Past Events

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One in four U.S. adults has some form of disability. Not only are most disabilities non-visible—issues like mental health, chronic illness, dyslexia, and ADHD—but many people choose not to disclose their disability in order to avoid stigma. Given the size of the disability community and its essential contributions to society, why is access still such an afterthought? What factors contribute to discrimination and ableism? And how can philanthropy help?

In this episode of Impact Audio, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder of RespectAbility, addresses these questions (and more). [continue reading…]

Inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace is not only good for the community – it’s also good for business! This event featured a conversation exploring the benefits of a diverse workforce with:

• Jeremy Shapira, Chief Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Officer at Giant Eagle, Inc.
• Lee Chernotsky, Chief Encouragement Officer at ROSIES Foundation, a workforce development organization for people with diverse abilities
• Moderator: Becky Johnson, Director of the Career Development Center at JFCS Pittsburgh, which strives to create a diverse regional workforce

Held in celebration of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month, this event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, RespectAbility, and Jewish Residential Services.

The ZeroCon22 Fireside Chats were short and casual conversations on topics related to Accessibility. This session was part of the Zero Project Conference 2022 (ZeroCon22) — organized by the Zero Project, and broadcast from the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria. ZeroCon22 spanned three days (February 23-25, 2022) and was centered around the theme of Accessibility. It featured different tracks, covering innovations and insights from public transport systems to financial inclusion, corporate strategies to national action plans, and much more. For more information, visit zeroproject.org/zerocon22.

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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.

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CJE SeniorLife partnered with RespectAbility to put on this JDAIM event. The program challenged attendees to look at the implicit bias that organizations communicate from basic website design, employment applications, job descriptions and throughout the entire job application process. The program highlighted what a person with a disability experiences before they even consider applying to an organization and what can be done to advocate for the hiring and retention of more people with disabilities.

Moderator: Justin Cooper, Filmmaker, Artist, Disability Advocate
Speaker: Michelle Friedman, MA, Keshet Board Chairperson, Life Coach, Disability Advocate

[continue reading…]

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Attendees heard from some of our Jewish rising stars in the Disability Training & Speakers Bureau and got their free copy of RespectAbility’s new Jewish Disability Inclusion Toolkit. [continue reading…]

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Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley, Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, and RespectAbility hosted a virtual town hall forum on disability and inclusion in our Jewish Community.

This 1.5-hour discussion was open to everyone, and individuals with disabilities were encouraged to attend.

Lily Coltoff

JFS Disability Liaison Amanda Thomas, Ph.D., joined moderators from RespectAbility to lead the webinar. Lily Coltoff began by sharing some of her personal story and some of RespectAbility’s national Jewish disability inclusion data from their recent survey.

According to Statistics Canada, 22% of Canadians live with a disability. It’s a sure thing that someone you work with has a disability. Knowing that, are we creating workspaces that allow for accommodations without our colleagues having to ask or disclose their disability publicly? Are we inadvertently using ableist thinking? How can we make the work environment welcoming to all?

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, co-founder/director of the Mizrahi Family Charitable Fund, is a long-time serial innovator, and Jewish leader. She founded the disability-led nonprofit RespectAbility, which fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. In the last year, RespectAbility consulted on more than 200 entertainment media productions and provided testimony in every state on disability issues.

Join Sinai Temple and RespectAbility for a conversation about Jewish disability inclusion! Hear from filmmaker and actor Aaron Wolf and poet Erika Abbott about their experiences as Jews with disabilities. Following their reflections, there was a Q&A session led by Rabbi Erez Sherman from Sinai Temple.