Today I am in Astana! This is the Capitol of Kazakhstan! After we arrived and checked in at the Hilton Garden Inn, we met Sabina Ismail, a human rights leader who studied in the ADA Program with Veniamin in 2017. She is now working at an NGO with children with disabilities. She explained how children
The most important point, before I discuss the day, is to tell you today is a holiday in Kazakhstan. Today is Constitution Day! The day Kazakhstan adopted the Constitution as an independent country. I thought it was so amazing that Mary and I were here today and even more special is the name of the
We have arrived in Pavlodar for our meetings and I am so excited to see another city in Kazakhstan, with more to come! We had breakfast in Almaty and flew to Pavlodar. When we arrived at the airport in Pavlodar, we were greeted at the airport by another employee of the NGO, Irina Bobkova an
Tuesday morning, we met Veniamin and our translator Lukerya after breakfast. Our first meeting of the day was with Mr. Kuanysh Ulasbekov at the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. He awards grants from the Damu Foundation to people with disabilities to start their own businesses and to other businesses to hire people with disabilities. Although it
I have no words to convey how excited I am to spread the news about the employment of the people with disabilities on my first program day in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I am also proud of the U.S. State Department, working to break stigma that limits inclusion, employment, and engagement of people with disabilities around the
In 1997, Tony Coelho served as Chair of the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities. Tony was appointed to this position by President Clinton for his two terms in office. Tony quickly realized that more emphasis was placed on various types of vocational rehabilitation resources being offered through the federal and state
Over the years I have met many wonderful, young people that show the promise of being business and disability rights leaders of the future. The following blog was written by one of my interns, Asha, about her time in our office. It has been a joy for me and my team here at Bender Consulting
Taking the First Step to Becoming a Disability Leader One of my personal commitments as CEO of Bender Consulting Services is to the empowerment of young people with disabilities. Over the years I have been involved with various programs and organizations for youth and young adults with disabilities, including Bender Student Leaders, Disability Mentoring Day,
#iDisabilitya11y When you look at this hashtag, what do you see? You may see the word “ally”. As it relates to disability employment and inclusion campaigns, this of course refers to a colleague who is supportive of a community, such as the LGBTQ community, the disability community or other diverse groups, but does not designate
This was our last day in Japan. We certainly will miss our new and old friends. These trips always remind me of how people with disabilities around the world all strive to end stigma and increase employment. As you know, I live with epilepsy. A seizure is a seizure no matter where you live, but