NonProfit NewsPod: I Am Able - A Job Fair Built for People of All Abilities

Jeff Holden: [00:00:00] Welcome to this Nonprofit Podcast NewsPod, where we amplify the voices of nonprofit leaders making a difference in their communities. I'm joined by Cat Modru, director of public relations at PRIDE Industries, to share some news about their upcoming event, I Am Able, October 14th. It's a uniquely oriented job fair created by people with disabilities for people with disabilities.

Cat, welcome. 

Kat Maudru: Nice to see you, Jeff. What a treat. 

Jeff Holden: Likewise. So I Am Able, the event, it's taken place I think three times. This is the fourth annual, if I'm not mistaken, yes? 

Kat Maudru: Yes, yes. We're growing every year. 

Jeff Holden: What makes this event so unique? 

Kat Maudru: Well, as you mentioned, uh, this is a job fair created for people with disabilities by people with disabilities.

We took a team, I call it my A-team, my [00:01:00] accessibility team, a blind colleague, a deaf colleague, a colleague with autism, and who else? A colleague in a wheelchair. Mm-hmm. And they helped us design a completely accessible event with ASL translators, with areas to toilet your dog, with quiet areas for people who have difficulty with noise, with tables far enough apart for wheelchairs, with braille.

So we have really made it an event that people of all abilities can come to and look for work. 

Jeff Holden: That has come a long, long way in just four short years, 'cause I went to the first two, and while it was an incredible event, it was not as inclusive and accommodating as you just explained. That's amazing. 

Kat Maudru: Yeah, I, I remember the first year, it was at McClellan Park, and I had been inside the whole time, and I walked out 'cause someone needed me, and I left the job fair and the line was down through the lobby, down the steps, and down the street and around the corner.

And I was in tears realizing, they came. [00:02:00] There's a need for this. I had no idea, and it's grown every year. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, and even the second year. I didn't make it last year, but the second year it was the same at the community center- Mm-hmm ... where the line was all around the building and people waiting to get in, and- Yep

and, and even a com- sense of camaraderie that was there amongst the attendees, which was really neat to see. 

Kat Maudru: Yeah, the, the number of people that showed up really just shows you that there's a need for something like this, and people with disabilities will tell you the biggest challenge is to get in front of an employer.

It's very hard to have someone judge you, maybe by how you look or talk or sound or present, and not really listen to the caliber of the human that you are potentially for a job. 

Jeff Holden: Let's, let's talk a little bit about who the event's for and who should be attending. 

Kat Maudru: Well, you know, we-- the, the term disability, I say the term all abilities.

I would say that certain people on the autistic spectrum have superpowers that maybe other people [00:03:00] don't have. So it's open to everybody. We do say people with disabilities, and we're not gonna check your card or anything like that. But it's open to people who maybe have challenges getting in front of employers and really wanting to work.

A huge majority of people with disabilities want to work and, and don't, and so this is an opportunity for them to meet with employers who are ready, willing, and able, knowing that they're going to spend three hours talking to people of all different abilities, and they're very excited to be at this event and meeting these people, these potential candidates.

Jeff Holden: And tell me a little bit about the employers. Who- 

Kat Maudru: Ugh ... who, for example, is there? We have-- I'm gonna put my glasses on for this one, Jeff. We're hoping to have a total of 40 employers, and we're very close right now, but the caliber is very impressive. We have, uh, lots of state agencies. We have the City of Roseville, UC Davis Health.

We have Bosch. We have SacRT. We have the Sacramento Food Co-op. We have the Hyatt group. And again, lots of California agencies, the State of Department of Hospitals, Department of [00:04:00] Aging, Public Utilities Commission. So a lot of big organizations who are super excited to spend some time with this kind of overlooked group of employment candidates.

Jeff Holden: Did I see SMUD there as well? 

Kat Maudru: You did. SMUD is coming too. Yes. Yeah. They-- We've had some that have come back every year, and the job positions range across the board. You know, people with disabilities are in C-suites. That's, that's another stereotype, that people with disabilities can't run companies and be in any position you can think of.

Jeff Holden: Right, and boy, do we ever know that not to be the case- Right ... in so many situations, especially when you get to discussions of, you know, autism and the spectrum, Asperger's, how many guys is on the spectrum? 

Kat Maudru: Right. Uh, you know, the, the whole Silicon Valley, we just wrote an op-ed that we're hoping will be picked up by Craig Levehore, our new CEO, about how neurodiversity, it can be a benefit to the, the high-tech world.

People c- who think differently often think in [00:05:00] ways that create new inventions and new ways of thinking about things, so. 

Jeff Holden: And great opportunities and, and what a resource they are to a company that maybe is a bit linear, maybe it is a, it is a bit boxed and squared, where they bring somebody in like that who has the ability to look at it from a different perspective.

Or physically work at it from a different perspective, where they say, "Oh my gosh, if we had done it this way," because this person has that particular disability, we now realize it's actually better. 

Kat Maudru: Right. People with disabilities, the world was not designed for them, so this is kind of an umbrella statement, but people with disabilities are natural troubleshooters.

You know? Whether it's how to get from point A to point B, or how to create accommodations so that you can do things that other people can do, they're problem solvers. Mm-hmm. And, uh, they make really great employees. 

Jeff Holden: So let me ask as, if, a- as an attendee, if I'm going to the event, how, how much is it gonna cost me?

