In December of 2022, Bender Consulting Services, Inc. presented Valerie Jarrett with the Tony Coelho Award. Bender Leadership Academy was honored to be a part of the event, where several guests joined the #NotAshamed campaign, including Valerie. Named for the Honorable Tony Coelho, author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the award honors CEOs, […]
Disability is a part of the lived experience for all people, including people of the Black community. As we celebrate Black History Month, we want to acknowledge some of the many civil rights activists with disabilities from the Black community. Their contribution to the fight for equity and civil rights should never be forgotten. Fannie […]
If you are like many of our students at the Bender Leadership Academy, you are wondering what you will do after graduation from high school. For some, the next step is clear, work or college. But what job will you do? What major or program should you select? Do you enroll in a four-year program […]
Do you know what it takes to be a leader? This is one of the questions discussed in our student leaders’ program at Bender Leadership Academy. It is important to remember that leaders aren’t born, they are made. We become leaders by taking specific actions and through the choices we make every day. People with […]
Speech submitted by Connor Flinn Each year we celebrate Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) and National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) with a special kick-off event the Monday before DMD. This year we returned to an in-person event at the Heinz History Center. It was so great seeing so many of our students, educational and business […]
It is finally fall and our Bender Leadership Academy students have headed back to school. We look forward to seeing you during Disability Mentoring Day later this month and our fall Bender Student Leaders programs. As you start the school year, make a promise to yourself to be a self-advocate and an advocate for other […]
The Bender Leadership Academy is taking a historic leap forward this June through our #NotAshamed campaign, which is part of the Mary Brougher Mental Health Initiative at the Academy. As the community knows, we lost Mary to a tragic hiking accident in August of last year. This campaign was a passion of hers. Joyce Bender […]
Welcome to our blog! This is your place to learn about what is happening at Bender Leadership Academy, get tips for being a good employee, and grow your leadership and advocacy skills. Through the coming months, we will share information in our blog about our programs and advocacy, lessons learned from leaders in the disability […]