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Real People, Real Stories 2020-E9:Steve Sawczyn, Principal Digital Accessibility Engineer at Optum

By Mark Miller on December 22, 2020

A group of people with various disabilities. Real People, Real stories, brought to you by The Paciello Group

Mark Miller, the host, and his producer Marissa speak with Steve Sawczyn, Principal Digital Accessibility Engineer at Optum (part of UnitedHealth Group). Steve talks about how, although “It’s a great time to be blind,” he still runs into accessibility challenges that can be mildly embarrassing (how do you ask someone to tell you if you’re standing six feet away from them to abide by social distancing rules?) to potentially dangerous (information...

Real People, Real Stories 2020-E8: Jeff Steinberg, Ministry Singer / Speaker / Author / Motivational Entertainer ADA Consultant

By Mark Miller on November 23, 2020

A group of people with various disabilities. Real People, Real stories, brought to you by The Paciello Group

Mark Miller, the host, and his colleague Todd Waites speak with Jeff Steinberg, an entertainer/ministry singer/speaker/author/motivational entertainer and ADA consultant. Jeff elaborates on how he likes to focus on positivity during his motivational speaking events, describing how optimism helped him through his challenging childhood. Todd opens up about becoming as a one-armed keyboard player and Jeff lets it slip how he likes to flaunt...

IAP 2020-E7: Morten Bonde, Senior Art Director at LEGO

By Mark Miller on November 5, 2020

Mark Miller, the host, his producer Marissa, and colleague Todd Waites, chat with Morten Bonde, senior art director at LEGO. Morten describes a stressful 14-year phase during which time his eyesight deteriorated due to retinitis pigmentosa and he couldn’t bring himself to accept what was happening. He recounts his “death” of who he was before he embraced his visual impairment and who he transformed into, after months of dedicated meditation and...

IAP 2020-E5: Sha Yao, industrial designer of the assistive tableware EatWell

By Mark Miller on July 6, 2020

In this episode: Mark Miller, host of the IAP, and Todd Waites, head of Business Development at TPG, chat with Sha Yao, the entrepreneur behind the assistive tableware products, EatWell. Sha’s inspiration came from her grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s, and the trouble she encountered when trying to feed herself. Sha, Mark , and Todd all discuss her background as an industrial designer and the research she conducted herself to create her products...

IAP 2020-E4: Rebecca Bridges, project manager at The Paciello Group

By Mark Miller on May 8, 2020

In this episode: The host, Mark Miller, producer Marissa Sapega, and TPG Director of Marketing Brad Henry all chat with their coworker Rebecca Bridges. Rebecca and her husband are blind, and she shares the difficulties of being quarantined and frustration at not being able to help her son with schoolwork because it is inaccessible. She discloses her thoughts on disability etiquette (make sure I know you’re there if you want me to social distance...

IAP 2020-E2: Tony DePalma, Director of Public Policy for Disability Rights Florida

By Mark Miller on April 13, 2020

IAP logo

In this episode: Mark Miller, the host, and Marissa Sapega, podcast producer, speak with Tony DePalma about the many ways COVID-19 has significantly impacted people with disabilities. From getting basic necessities like food to accessing student online education, the ways in which the pandemic has negatively affected this community are almost endless. Tony surfaces anecdotes from his own experience as Director of Public Policy for Disability...