NOD President Carol Glazer sits down with OFCCP Director Craig E Leen to discuss the talents and skills people with disabilities offer and why employers should look closer at this untapped talent pool.

On July 26, 1990, Ghosh recalls, President Bush “spoke to the thousands assembled on the South Lawn of the White House, including many in attendance with disabilities, and proclaimed that the signing of the ADA ‘signals the end to the unjustified segregation and exclusion of persons with disabilities from the mainstream of American life.’ “The signing of the ADA physically reshaped American communities by opening inaccessible spaces to people with disabilities,” Ghosh says.

NOD and actor Danny Woodburn, best known for his role on Seinfeld, are partnering to promote equality and inclusion for Americans with disabilities, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact our community at both an individual and collective level. In this interview, Danny began by acknowledging the widespread protests against racism and police violence sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and commented on how racial discrimination, like COVID-19, has also disproportionately impacted those with disabilities since the prevalence rate is highest for African Americans.

“The pandemic has made the world stand still; it forces us to show another side of our personality to our colleagues and will change tomorrow’s professional environment. When we leave the imposter idea behind, we have a chance to open up to our coworkers, be more vulnerable than we would otherwise be.”

COVID-19, and its uncertainty, hurts my ability to find balance and causes confusion as we all try and adapt to a ‘new normal.’ For people like me who deal with mental health issues, it is particularly hard. If we work together, be patient and understand how to label symptoms and feelings, we can come out of this pandemic with a new way to look at mental health challenges.