful?
And I'm proud to say that ahereditary neuropathy foundation
is one of your partners.
We did a presentation duringour Thrive Summit virtual summit
(37:27):
last year, which is actually onthe H&F website.
If you go to h&f-cureorg andyou click on the CMT at the top
and patient resources, you'llsee a whole slew of menu topics.
One of those are inclusive isinclusive employment, and we
have a great webinar there bySarah the CEO, and she kind of
(37:50):
did a demo of the platform andreally went step by step on how
to create a profile.
So we encourage everybody tocheck that out, sign up for
inclusively, join the communityand and let's get to work, yeah
and get a service dog if you areinterested.
Lainie (38:06):
I mean, like for our listeners who aren't looking for
jobs and not really interestedin that, I mean a service dog is
something to think about.
I mean I guess you first haveto like dogs or cats, but you
know, I mean it could really.
I mean, all the things that youmentioned that are that a
(38:27):
service dog is potentiallycapable is kind of mind blowing.
So I wonder how things willchange with the AI app.
You know, did you see thatthere's this like new AI app
that you know that you know theC for me app, that for people.
So now they have an AI.
Well, ai that leads you througha store like a virtual robot is
(38:55):
crazy.
But until you can get yourvirtual dog, you know, check out
service dogs.
Estela (39:03):
Yeah, there's action section in the patient care
section as well on caninecompanions.
We've had some people towebinars and some some great
experiences with that, so we'llput the whole yeah, and feel
free to contact me as well.
Ross Barchacky (39:20):
Ross and inclusivelycom connect with me
on LinkedIn If you havequestions about service dogs
where to get started, resourcesto help you fund one, how to
train one yourself.
I've gone through the journeymyself.
I help other people do it nowJust a sort of a side project,
and I'd be more than happy toshare what knowledge I have with
you to get you started.
Estela (39:38):
Wow.
So when you're not taking careof your five kids, you're doing
that.
Ross Barchacky (39:45):
You gotta keep busy.
Lainie (39:49):
It was super informative , interesting, and thank you so
much, and we're looking forwardto talking with you again soon
yes, when ours is going to airversus yours, but we're going to
be on theirs too.
Estela (40:02):
So we'll link to all.
Thanks so much, ross.
Thanks everyone for listening,hi everyone.
Lainie (40:37):
We're going to be on our next podcast, so leave us a
voicemail, or you can even sendus a text to 631-517-0066.
Estela (40:48):
Make sure to subscribe to this feed wherever podcasts
are available and leave us afive star review on Apple
podcasts.
While you're at it, follow usat embrace it underscore podcast
on Instagram and make sure tofollow all the great podcasts
produced by lunch pad 516studios.
Lainie (41:04):
We hope you join us next time and continue to embrace it
.
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