Beth Sirull, President and CEO of the National Organization on Disability, on the Business Case for Employing People with Disabilities.

“Let’s Get to Work:” A Podcast from the Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) – Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.

Beth Sirull, President and CEO of the National Organization on Disability (NOD), joins the DEP RRTC’s Let’s Get to Work podcast to discuss the future of disability employment policy and why employing people with disabilities “is good for business.”

Beth explains that NOD has long focused on employment as a pathway to independence and economic opportunity for people with disabilities because, “if you don’t have a way to support yourself, there’s just no way that you can manifest the American Dream.”

Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and Principal Investigator of the DEP RRTC, joins Beth in a conversation about how NOD works with employers to unlock the vast, often overlooked talent pool of people with disabilities.

Beth emphasizes that employing people with disabilities results in real benefits to businesses, including lower turnover and stronger employee engagement. “[I]f you hire someone with a disability and you provide them with the accommodation that they need,” she says, “they will not leave. You will have a very loyal, longstanding, productive employee.”

Ultimately, Beth emphasizes, disability employment policy is about “putting everyone in a situation where they can be maximally effective in their job, which obviously is what companies want.”

We invite our community to listen, read the transcript, and explore the series.

About the Let’s Get to Work Podcast

The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and Mathematica, invites you to listen to our podcast series: “Let’s Get to Work: Reimagining Disability Employment Policy”. “Let’s Get to Work” features guests with unique knowledge and experience who share their perspective on disability employment policy as part of the work of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-funded Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. Join us and Let’s Get to Work!

Meet the Let’s Get To Work! Sponsors

The Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC)

The Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR, grant #90RTEM0016) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and Mathematica are partnering to design and implement a series of studies that produce new data and evidence on disability employment policy to enhance employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.

Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University (BBI)

The Burton Blatt Institute reaches around the globe to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities through innovative research that informs policy, programs, and practice development. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in Syracuse, New York and Lexington, Kentucky.

Southeast ADA Center

Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Southeast ADA Center (SEADA) is one of ten regional ADA Centers in the ADA National Network. ADA Centers provide information, training, and guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). SEADA is a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. The Center is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration on Community Living (ACL), National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).