Kat Maudru: Oh, silly Jeff. It's totally free. I know, but I have to ask. You know, you, you teed me up for that. It's completely free. We encourage you to [00:06:00] register ahead of time, but if you decide that day that you would like to join us, we're not gonna stop you. You can come on in. But yeah, it's a, it's a free event from 11 to 2, and we're-- we have a resource center, so on top of our employers, we've got about 20 organizations that work with people of all abilities, that range from Canine Companions for Independence to CalABLE to the Department of Rehabilitation.

W- they'll just have booths there to ask and answer questions. So you can come and learn about organizations that you never knew existed at no cost. 

Jeff Holden: And if they wanna register, where, where do they go? We will put this in the show notes as well. Yes. And repeat it at the end of the conversation, too. But where, where should they go?

Kat Maudru: Prideindustries.com. It'll be the banner right there, and it'll, it'll click you through, and, uh, it'll get you registered. We're trying to figure out who will come at 11, who will come at 12, who will come at 1, so we don't have a stampede at, at 11 o'clock. So we're trying to stagger things, but show up, please.

Jeff Holden: Perfect, perfect. And then what suggestions for those who are coming to find a [00:07:00] job, what, what would you suggest when they get to the event? Is there, like, a protocol that maybe they should follow or a best practices once they get into the, into the venue? 

Kat Maudru: Well, you know, I'll start by saying people ask folks who work at Pride, "How do you interview with someone with a disability?"

Same as anybody else. What do you want to do? What do-- what can you do? What would you like to do? What do you do? And so for our job seekers who are coming to this event, be ready to, to, to interact and meet with everybody. Just because a certain company doesn't maybe appeal to you, they may have a position there that you hadn't even thought of that, that may appeal to you.

So if you're going to be there, take the time to meet with all of the employers. They're very excited to meet with you, and Jeff, we have these wonderful webinars for the employers as well, because we want this to be a positive experience for the job seekers and the employers. So before the event, we'll have a couple of webinars.

Best practices for interacting with people of all abilities. If you're talking to someone deaf, don't look at the, uh, ASL translator, look at the [00:08:00] deaf person. Don't lean on a wheelchair. Don't pet an assistance dog. If someone isn't looking you in the eye, doesn't mean they're not amazing, it's just something that they're not comfortable doing.

So we're empowering the employers as well to just have a wonderful experience on October 14th 

Jeff Holden: Boy, is that ever significantly important too- Right ... especially if you're not familiar with dealing with this audience. My goodness, yeah. Uh, uh, petting the dog, I, I remember that from the airport. You know, the first thing you wanna do is, "Oh, that's a nice dog," and they- 

Kat Maudru: Nope

Jeff Holden: might be, "Yeah, please- That dog's working ... please don't. That dog's working." Correct. Now, last couple of years, I think last year maybe 1,100, 1,000 the year before, the attendance was just incredible. Do you expect even more this year? 

Kat Maudru: Last year, Jeff, we had... It was pouring rain and 1,100 people showed up, so if Mother Nature cooperates, we are expecting even more job seekers.

We have assistance with their resumes. We have conversations with how to have that conversation. We have Spanish [00:09:00] interpreters. We have ASL. We have things in braille. We'll have a ton of volunteers if someone's not comfortable making it through the job fair. We'll have someone walk the entire three hours with them and assist them in whatever way they feel they'd like to make the experience even better.

So it's gonna be great. 

Jeff Holden: I mean, literally from, from A to Z for every, every disability and for, you know, every hand-holding opportunity you could have, like, like your resume or like a conversation, you know, back and forth with a potential employer, and I'm sure you'll probably have some employers come up and say, "Hey, I don't know how to deal with this.

What do I do about this situation?" Somebody's there to help. 

Kat Maudru: Yeah. We've got-- We h- we're gonna try to prep them before, but, uh, before the doors open, we're gonna have that conversation. If you have any problem, look, we're gonna have bright red shirts on and volunteer shirts. Raise your hand and someone will come over and help you.

I, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we have a special guest who's going to be speaking at a breakout group. Tony Coelho [00:10:00] is a former US congressman, and he was the primary author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and he's from Central California. So he's going to be there, give words of encouragement to our job seekers as well.

That's super exciting for me 

Jeff Holden: at least. Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah. That is absolutely fantastic. Okay, last question. Most importantly, can you give us the details of the event, specifics, time, date, location? And we will put this in the show notes, but for those who are listening, let's, uh, let's get it out there.

Kat Maudru: Absolutely. It's Pride Industries fourth annual I Am Able Disability Job Fair. It's on Wednesday, October 14th from 11 to 2 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center. Signage will be everywhere. It's at a great location for public transportation, lots of parking garages around, and all the information is at prideindustries.com.

The first thing you'll see on the, on the front page of our website is the disability job fair, and we, we would love for you to join us. 

Jeff Holden: Kat, thank you, and I'm gonna reiterate one more time, that's the I Am Able Disability Job Fair, October [00:11:00] 14th, 11 to 2, SAFE Credit Convention Center. Good luck again this year on what I know is going to be an outstanding event.

Kat Maudru: Thank you so much for helping us get the word out, Jeff. I so appreciate you. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, happy to do it. I love the organization. 

Kat Maudru: Great. 

Jeff Holden: Thanks for listening. If you like our program, please subscribe, give us a positive review, and share with someone you know. This nonprofit podcast news pod is a production of Hear Me Now Studio