Joyce Bender, Founder and CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, PA, has been appointed to represent Epilepsy Alliance America on the National Plan for Epilepsy Committee (NPEC), a multi-organizational effort that seeks to unite the epilepsy community to support development of a U.S. National Plan for Epilepsy (Plan).
NPEC is comprised of representatives from nine epilepsy organizations: the American Epilepsy Society, CURE Epilepsy, Epilepsies Action Network, Epilepsy Alliance America, Epilepsy Foundation of America, Epilepsy Leadership Council, International League Against Epilepsy-North America, National Association of Epilepsy Centers and the Rare Epilepsy Network. NPEC is facilitating a process for broad input and support from the entire epilepsy community – people with epilepsy, their families, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, patient advocacy groups, and others – to contribute their expertise to create consensus policy and programmatic recommendations and advance the Plan.
As a woman living with epilepsy and an international advocate, this appointment is especially meaningful to Joyce. Upon hearing this news, Joyce said “I take this responsibility very seriously as I know the stigma of epilepsy is a global barrier for quality of life. We have so much work to do as we unite and coalesce epilepsy organizations within NPEC to advocate for policies and programs that will benefit this community that I and millions of people with disabilities belong to. This is my life’s work, and I’m honored to continue it as part of NPEC.”
Joyce is also the Founder and CEO of the Bender Leadership Academy, a non-profit organization established in 2018 committed to expanding opportunities for employment of people with disabilities from youth through adulthood. This is an extension of her passion and decades of commitment and leadership at Bender Consulting Services, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2025. Bender continues to work with leading corporations and organizations to identify employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Joyce is the current Vice Chair and Past Chair of the Board of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), is on the Board of Trustees for the Bazelon Center, and a current member of Disability Rights Pennsylvania and the Epilepsy Association of Western/Central Pennsylvania.
Outside of her domestic work, Joyce has represented the State Department on informational exchanges related to disability employment best practices. She has also represented the State Department in programming with Panama, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia.
If you have any questions about Bender Consulting Services or the Bender Leadership Academy, please contact Sherry Lapaglia at slapaglia@benderconsult.com.