Marla.Maloney: right because she doesn't opt in reciprocate.
Marla.Maloney: When I think about how this applies to the workplace, with this situation kind of leading up to where I am today it's really allowed me to be vulnerable.
Marla.Maloney: Because I understand that when people just really understand what sticking with me and with my family when Lindsay has some sleeping issues.
Marla.Maloney: And when she doesn't sleep at night I typically don't sleep at night and that's my kind of my deal with my husband mark I travel a lot, and so on the nights I travel he's got this on the nights I don't I take it.
Marla.Maloney: And it's it's a it's a great partnership, but, but there are those nights when she sleeps two or three hours or maybe not.
Marla.Maloney: And I come to the work, and I still got to do the work right, and so my team gives me some flexibility because i'm vulnerable because i'm humble.
Marla.Maloney: And then I give it to them, in return, because every family, regardless of whether you get a disability or not, you have seasons of life that are harder and some that are that you flourish and so i've really learned to be an open communicator in the workplace.
Nadine Augusta: marla Thank you so much for sharing that you know, one of the things that I can say is your vulnerability vulnerability at work has such a huge impact, and it really goes a long way to show.
Nadine Augusta: You know, to really show our employees our colleagues that it's okay and and really to show the value of it as well, their comments coming through in the chat of others who who really can.
Nadine Augusta: You know aligned to what you're saying, because they've experienced it themselves, and we do have a follow on question that came that came in that that I that i'm going to ask now because I think it really goes to what you touched on around.
Nadine Augusta: Your experience at work and and it's really, the question is how did this all change your relationships at work.
Marla.Maloney: It at first people were uncomfortable.
Marla.Maloney: Right, the people in my inner circle or.
Marla.Maloney: uncomfortable and I didn't mean to make them uncomfortable, I just wanted to be transparent with them.
Marla.Maloney: But, but, as with any relationship as you share, then they become more comfortable sharing, so I would say.
Marla.Maloney: The first two weeks a month, where I just said, I can't do this alone right, I spent a lot of a lot of time with my work colleagues.
Marla.Maloney: I still want to be President work, I still want to be successful, I still want them to be supported.
Marla.Maloney: As their leader, but I want to be supported by my leader, and so the first few conversations are really hard because i'd never done that, before i'd never put myself out there right we all live these lives.
Marla.Maloney: Well, some of us do right where we compartmentalize and we have our home life and we don't let that bleed into our work life and that's kind of how I was before.
Marla.Maloney: But I understood that just that mental anxiety trying to keep them separate and to be someone I wasn't.
Marla.Maloney: Right, I had a lot going on and I knew the days that I wasn't going to be able to be as effective as as on a day, where I didn't have when be asleep like asleep and she's like I.
Marla.Maloney: talked about the night before and so when you're first talking about disability, people are uncomfortable.
Marla.Maloney: right they don't know what the ass in most cases they don't want to be malicious but they're afraid to ask the wrong question, so I often shared more than they probably wanted to know.
Marla.Maloney: And that's not easy to do but.
Marla.Maloney: But now it's just it's my normal and i'm happy to share, because we all bring situations in the workplace, we spend an awful lot of time here and I want my relationships here to be authentic.
Marla.Maloney: And I think they are.
Nadine Augusta: Absolutely absolutely and vinny i'm going to direct the next question to you first and then and then tomorrow law many my believe they understand how to be an ally to people with a disability.
Nadine Augusta: However, beyond educating yourself at advocating for or amplifying the voices of people with disabilities.
Nadine Augusta: What does meaningful and active ally ship look like, and you know more or less touched on some of that but uh what are your thoughts on that.
Veneranda Aguirre: Oh yeah and i'm so moved by what you said marla because.
Veneranda Aguirre: it's amazing to hear but it's also very, very true I had to become a dealer and uncomfortable truths.
Veneranda Aguirre: That I didn't want to share I didn't want to show my vulnerability or my weeks i've been spent i've been spending so much of my life, trying to hide them.
Veneranda Aguirre: But I knew that the only way that meaningful change came and that I could get the help that I needed was to start talking about them.
Veneranda Aguirre: And it's really interesting to see who responds and how they respond and it's overwhelming for them, it really is it's overwhelming for them to hear it's overwhelming to live, but I have no choice in the matter.
