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Unscripted E23

April 16, 2024 by Karen

Changing the Perception of Blindness

Unscripted E23

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Unscripted E23

Chris LaFollette, President/CEO of Arizona Industries for the Blind (AIB) and host David Steinmetz go unscripted and have a very open and direct conversation about eliminating barriers for people who are blind. In this episode they talk about everything from what holds people back, like fear and failure and defining success, to public policies that influence employment opportunities.

David shares that every day he takes risks, whether it’s in his professional life or in his personal life. David gave the example – when standing at an intersection, he can choose to cross the street, stand their and hope someone comes by to help or turn around and go home. If he really wants what’s on the other side, he has to believe in himself and his training to get to the other side. It’s the desire and drive that keeps him moving forward.

Arizona Industries for the Blind is an enterprise nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals who are blind to achieve their highest goals and aspiration through dignified employment while providing quality products and services to all its customers.

Chris LaFollette is the President/CEO of Arizona Industries for the Blind in Phoenix, Arizona. He currently has over twenty-one years working with National Industries for the Blind and a total of 25 years working with Department of Defense.

Chris worked with a NISH (National Industries for the Severely Handicap) organization for many years before he created a company that worked with National Industries for the blind and SourceAmerica organizations to better source commercial products for the federal government.

Chris is a graduate of Fayetteville State University and has spent most of his adult years being an advocate for the disabled and blind communities.

About Your Host

As the manager of Community and Public Relations, David Steinmetz uses his expertise, education, and personal experiences to “change the perception of blindness.”

Diagnosed with RP, a blinding retinal disease, at the age of 19, David uses his personal story to drive change that leads to improved employment outcomes and community integration for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Mr. Steinmetz graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Economics. Additionally, Steinmetz has continued his education by graduating from the Business Management Training (BMT) program provided by Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia.

In 2008, David was the national recipient of the National Industries for the Blind Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement award. This prestigious award recognized Mr. Steinmetz for his career achievements and community service work.

David Steinmetz is a member of the Governors’ Council on Blindness & Visual Impairments, is a Board Member at the Arizona Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired (ACBVI) and serves his community through the Chandler Lions Club.

Connect with David on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About the Show

Changing the Perception of Blindness; One Conversation at a Time is dedicated to breaking down barriers, de-mystifying blindness and promoting real world solutions that empower people who are blind to live a full and inclusive life.

Host, David Steinmetz connects with organizations, industry professionals and thought leaders who are working to bridge the gap that creates a world accessible for all.

About Arizona Industries for the Blind

Arizona Industries for the Blind is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating employment opportunities for people who are blind. It’s employees, more than half of whom are blind, deliver a variety of products and services, including a full-service Warehousing and Distribution Center, confidential Digital Data Scan (DDS) services for private businesses and government and the operation of Base Supply Centers located at each of Arizona’s three military bases under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Labor’s AbilityOne program.

Follow AIFB on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Changing the Perception of Blindness Starts with Asking the Questions E32

July 31, 2023 by angishields

Phoenix Business Radio

Changing the Perception of Blindness Starts with Asking the Questions E32

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Changing the Perception of Blindness Starts with Asking the Questions E32

When it comes to inclusion, it is all about education.

Surrounding yourself around others that are not like yourself is going to push you to learn more about others. This education then leads to the ability to be more inclusive and helping to be more accessible to other groups.

On this show, we had the chance to talk with two amazing gentlemen, both who started their lives out with vision and are now legally blind. The things that these gentlemen are doing to “change the perception of blindness” for others is instrumental!

In this discussion, they talk about the fears that set in when it comes to inclusion and accessibility. There is fear from one side when it comes to asking. Asking if a blind individual needs help. Asking how you can support them. There is fear from the blind community when it comes to applying for jobs, getting support, etc.

We all have fears when it comes to taking steps to change AND change is necessary. Asking the questions is something the simplest place to start.

