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Four speakers from the NBCUniversal Page Program with 2 Lab participants on Zoom together smilingLos Angeles, September 9 – Several talented graduates and current members of NBCUniversal’s Page Program recently met with the 2021 cohort of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities. The team provided insight, personal experiences and a detailed description of what the Page Program really consists of.

The NBCUniversal Page Program is a 12 to 15-month rotational learning and development program that gives participants, known in the program is Pages, exposure to the inner workings of the entertainment and media industries. The program is geared toward people of various educational backgrounds, especially recent graduates. The Page Program seeks to prepare Pages for early-career entry level positions within the industry, including within NBCUniversal itself. The group of graduates and current Page program participants confirmed to the RespectAbility Lab cohort that the end goal for most Pages is to become an employee at NBCUniversal upon completion of the program. [continue reading…]

Emerlynn Lampitoc and Robert Baltazar from NBCUniversal on Zoom together

Emerlynn Lampitoc and Robert Baltazar

Los Angeles, September 9 – During the final week of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals, NBCUniversal’s Robert Baltazar, Senior Director of the Creative Talent and Content Team, and Emerlynn Lampitoc, Vice President of Creative Talent and Content, joined the eager RespectAbility cohort to discuss NBCUniversal’s upcoming programs that support emerging creatives from underrepresented backgrounds. Lampitoc, as head of the Creative Talent and Content Team for Film, oversees the Global Talent Development & Inclusion Team and their efforts to push new voices into production roles.

Despite the new challenges brought about by the pandemic, NBCUniversal continued to bring on new talent into their space through Zoom. Programs like Writers on the Verge, Female Forward and Late Night Writers Workshop carried on virtually with the goal of getting new writers staffed on NBCU TV programs. In creating space for aspiring young directors, NBCU also hosts the Emerging Directors program to allow new talent to shadow on multiple episodes of a series and eventually have the opportunity to take the lead on their own episode. “This is a one-of-a-kind directing program where you’re actually guaranteed a directing assignment at the end of the program. So, it’s a spectacular opportunity for our directors,” explained Baltazar during NBCU’s presentation to RespectAbility’s Lab participants. [continue reading…]

Get Great Talent and Help Apprentices Gain Experience

Foundations and Philanthropy Serving Organizations are invited to apply to “host” a talented emerging professional with a disability. This “earn while you learn” virtual apprenticeship program is free for host organizations.

The MacArthur Foundation is granting funds for RespectAbility to expand their National Leadership Program to include a diverse talent-pipeline of people with disabilities that will work directly in philanthropy. Participants (Apprentices) in this program will gain skills and experience while working alongside RespectAbility for the first part of the grant period. They will then transition into a role with a host philanthropic partner in a foundation or philanthropy serving organization (PSO).

Sign Up To Host an Apprentice

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Ollie Cantos smiling in front of an American flag

Ollie Cantos

Today we celebrate workers. As a long-time working professional with a disability, I am intimately familiar with the barriers that keep talented people with disabilities out of the labor force. Beyond public policy issues around the benefits systems and work disincentives, popular culture itself and media depictions of disability are a crucial barrier that harm the aspirations of millions of people with disabilities. For decades, people with disabilities like me have been seen as “less than” – as incapable of doing any job or becoming a leader in any career field.

How have many people with disabilities responded to being told what they cannot do? They have paved their own way into a rewarding career by becoming entrepreneurs.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with disabilities are self-employed at a rate nearly twice that of their non-disabled peers. As of the 2019 American Community Survey, over 700,000 workers with disabilities were self-employed, enjoying the flexibility and opportunities that entrepreneurship provides. [continue reading…]

Animation of a bee flying next to an apple and a honey jar. Text: Shana Tova U'Metukah 5782! Have a Happy and Healthy New Year RespectAbility!Shabbat shalom and shana tova from RespectAbility! We hope you have a great year ahead and enjoy the animation above, created by former Jewish Inclusion Fellow Ben Rosloff. He is the force behind the disability film series “What Do You Pray For?”