Veneranda Aguirre: To effectively engage ally ship, I have to communicate these overwhelming concepts in ways that people will understand, not get burned out by and then want to help.
Veneranda Aguirre: And so great ally ship looks like being humble.
Veneranda Aguirre: It looks like being willing to learn, it looks like being willing to make a mistake and take constructive criticism and come back and just listen give us the benefit of the doubt.
Veneranda Aguirre: There is no reason, I have to make up any of the things that are going on, and believe me if I were going to make things up they'd be a lot more fun and a lot better.
Veneranda Aguirre: And I think allies need to learn how, especially in the er G community.
Veneranda Aguirre: You need to learn how to use layman language you need to learn how effectively to reach out to us in words that we are going to understand because the vernacular gets entrenched and the mentality gets very.
Veneranda Aguirre: bubble minded and we don't know what you're talking about employees in your organization might not know what's available to them, because of the way that.
Veneranda Aguirre: These things happen and it's natural.
Veneranda Aguirre: But effective communication goes both ways we're going to tell you what we need, and we need you to tell us what the resources are ways that we can take advantage of them.
Veneranda Aguirre: I think our ship also looks like championing us when we succeed, especially in our non traditional ways, because those are the ways that we really.
Veneranda Aguirre: contribute to a workplace is our non traditional thinking that comes from our non traditional living and experiencing of the world.
Veneranda Aguirre: And we also need disruptors We need people who are willing to push for paradigm shifts and those are uncomfortable, but I am so used to being uncomfortable at this point.
Veneranda Aguirre: And, in the meantime, when we can't change the paradigm, what we need, or disrupt.
Veneranda Aguirre: will be near accomplices accomplices, or people who are going to help us game, the system, who are going to help us get over under through whatever that obstacle is if we can crush through that obstacle we are going to find a way, and you have the energy, you have the.
Veneranda Aguirre: You have the privilege and you have the means to do it, I had this conversation over our tech meeting with marla and mark and I was oh my God it was such a.
Veneranda Aguirre: Like brilliant moment for me, we were just talking about the tech run through and she said, you know what I can tell my personal story, and then it can lead into where you want to go.
Veneranda Aguirre: And for the rest of the day I go oh my God this woman doesn't even know me and she's already trying to amplify my voice like that that was that was huge to me, you can understand how huge that was to me.
Nadine Augusta: that's all I am.
Nadine Augusta: amazing marla How would you, what are your thoughts on ally ship.
Nadine Augusta: and
Marla.Maloney: yeah they said so much there, so I don't want to repeat it, because I think it's really powerful and she's given us kind of direct action items to move forward, but.
Marla.Maloney: When you talk about being humble, we all need to be humble, and we need to listen right good allies are good listeners and they're good observer they talk to you about how I.
Marla.Maloney: I sit in a room differently, because not everyone has a communication skills that I do.
Marla.Maloney: Good allies truly want to know how individuals are affected by their disability in certain situations those conversations should start out as private conversations and we should let those persons impacted kind of tell us lay the foundation for for the ground rules.
Marla.Maloney: Good allies, you know they're always listening and they're there they're educating themselves as I mean i'm being educated today by Ben as she's sharing her experience right we're on the phone today because we want to learn.
Marla.Maloney: Good Alice respect differences, they come from different points of view, I think, in this situation, good Alice they consider a sustainability.
Marla.Maloney: and accessibility as a big word there with many different right as it relates to disability as many different meetings, but you consider accessibility and everything that we do.
Marla.Maloney: And we hire and promote people right we lead the way we're trailblazers as it relates to disability.
Marla.Maloney: One thing I have to be careful of, even though I have a child, with disability, I live it every day is to not assume.
Marla.Maloney: Good Alice don't assume because we're all built uniquely different I think the good allies offer help you know many talked about that in the pandemic about not only did you ask for help you offered help.
Marla.Maloney: And and that's so important, we take for granted that someone you know, can do it without us, and it may be an intrusion, but you offer it and then I think Lastly, what I just like to say.
Marla.Maloney: Is that if you're on the phone today and you're coming you know you're in a corporate environment, and you have the ability to move the needle.
Marla.Maloney: We have to leverage our influence to promote accessibility and inclusion and we have to be very vocal and and we can do that, in a way that's very professional and very tactful.
