Business

Brittany is sitting on the ground cross-legged with her husband, Rich, and their dog, Atlas, in between them. Both Rich and Brittany are smiling and wearing white shirts and jeans. Rich has fair skin, short dark blonde hair, and green eyes. Atlas is a medium-sized bernedoodle that is black, white, and brown. A forest and small pond are in the background.

Brittany Palmer — A Venture in Life and Venture Capital

Venture capital (VC) plays a vital role in developing new technologies and supporting the growing space of disability innovations. Bringing their lived experience to the world of venture capital are Brittany and Rich Palmer, a husband-and-wife team who run Adaptation Ventures, a venture capital fund dedicated to early-stage, disability-centric innovations. Brittany, who was born with … Read more

Woman with long blonde hair, glasses and black professional dress presents to an audience next to a screen that reads "Reasonable Accommodation: Long-Term."

Rachel Shaw: Getting to Yes in Workplace Accessibility

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Employees with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations to perform their jobs. With the recent rise of Long COVID—a series of symptoms that remain after recovering—requests to work from home have surged, often clashing with mandatory return-to-office policies. When employers and employees disagree on these accommodations, the results are often costly litigation, lost … Read more

ABILITY Job Fair — Bringing Best Practices of Inclusion, Accessibility and Compliance to Virtual Job Fairs

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Key Elements of ABILITY Job Fair (abilityjobfair.org) ABILITY Job Fair (a service of ABILITY Corps) is a pioneering, accessible virtual recruitment platform designed specifically by and for people with disabilities. It connects inclusive employers—including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profits—with a highly qualified, diverse talent pool. The platform is powered by the proprietary abilityCONNECT.online … Read more

Bob Parsons — GoDaddy founder, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Author and Mental Health Advocate

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If you were on the internet in the 90s, chances are high that you know the name GoDaddy. Behind the creation of the successful domain registrar is a man named Bob Parsons, a veteran with a torrid past and a common fallout of war–PTSD. Bob Parsons’ new book Fire in the Hole speaks about his … Read more

Title of page - Voya CEO Heather Lavallee

Heather Lavallee — CEO of Voya Financial and Inclusion Advocate

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After 15 years of holding multiple roles at Voya Financial Inc. (Voya), including executive sponsor of Voya Cares, Heather Lavallee became CEO on January 1, 2023. ABILITY’s Jennifer Goga spoke with Lavallee to discuss her leadership and Voya’s culture of inclusion. Lavallee shared her personal career journey, discussed the value of mentorship,curiosity and listening to … Read more

Title and image of Col Needham with a mic

Col Needham — Founder of IMDb—A Movie Lovers Hollywood Story

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British software engineer Colin Needham’s fascination with movies began at the tender age of 5 when he won a coloring contest to see a movie in a theater. His passion with films lead him to start a diary to keep track of movies he watched and catalogue all of the details connected to its production. … Read more

Dean Kamen — Segway and iBOT Inventor

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Circa 2002 Dean Kamen is an inventor, an entrepreneur and a tireless advocate for science and technology. His roles as inventor and advocate are intertwined—his own passion for technology and its practical uses has driven his personal determination to spread the word about technology’s virtues and by so doing to change the American culture. As … Read more

Nancy Silberkleit Co-CEO of Archie Comics

Archie Comics is one of the most enduring brands in the history of comics. Created in 1941, their lovable cast of wholesome characters—Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and the rest of the Archie gang—captivated generations of readers, who devoured every word of their teenage predicaments. According to the company’s website, they’ve sold more than … Read more

Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor on the TomKat ranch

Tom Steyer — Tasked with Creating a Just, Sustainable and Robust Recovery

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Businessman and climate activist Tom Steyer first spoke with ABILITY during his run to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for president. In that interview, Steyer spoke about policies he’d push through on behalf of people with disabilities: namely, to fully fund the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), … Read more

Richard Marriott — Bridges

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The Marriott Foundation’s Bridges – from School to Work program is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The famous hotel chain’s altruistic wing was inspired, in part, by the late Stephen Garth Marriott, the founder’s grandson. He was diagnosed with a terminal degenerative disease as a teenager, yet went on to enjoy a successful career. The Bridges … Read more

Paul Orfalea walking and talking with Gillian Friedman, MD

Paul Orfalea – Kinko’s Founder Speaks About Dyslexia

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Paul Orfalea, founder of the most successful American copy store chain, is a maverick. For 30 years as the CEO of Kinko’s, until his retirement in 2000. he ran his company in a manner much different from most traditional, MBA-gilded chief executives. His office boasted no volumes of statistical charts, no stacks of business reports, … Read more