Jewish Family Service & Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley: Disability & Inclusion in our Jewish Community
Jewish Family Service (JFS) of the Lehigh Valley hosted a virtual town hall entitled “Disability and Inclusion in our Jewish Community.” Led by Lily Coltoff, Internal Communications Associate at Hillel International, and Amanda Thomas, Disability Liaison at JFS Lehigh Valley, the program included Lily’s story, disability 101, a brief overview of RespectAbility’s national data on Jewish Disability Inclusion, community discussion, and the creation of an action plan.
CJE SeniorLife + RespectAbility: Implicit Bias in Disability Employment
CJE SeniorLife partnered with RespectAbility for their tenth annual Policy, Advocacy and You Event. This event focused on implicit bias in disability employment. Rosann Corcoran, Manager of the Linkages Program at CJE SeniorLife, moderated the conversation between RespectAbility’s Jake Stimell, artist Justin Cooper, and Keshet board chair Michelle Friedman. As described by Justin, “the goal of this program is to challenge and change some existing bias that exists in the workplace about people with disabilities.”
Matan Koch and Rabbi Charles Sherman
Matan Koch met with Rabbi Charles Sherman of Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El, a small congregation in Pennsylvania with a dedicated Disability Inclusion Committee. Rabbi Sherman asked intriguing questions that prompted Matan to share about his disability, his experience as a Rabbi’s son, and his journey through the world of Jewish inclusion.
Success in the Workplace: Engaging People of All Abilities
Jewish Residential Services and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh hosted an engaging conversation between Jeremy Shapira, Chief Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Officer at Giant Eacle, Inc. and Lee Chernotsky, founder & CEO of ROSIES Foundation and RespectAbility advisory board member. The conversation highlighted benefits, for employers and employees, of engaging people of all abilities in the workplace.