Marla.Maloney: But, but I think it's it's it's a requirement as leaders and organizations that are.
Marla.Maloney: Much more open to change post covert and and understanding, then they were now we're not there yet Krishna and wake wasn't there yet we're on a journey and I will tell you and i'm leading the group ar ar ar GE we have so much work to do here.
Marla.Maloney: And we're going to do it.
Nadine Augusta: Absolutely absolutely thank you both for for really you know digging in there and and sharing some really important in meaningful ways that we each can be we all can be allies.
Nadine Augusta: I want to pivot to the audience, we have a couple of questions here um so question directed to you, then a as an adult with a disability.
Nadine Augusta: What is your perspective about disclosure whether whether you need an accommodation or not, and I think you've you've touched on that quite a bit in your comments earlier, but how would you is there anything more you would add to that.
Veneranda Aguirre: um I can speak in terms of my public speaking work because honestly I am unemployed, so that I can stay on medicare and I think you need to hear that that's an uncomfortable truth on medicaid.
Veneranda Aguirre: there's this there's this valley in between medicaid freelance work and salaried employment with.
Veneranda Aguirre: With health care, and so I don't have a lot to contribute in terms of workspace but as a public speaker.
Veneranda Aguirre: The first thing that I go in, when I am hired is I start modeling the ways in which i'm going to ask for accommodations and in the beginning, it sounds it comes off as like diva.
Veneranda Aguirre: kind of stuff I will say I need one point person, because I can't work with 10 different organizations to go to billing and invoicing and blah blah blah that's not what I do my first job.
Veneranda Aguirre: With an organization was Nintendo and they had me work with their invoicing system for companies that.
Veneranda Aguirre: sell them over $2 million worth of annual services and goods and that's the organization that I was filtered through.
Veneranda Aguirre: So I try and make my requests plainly stated, and I try and give motivations for them and I asked comely but I try and inform when i'm doing it and i'm always trying to model this behavior so that when I see it back, I know that i'm actually being listened to and i'm making an impact.
Nadine Augusta: Thank you, thank you.
Nadine Augusta: So so let's pivot to a question i'm gonna direct to the both of you, but i'm gonna start off with marla what are some actions that each of us can take to co create an inclusive spaces for those who are within the disability community.
Nadine Augusta: And marla you know from your perspective as a caregiver what are some what are some actions, we can we can take.
Marla.Maloney: Well, I think I mean there's you know there's some things here in terms of.
Marla.Maloney: This is personal, but I think you know we we all have preconceived notions right, we need to leave those at the door.
Marla.Maloney: I think that you know, we should just when we think about accommodation, or for us all, we talked a little bit about US navy and we need to be active listeners, we need to understand the situations.
Marla.Maloney: we're always we're moving through life and we're entering we're opening new doors, as it relates to work or just school, you know, I think that.
Marla.Maloney: We need to leave our preconceived notions at the door, we need to understand what what what like you were talking about veni.
Marla.Maloney: You know what accommodated they're needed by asking the questions and what make what does success look like.
Marla.Maloney: You know, not every disability is visible, and so we have to understand what our what our needs are from our employees.
Marla.Maloney: or as a caregiver you know for Lindsay I understand kind of where she can be successful and not, I think, managers, you know they can they need to focus on creating an awareness through education.
Marla.Maloney: And that's the goal of our era G it's called beta cushman and Wakefield and so, for you leaders on the phone if you don't have an energy focus on disability that's your homework.
Marla.Maloney: Please do that be brave i'm finding is like you to sponsor I guarantee you there's an executive sponsor in your organization like me.
Marla.Maloney: That is struggling with this every day on the homefront to balance to do the right thing to be advocates for people with disability and to be very real and what we found where.
Marla.Maloney: we're going through an enrollment process here cushman and this disability group is is fairly new but we sent we're on a campaign, if you will, and we were overwhelmed.
Marla.Maloney: By the amount of participation, we got from either people with disability or with caregivers and so cast a big net.
Marla.Maloney: create a campaign so so the action is do I guess the action is do something right if you're sitting in an organization today and it's not there and do something about it, the beat, of course, and change.
Nadine Augusta: Absolutely invent a from your perspective.
Veneranda Aguirre: I think before we can even talk about creating an inclusive workspace for autistic people, we have to talk about the impediments of that are put there for artistic people to get into the workplace and that starts with education and the.