This episode is a vital episode to listen to if you are wanting to support different communities in being more inclusive and accessible and you don’t know where to start. This podcast gives encouragement to just start. It can start with simply asking questions. Ask how to help, how to change, how to improve… and then let’s do it!

Did you know?

7 out of 10 working age people in Arizona who are blind or visually impaired are not working
Estimated to be about 20K
45% of hiring managers believe there are no jobs within their organization that a person who is blind could do
Changing the perception of blindness is the biggest barrier to employment and inclusion
So, ask the questions to start to make the change.

We are in this together and can make the changes to help others in the blind community. We can help this community and others to feel included and have the tools to allow them the access to resources and jobs.

Arizona Industries for the Blind (AIB) is a solution provider… Solving today’s complex business problems by providing quality products and value-added business process outsourcing services that matter to their customers, while providing a viable option for Arizonians who are blind or visually impaired to achieve their version of the American dream through dignified employment.

Their mission is to inspire individuals who are blind or visually impaired to achieve their highest goals and aspirations by creating and sustaining career opportunities while providing quality products and services.

Through collaborative partnerships with Federal, State and private sector companies, they are able to provide third party logistics services, document conversion services and quality AbilityOne products.

David Steinmetz is the Community and Public Relations Manager at Arizona Industries for the Blind in Phoenix. David works to “change the perception of blindness” through his advocacy and public relations efforts.

Mr. Steinmetz serves as the Public Information Committee Chair on the Governor’s Council on Blindness & Visual Impairments (GCBVI), and is a Board of Director on the Vision Rehabilitation Assistive Technology Expo and Arizona Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired.

David is a graduate of Arizona State University and participated in the National Industries for the Blind Business Management Training program through the Darden School of business.

In 2008, David was the recipient of the National Industries for the Blind Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement award. This prestigious award recognized Mr. Steinmetz for his career achievements and community service work.

Mr. Steinmetz enjoys spending time with his family, fishing and traveling across the United States. David believes that every person who is blind deserves the right to full participation in work, community and life and with the right training, right technology and right attitude, it is possible.

Follow AIB on LinkedIn and Facebook.

With a 70% unemployment rate in the blind community, Clusiv is helping remove barriers to employment for the blind community by revolutionizing training and services for the modern workforce.

Their eLearning platform has been built to be accesible with assistive technology that blind or visually impaired people use, and this platform holds employment skills training courses to cover technology, occupational and career skills for the modern-workforce.

Clusiv works with state vocational rehabilitation agencies to provide access to its courses to people who are blind or visually impaired. They help simplify the work of vocational rehabilitation counselors through their Assessment Tool, easy enrollment process, and positive outcomes for their clients to achieve measurable skills gained.

Clusiv is here to equip the blind community for employment and impact inclusion in the modern workforce by giving graduates the skills, confidence, and insights needed to find competitive integrated employment and be an advocate for positive change in the workforce for people with disabilities. To learn more and get in touch go to https://clusiv.io/.

Blake Steinecke grew up with perfect vision and at the age of 16 a condition called LHON caused him to go through severe central vision loss and become legally blind. This created many new challenges of relearning how to do school, navigating college, employment and more.

Blake has a degree in marketing from Cal State San Marcos and has worked in software sales, marketing in the mountain bike industry, accessibility testing and training, and now leads marketing for Clusiv as the Growth Manager.

Through Blakes work, he is able to connect his educational and professional background, his experience navigating the challenges of education and employment being blind, and his passion to serve the blind community through the work he does with Clusiv.

Outside of work Blake plays blind hockey for the US Blind Hockey Team, enjoys spending time with his wife, Amanda, and making videos, some of which you can find on his YouTube channel Adapting Sight.

Connect with Blake on LinkedIn and follow Clusiv on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Culture Crush

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”

As a growing company- Culture Crush Business Podcast is THE culture improvement resource that supports companies and leaders. Our Mission is to improve company cultures so people WANT to go to work. Employees and leaders should like where they work and we think this is possible.

Within the company: Culture Crush has Vetted Resources and Partnerships with the right people and resources that can help improve your company culture.