At our website, you can find a list of accessible high holiday services. To congregations that are still making arrangements, it is too late for us to update the list for Rosh Hashanah, but we would be absolutely delighted to add you on for Yom Kippur. I’m also delighted to share two columns that explore how we can take the theme of T’shuvah and apply it to our inclusion practices. You can find the first one here and the second one here. [continue reading…]

Illustration of a shofar, apple and honey jar. Text: Rosh Hashanah Reflections by Nicole OlarschRosh Hashanah marks a fresh start, and is supposed to be a joyous day! And it is, for the most part, until I’m awkwardly sitting at dinner among my friends and family who are passing challah and engaged in conversations.

For probably 6 going on 7 years, I’ve been gluten-free. Before that, I have fond memories of passing the challah and dipping challah and apples into honey with my grandparents. At least for my family, I know that food, cooking and preparing for the holidays have been a major tradition and component of how we have celebrated Judaism and Jewish holidays. Making matzah ball soup with my mom and latkes with my sister are some of our greatest memories. [continue reading…]

Michelle K Wolf smiling headshot in front of a bookcase

Michelle K. Wolf

In my five years as Executive Director of JLA Trust & Services, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps Jewish and non-Jewish adults with a range of disabilities enjoy a high quality of life with affordable pooled special needs trusts, I have noticed one clear determinant of wellness and happiness for our clients. Is there a family member, close friend or kind neighbor who can provide ongoing support and assistance? In other words, is there anyone in this person’s life who is not being paid to care for this individual?

It is that crucial factor, much more than the primary diagnosis, level and impact of disability or even the amount of money available to them that makes the difference. Government programs cannot be counted on to take the initiative and follow through with individualized help. Support and friendship can come in many packages and forms, from a sibling or aunt who lives close by or far away, a former brother-in-law, or from a long-time friend of the parents. For one of our older clients, his help came from the two adult daughters of his girlfriend, even though that girlfriend had passed away. [continue reading…]

Pennsylvania state flagHarrisburg, PA, August 31 – Pennsylvanians with disabilities who want to earn an income and become independent have new options for doing so, thanks to a new program signed into law on July 1 by Governor Tom Wolf. Pennsylvania Act 69 means more workers with disabilities in Pennsylvania will be able to pursue employment and earn money without risking the loss of potentially life-saving benefits.

This is important news for the nearly 1 million working-age people living with disabilities in the Keystone State. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania had a 38.8 percent disability employment rate. However, hundreds of thousands of workers with disabilities lost their jobs due to the pandemic and they are now navigating a radically different labor force.

“After the pandemic that has reshaped our economy, it is time to devote significant attention to supporting the economic advancement of students, job-seekers, and entrepreneurs with disabilities,” said Olegario “Ollie” Cantos VII, Chairman of the national disability inclusion organization RespectAbility. “Pennsylvania has just expanded the type of program that directly helps people with disabilities enter the workforce without fear of losing the benefits that help them manage their disability. This is a win-win-win for Pennsylvania itself, Pennsylvania-based employers, and people with disabilities.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, August 31 – RespectAbility, a diverse disability-led nonprofit organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community, officially announced the release of its new strategic plan. The plan is the culmination of a year-long process that brought together a cadre of key influencers from across the country, building upon evidence-based research, refinement, and results from the past eight years. The result is a bold, forward-looking, and visionary five-year roadmap to shatter old paradigms by engaging in a multifaceted approach to remove physical, programmatic, and attitudinal barriers to full societal participation by people with all types of disabilities.

Ollie Cantos smiling in front of an American flag

Ollie Cantos

“As we look to the future to envision the full scope of what is truly possible, the challenges of today warrant nothing less than decisive and organized action,” said Ollie Cantos, the recently-elected Chairman of RespectAbility’s Board of Directors and the first member of the AAPI community to lead a national cross-disability group. “When individuals, organizations, private sector companies, and government agencies at all levels come together to achieve concrete and measurable outcomes that truly matter, everyone benefits.” [continue reading…]

David Sharif smiling headshot

David Sharif

Have you encountered an autistic student in your synagogue or religious school classroom? Have you wanted to interact with this student, but were unsure how to? These questions can be answered in many ways, but it requires collaboration between the students, parents, educators, and administration. Acceptance from classmates and the congregation as a whole is essential to creating a nurturing environment. It can be a challenging process, but it is worthwhile because autistic people have valuable contributions to make.

I was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. I could learn to read a word phonetically but struggled to understand the meaning of a sentence. [continue reading…]

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