Veneranda Aguirre: and on top of college education, the cost or something like $3,000 to $72,000 to get an artistic a comment accommodations in universities that's on top of tuition.
Veneranda Aguirre: And a lot of people who live with disabilities are unable to come up with those funds and those scholarships don't exist to cover those extra costs.
Veneranda Aguirre: The next thing is in recruitment and hiring unfortunately job offerings are vague and keep the end people in keep the out people out if you've ever read a job, offering as a person who doesn't work in that field it reads like jibberish you just don't know.
Veneranda Aguirre: resumes.
Veneranda Aguirre: We already know the internal biases that people have when they read resumes but algorithms that are meant to kind of get rid of those.
Veneranda Aguirre: biases create new biases especially around autistic people who might have gaps in employment, who might have partial degrees.
Veneranda Aguirre: Who might not know how to effectively use the keywords that resumes are supposed to have it's a world we don't understand.
Veneranda Aguirre: personality assessments are intentionally meant to keep autistic people out of the workplace and people who think that they are you know that they don't, but they do it's like.
Veneranda Aguirre: there's a really great documentary I think it's on HBO about that and forth interviews, we all know, autistic people are not going to shine at them.
Veneranda Aguirre: But we have to find other ways around that and then, when it comes to the workplace when it comes to inclusion.
Veneranda Aguirre: We have to get rid of processed driven one size fits all solution in in education we use individualized education programs, we need to have managers who know how to treat.
Veneranda Aguirre: Their talent like pitchers you know you rest them you you work them out you don't treat you don't ask them to be great catchers if there are pictures treat them like pictures don't expect them to do the stuff that they're really bad at well and stop grading them on that stuff.
Veneranda Aguirre: Stop over don't over schedule as US don't interrupt us artistic people don't work well in those systems and will burn out faster we won't have careers, will have a bunch of short lived really good jobs with highlights and lowlights.
Veneranda Aguirre: and the last thing is listen to us there was this recent lawsuit have an employee.
Veneranda Aguirre: who had anxiety and didn't disclose it and when they wanted to give them birthday party he said no, they through the birthday party anyway, he hid in his car.
Veneranda Aguirre: And then got reprimanded for hiding his car in his car and his fear response came up and he looked scary to his employer, so they fired him.
Veneranda Aguirre: I mean, this is the kind of stuff that like unfortunately autistic people deal with so before we can include them, we have to actually know what the problems look like, and this is just the beginning of the conversation.
Veneranda Aguirre: I know, but I have to deal with these uncomfortable truths and i'm glad that you're here to listen.
Nadine Augusta: And tactics Thank you so much for amplifying all of that, you know many of what you said just feels like common sense right or just you know, being a.
Nadine Augusta: Good inclusive leader and and we know that oftentimes we do need more work to develop our leaders to know how to be respectful to be more inclusive to.
Nadine Augusta: You know, to really just you know play on the strengths of our employees and not force them in a box.
Nadine Augusta: That that they don't belong in and so thank you so much for sharing all of that, the I want to say to the audience, we are, I have a couple more questions that.
Nadine Augusta: I definitely I want to get across but want to give you an opportunity to send any questions that you would like to ask, and I see a really good question come in and i'm going to wait on that one, because I think that actually is a good question for us to end on, and so let me.
Nadine Augusta: hear more from marla and they may so many companies across industries struggle to engage with and effectively leverage the value employees with disabilities, bring.
Nadine Augusta: What do you think are some of the common person preconceived notions that impact effective engagement and what should employers and managers be focused on.
Nadine Augusta: And so I will go with marla first.
Marla.Maloney: yeah We talked I talked about preconceived notions a little bit ago I think that we all as leaders have to increase our competence competence comes with learning and accomplish.
Marla.Maloney: It comes with training so once I competence, I can have confidence that I can have these tough conversations that I can understand what our employees needs are.
Marla.Maloney: I should be focused on all of my voice, but especially those employees that are willing to say I can be very successful here, but I need your help, just like you talked about many right there there, there are certain parameters that you'll be effective and we shouldn't bombard you.
Marla.Maloney: There are more environments that that create success so across organization, we need a success we include employees with disabilities, but we need to understand what helps them and what hinders them.