On this podcast: We focus on everything surrounding businesses with good company culture. We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company. We also find the companies that offer resources to help improve company culture and showcase them on the show to share their tips and tricks for growing culture.

About the Host

Kindra Maples is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).

She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.

Then came the opportunity for leading the Culture Crush Business Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.

Shout Outs

We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.

These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: info@culturecrushbusiness.com

All Things Disability Employment E15

May 22, 2023 by Karen

All-Things-Disability-Employment-feature

Changing the Perception of Blindness

All Things Disability Employment E15

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All Things Disability Employment E15

Chris Lafollette, Jeff Mittman and David Steinmetz talked all things disability employment including recruiting, training and retention for people who are blind .Jeff Mittman said that the biggest barrier to employment for individuals who are blind is the perception or misperception that these candidates are not capable to do the job.

HR professionals, DEI professionals and people with disabilities should listen to this show to learn that with the right training, right technology and the right attitude, people who are blind can compete and be successful in the workplace.

Rooted in more than 100 years of history, Bosma is one of the Midwest’s largest nonprofit organizations providing employment and training for people who are blind or visually impaired. More than half of its workforce is blind or visually impaired, providing quality products and services to companies while creating jobs for people who are blind or visually impaired.

The National Association for the Employment of People Who are Blind (NAEPB) represents and protects the collective interest of its member organizations to enable them to strengthen and maximize opportunities for people who are blind.

Jeffrey Mittman is the President & CEO of Bosma Enterprises, one of the largest disability service organizations in the Midwest and the largest employer of people who are blind in Indiana.

He also serves as President of the National Association for the Employment of People Who are Blind, a membership association of 90 agencies from across the United States who share the common goal of employing people who are blind.

Jeff has dedicated his life to service. He spent over 20 years in the United States Army, retiring as a Master Sergeant. In 2005 during deployment in Iraq, Mittman’s team was attacked by an Improvised Explosive Device resulting in severe head and facial trauma and numerous other injuries. After enduring over 40 operations to rebuild his face and body, Mittman adjusted to his “new normal”, learning to live with permanent blindness.

Following his military career, he continued his life of service, working for organizations that support our nation’s military and people who are blind or visually impaired in addition to roles in the private sector. He is a requested speaker across the United States, giving lectures and sharing the lessons he has learned from his life and work experiences.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn and follow Bosma on Facebook and Twitter.

Chris is a graduate of Fayetteville State University and has spent most of his adult years being an advocate for the disabled and blind communities.

About Your Host

As the manager of Community and Public Relations, David Steinmetz uses his expertise, education, and personal experiences to “change the perception of blindness.”

Connect with David on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About the Show

Host, David Steinmetz connects with organizations, industry professionals and thought leaders who are working to bridge the gap that creates a world accessible for all.

About Arizona Industries for the Blind

Follow AIFB on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Improving Employment Outcomes E2

February 22, 2022 by Karen

Changing the Perception of Blindness

Improving Employment Outcomes E2

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Improving Employment Outcomes E2

In this episode, host David Steinmetz and AIB President/CEO Chris LaFollette talked about the importance of recognizing the abilities of candidates who are blind or visually impaired, especially in a tight labor market.

Chris stated that Corporate America in partnership with nonprofit organizations can move the needle on the 70% unemployment rate among people who are blind or have other disabilities.

While small business and fortune 500 companies struggle to find qualified candidates to fill vacancies, they should look to the disability community. People who are blind or have other disabilities have diverse backgrounds, talents and abilities that help drive an organization forward.

Chris is a graduate of Fayetteville State University and has spent most of his adult years being an advocate for the disabled and blind communities.

About Your Host

As the manager of Community and Public Relations, David Steinmetz uses his expertise, education, and personal experiences to “change the perception of blindness.”

Connect with David on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About the Show

Host, David Steinmetz connects with organizations, industry professionals and thought leaders who are working to bridge the gap that creates a world accessible for all.