Marla.Maloney: We need to learn accepted practices and interacting we can't we can't get there, unless we're talking that we're creating a culture of authenticity.
Marla.Maloney: And yes, I carry a president title, but I want to know about you, I want to have a genuine relationship with you and I wonder understand.
Marla.Maloney: How you best fit into organization what you want to do, how you want to grow what you need from me, in order to be your best self.
Marla.Maloney: I think that we need to signal every leader needs to signal their organizations commitment to individuals with disabilities.
Marla.Maloney: How you do, that is you're right you under you understand how i've done that i've done that, by being vulnerable and i've been open.
Marla.Maloney: But this is a very valuable segment of the workforce that is underutilized.
Marla.Maloney: will increase the likelihood that by doing these things really increase the likelihood that we we hear from our existing employees that have been uncomfortable disclosing their disabilities and when we do that.
Marla.Maloney: Right and they have a safe place to talk that they abacus cadence with their leader, but their leader, allows them to baltimore and vice versa.
Marla.Maloney: right we increase productivity so Those are the things I think that I would be focused on as a manager in a new journey as we think about how we really work with a segment of our workforce understand them help them grow and be successful in our environments.
Nadine Augusta: Fantastic Thank you marla I think you know, a cushman and Wakefield you mentioned earlier that you know we're really leaning in to disability inclusion and.
Nadine Augusta: And the uptake and the interest that we've received from employees that we might not have thought would reach out and and raise their hand to get involved is really a testament that a what are your thoughts.
Veneranda Aguirre: So many and not enough time to cover in this, but i'm going to just.
Veneranda Aguirre: go over a few one individualized employee plans we fundamentally we work differently, we look like we work differently, we might not be nine to five our time schedules might be different, we might be able to hyper focus and then we need to take breaks.
Veneranda Aguirre: Where our communication styles are different, and there are some checklists out there that are really good that employees can use to sort of give an idea of how they work and how they want to be communicated with.
Veneranda Aguirre: And we might need our hands held a little bit more in the beginning, and, as a lawyer, I understand the fundamental limitations of you know, reasonable accommodations.
Veneranda Aguirre: What is reasonable and if we if we limit ourselves to what the legal definition is I think we're missing the boat, we want substantive change we want qualitative change not quantitative change and another issue is.
Veneranda Aguirre: If I have like my wish list we'd be bringing in support staff, we could have social workers inside the workplace, because managers and HR people can't handle the needs of people with disabilities.
Veneranda Aguirre: I have asynchronous growth in my life I speak really well in public i'm intellectually brilliant, but when it comes to be able to make doctor's appointments or sometimes paying bills or understanding something.
Veneranda Aguirre: With a Commission tuning communication style with someone in the office, I will have limitations there and I don't expect a manager or an HR person to know that, but you can bring social workers into the workplace to do that they've been doing it in.
Veneranda Aguirre: In the medical system and they work, parallel to get ready to deal with micro aggressions to deal with situations that don't come up normally.
Veneranda Aguirre: And another thing is don't pigeonhole or ghetto as us, we have so many varied gifts and talents and, yes, there are autistic people who are great and tech who are going to be great like coders.
Veneranda Aguirre: And systems testers, but if you look at the historical Pantheon of autistic greatness yeah you have inventors like tesla and Einstein you have stand up comedians.
Veneranda Aguirre: Like Jerry seinfeld you have Dan aykroyd you have writers, you have artists, we do so much you have therapists we are capable of so much.
Veneranda Aguirre: But we're not going to look like your traditional higher and I don't have the answers on how to bring us in, but I have so much to give in terms of like who we are and our potential.
Veneranda Aguirre: And you know if you want to leverage me, I have to put in self plug hit me up, I can help, and I can help you navigate a lot of things because there's just so much that i've learned.
Veneranda Aguirre: there's so much more, I want to say, but i'm going to leave it at that.
Nadine Augusta: Thank you so much that a really fantastic to hear to hear from you into it and then, of course, give yourself the plug.
Nadine Augusta: that's why we're here right, so thank you.
Nadine Augusta: So so there's a question that came in that that I think it's a great question.
Nadine Augusta: to usher us out with which is you know, for both you benny and marlo and it really about yourself and taking care of yourself so so.
Nadine Augusta: How do you maintain self care and mental wellness vinay You know yourself with someone with a disability navigating all that navigate and marla as a caregiver, how do you take care of yourself and ensure that you are well, so you can be well for your loved ones.
Nadine Augusta: well.
Nadine Augusta: start with you.
Veneranda Aguirre: The first thing is, is that I try not to overtax myself and I have to get very.
Veneranda Aguirre: cognizant of what's going on in my head autistics in general don't have interception or pro perception we don't know.
Veneranda Aguirre: What our bodies are doing on the outside and we don't know what our bodies are doing on the inside, so I have had to become an expert.
Veneranda Aguirre: On what my body does and what a physical thing means in terms of like did I eat did I forget to drink did I forget to sleep they're all sorts of things that I don't necessarily know I didn't do.
Veneranda Aguirre: So getting really quiet with that then comfortable with that and and then also having a lot of fun going out letting loose being silly being bored taking breaks being gentle with myself and forgiving of myself because i'm such a perfectionist and it's my biggest limitation.
Veneranda Aguirre: And i've had to just learn, you know what it's okay it's good enough guy you through today you survived tomorrow you go out you do it again and eat my wheaties take my vitamins.
Nadine Augusta: Thank you, thank you and I gotta tell you i'm priscilla Collins who identifies herself as an attorney who's also autistic Thank you very much for sharing sharing your thoughts and being vulnerable marla, how do you take care of yourself.
Nadine Augusta: You are unmute.
Marla.Maloney: Thanks sorry about that so so it's been a journey and a Dean.
Marla.Maloney: i'm a working mom I travel a lot and I have a fair amount of guilt about that, on the flip side, I know that Lindsay will never be able to work and to support herself.
Marla.Maloney: So I carry that with me and and I would probably have been motivated before in terms of my career but i'm really motivated.
Marla.Maloney: i'm really motivated to save for retirement i'm really motivated to see for a child who I don't want to be a burden to her sister right that can't work for the that will not hold down employment.
Marla.Maloney: And so.
Marla.Maloney: On the weekends i'm always home, I took them home Friday through Monday, but I try to travel Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and I felt guilty for the longest time about having someone come in for respite care.
Marla.Maloney: Because I traveled that week because I hadn't spent the time with Lindsay and I want to parent my children.
Marla.Maloney: But what I found was my tank was empty right I didn't take a walk I didn't go to yoga I didn't get on a bike I love the garden I love to cook I love to read, write those things fill my tank I have a 90 year old mother who.
Marla.Maloney: she's a joy right, I also want to be present with her and so all of those things fill my tank and in order to do that I need help at home respite help.
Marla.Maloney: And finally, when I got to that point where I decided that you know it does come down to the caregivers though I mean i'm really selective about the people that I allow to be with Lindsay and I want continuity.
Marla.Maloney: And so that's part of the process to go through to find that respite help but.
Marla.Maloney: But both on Saturday and Sunday now I have someone that comes and helps me in there it's a constant and it's on Wednesday loves.
Marla.Maloney: it's someone that's close to her age it's someone that loves to go to the park it's someone that loves music like she does not that I don't love these things I do.
Marla.Maloney: But with that match I feel comfortable you know expanding our network and allowing someone into my life, but also enjoy Lindsay.
Marla.Maloney: And it allows me to do the things that fill my tank as well, so good question it took me a while, though, to get there and I didn't like the human that I was without having some time to just right we all get to plead it and we do need to take those things that really bring us joy.
Nadine Augusta: Fantastic I gotta tell you I thank you both so very much for this conversation absolutely feel energized I feel inspired.
Nadine Augusta: And really activated and i'm sure our audience our participants feel the same way, I feel activate to continue to do this work at cushman and Wakefield.
Nadine Augusta: and beyond, and then I look forward to staying connected with you and having more opportunities like this and marla look forward to continuing to partner with you and doing this incredibly important work at cushman Wakefield and thank you so much.
Marla.Maloney: Thanks everyone for attending and it was a joy to share my story.
Nadine Augusta: Thank you i'm fantastic Thank you well.
Nadine Vogel: Thank you all my goodness, what.
Nadine Vogel: You know I just put this under the umbrella of real talk ladies.
Nadine Vogel: And we need more real talk not just it conferences, but in the workplace, we need more of this.
Nadine Vogel: marla I just on a personal note, I hung on to every word, you said, I have two adult daughters with disabilities and I spent 20 years in corporate and commuting and traveling and I I feel ya I get ya I love ya I.
Nadine Vogel: Put it out there and I love having my mind my Alter Ego needy.
Nadine Vogel: leading this session, you know, one of the comments that came in that I would like to bring up before we close out is really kudos to cushman and Wakefield.
Nadine Vogel: Someone made a comment that you know, in light of Kobe.
Nadine Vogel: That, if any industry has been impacted in negative ways it's been you guys three it's been commercial real estate and the fact that you took this on.
Nadine Vogel: And and are just working at this so hard just kudos I there was about five different comments that came in saying pretty much the same thing you know.
Nadine Vogel: And then another one just came in about a fantastic discussion Thank you so much for humility vulnerability and thought leadership so again what an amazing way to close out the education portion of the conference.
Nadine Vogel: We are going to now take a 15 minute break so that will take us it's about 352 so I don't know what is that for for 10 maybe.
Nadine Vogel: So why don't we all plan to be back at 410 Eastern and we will present our awards and have some closing remarks, so thank you again, and look forward to seeing you all in 15 minutes.
Extending.
Nadine Augusta: Thank you.
vFairs Team: Well, welcome back everybody, thank you for that 15 minute break and now we're going into the most important part of the conference and we're going to bring on our disability inclusion queen all hail the Queen.
vFairs Team: so that she can award and acknowledge our honorees medium.
Nadine Vogel: Hello Hello and.
Nadine Vogel: Welcome back everybody and as That said, this is, this is, to me, one of the most important parts of our Conference, because you guys, are the ones that are walking the talk, you are doing it and you're doing it in a way that.
Nadine Vogel: permeates throughout you know, employees and candidates and customers and just everyone and that's so important to me.
Nadine Vogel: You know, during coven so many companies kind of took a heads down approach and really didn't do as much as they typically do in other years, and so, because of that our honorees this year or.
Nadine Vogel: Even more special than usual, because even when everything was going on all the turmoil you guys still made such a major commitment to this work, and it means so much to me personally, so are you ready that.
Nadine Vogel: Our first honoree is in the marketplace category calls yay and accepting the award is Michelle banks chief diversity and inclusion officer at kohl's.
Nadine Vogel: And, before I turn this over to Michelle and offer you to make some comments, I just want to say you know when when you guys were speaking at the conference earlier.
Nadine Vogel: You spoke about your work with runway of dreams and your sponsor of their Conference, I am very proud to say that I worked with mindy.
Nadine Vogel: in getting that that nonprofit started I served on the board for many years and, in fact, one of my daughters was a model in their fashion show.
Nadine Vogel: So the commentary that you made and the work that you are doing, I just have to say is is just so personal to me as well, so Michelle come on out we'd love to hear some comments.
Michelle Banks: And allow oh.
Nadine Vogel: hey.
Michelle Banks: Oh, my God it's such an honor to be here Thank you so much, they Dean, thank you for the honor of being here with disability matters.
Michelle Banks: It has been an incredible journey in partnership with you has been something that the team is truly cherish.
Michelle Banks: All of the resources you provided again have been something that, as an organization has been so beneficial to all of us, and again to your point this partnership and in our engagement with each other has been personal to me too.
Michelle Banks: So obviously again, you know from a business perspective there's a lot of benefits there, but I was thinking about my life in totality and.
Michelle Banks: I just shared with my mom it's interesting because she worked at the rehabilitations to Chicago.
Michelle Banks: For 20 years when I was growing up, and I remember, being a little girl going to work with her every day and I don't know that, again, is my life started to evolve.
Michelle Banks: That I connected the dots that i've always had a personal affinity for all people, and obviously again a very special place in my heart with them people with ability so.
Michelle Banks: I say that again to say again it's a true honor to be here and to represent kohl's and to represent our work around the adaptive clothing line so.
Michelle Banks: We shared a lot of that detail yesterday very proud of the work from the SVP and the merchant office to.
Michelle Banks: I will tell you one of our directors don AG, it was like a personal venture of hers and she really stood behind this and, like I said there's just so many people that are so engaged in this, and again will really appreciate.
Michelle Banks: The award and then more importantly it's not even about the award right now to see your name in lights, but it's the acknowledgement that the work has meant so much to so many people so i'm sincerely humbly Thank you.
Michelle Banks: Thank you, thank you.
Nadine Vogel: Well, you are welcome, and you will actually be receiving a real award.
Nadine Vogel: It is being sent so, then you can share with everyone concerned and and just know that the impact, you have as far and wide and we just can't wait to see what you all do next, so thank you.
Michelle Banks: Thank you it's an honor Thank you.
Michelle Banks: bye bye.
vFairs Team: Michelle we're going to keep you on the panel side we're just asking you to turn off your camera while we did the other awards.
Michelle Banks: Yes, ma'am.
Nadine Vogel: Okay, our next honoree is a marketplace mortgage inclusion initiatives.
Nadine Vogel: So accepting this award is Dr Brent fields chief executive officer and President of morgan's inclusion initiatives.
Nadine Vogel: So what i'd like to say about about morgan's is, I may have mentioned this during the conference, we were honored to be able to hold this event disability matters at morgan's Wonderland.
Nadine Vogel: Before any of the other theme parks or any of the other inclusion initiatives were part of this, and what a wonderful wonderful experience for all of us to have done that, and to into experience.
Nadine Vogel: Where the accommodation, if you will, was really more for people who didn't have disabilities and did, and that was just very touching to all of us so with that Dr fields congratulations.
Brent Fields: hey well thanks so much and we're honored to be part of this event, and this recognition and also just to join the space with other great champions like cole's so.
Brent Fields: Thank you for the opportunity thanks for all that you're doing and everyone who's part of this gathering is doing collectively to just make the world a more inclusive place.
Brent Fields: As we often say our vision is to spark cultural change and create a more inclusive world and part of that means partnering with great champions around the country, and this is a great opportunity for us to do that and we're just honored to be in this space well, thank you.
Nadine Vogel: Thank you so much, I get goosebumps you will also receive your award.
Nadine Vogel: So Gretchen let's go to.
vFairs Team: So you can come back on screen, so we can celebrate.
Nadine Vogel: Yes, so we have a video that I don't know who was on when we open day one.
Nadine Vogel: But it's from Michael franti he was hoping to join us at the conference was not able to sent us his video of a song called good day for a good day and I have to say, for our to honorees for Morgan ones for morgan's Wonderland initiative and for calls.
Nadine Vogel: You have made.
Nadine Vogel: Not just a good day for a good day, but many good days for everyone, and so we want to replay this in honor of those of you and your organization's.
Nadine Vogel: Everybody.
Everybody good at each other.
Money wrapped in a blanket and put it in a bug could you see that maybe that baby was just saying is you know it's never been easy for everybody agrees.
And I hope you realize when you look into another person's eyes mood today.
Today, would be a very good day.
With a little more a little more laughter little more good vibes less disaster, you know to be a very good day have a good day oh.
everybody's in the streets are coffins fog in the air, going to send it to you cough in class to give you were down there with the dolphins everybody was born.
So everybody is connected like to disconnect yourself from the drama everybody's finding he'll.
never been every day for everybody.
Hope you realize when you look into another person's eyes.
Good day.
Today, with you very good day good day with a little more a little more laughter little more good backs less disaster, you know every.
Day.
Nadine Vogel: So from morgan's Wonderland your initiative, all of the theme parks for calls for everything you do.
Nadine Vogel: Those smiles that you saw that video you put smiles like that on all of our faces, and I just want to personally say thank you.
Nadine Vogel: So thank you to you to all the work you do, thank you to all of our presenters our keynote speakers our participants sponsors.
Nadine Vogel: Oh, my gosh we covered so many topics in these two days I cannot wait to see all of you back in person at disability matters.
Nadine Vogel: This week next year in charleston South Carolina you will be hearing more from the team and we couldn't end this without me thanking the team.
Nadine Vogel: Everyone in springboard, especially the folks that worked on this conference directly if that and Gretchen and libby and brandi are capture and one of the things the fairies and the team for tema you did a great job we love you all, and we will see you next year, but by everybody.
vFairs Team: All right, that takes us to the end, thank you and a Dean, thank you, Dr fields, thank you, Michelle and thank you for attending the 2022 disability matters North America conference and awards live stream, we will see you in 2023 market calendars it's charleston South Carolina see you then.
bye bye everybody.