AXSChat Podcast

Tim Sutton is a 31 year veteran Law Enforcement Officer. After spending 4 years as a patrolman for the Chesterfield County Police Department VA, he was hired by a Sheriff’s Office in the Richmond Metro area of Virginia. Tim then worked as a patrol deputy for two years and then spent four years as a Street Crimes Investigator. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1999 and has been a patrol Sergeant ever since. In 2003, he implemented his agencies Project Lifesaver Program to address the issue of individuals wandering or eloping due to cognitive impairment. He continues to run the program. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from James Madison University.

While overseeing his department’s Project Lifesaver Program, he has interacted extensively with hundreds of families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia or Autism/Intellectual Disabilities.In 2007, Tim was asked to travel throughout Virginia for the Department of Criminal Justice Services as an instructor for the “Alzheimer’s for First Responders” training. He assisted with the training the training until 2011. In 2011 he was approached by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to assist in teaching the “Alzheimer’s Initiative” throughout the country. As the “Alzheimer’s Initiative ended in 2017, he has continued to travel the United States training public safety officers and conducting Train the Trainer courses on Alzheimer’s Disease. He has partnered with Next Generation Training in co-teaching many of these courses

In 2009, Tim was asked to join the Public Safety Workgroup of Virginia to help develop an Autism Training curriculum for Public Safety in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the fall of 2010, the pilot class was presented at the Project Lifesaver International Conference in Virginia Beach. He became a member of a team traveling across Virginia conducting the Critical Autism Training (CAT 1). The team was featured in the Washington Post during the spring of 2011 when they trained members of the Fairfax Police Department. As the CAT 1 training ended in 2016, Tim has continued to travel throughout Virginia and different areas of the country conducting Autism/Intellectual Disability Training.

In 2011, Tim’s Law Enforcement agency was involved in one of the largest search and rescue missions in Virginia history. A nine year non-speaking boy with Autism had eloped in a very rural area of the county. For six days a 24 hour search was conducted with the child subsequently being found alive on that sixth day. As the search progressed, there was a pouring out of citizens wanting to help. Tim was assigned to conduct 20 minute classes on Autism for all the citizens who showed up to help with the search. Over the course of 4 days, Tim trained over 6,000 citizens on the unique characteristics of Autism.

Tim continues to work in law enforcement as a patrol supervisor and formed A Better Understanding LLC (www.a-betterunderstanding.com) in 2011 to raise awareness in the area of Special

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Before starting the Runway of Dreams Foundation (RoDF) in 2014, Mindy Scheier spent 20 years working in fashion on the design team for the INC collection and as a stylist for Saks Fifth Avenue.

Mindy was inspired to start RoDF after her son Oliver, who has Muscular Dystrophy, dreamed of wearing jeans like everyone else. After using her design skills to adapt a pair that met his needs and increased his confidence, she went on to conduct extensive research to develop modifications that would meet the needs of the largest minority in our world- people with disabilities. The clothing modifications she developed include alternate closures, adjustability and alternative ways to get in and out of the clothing. Following its launch, RoDF partnered with Tommy Hilfiger on the first mainstream adaptive clothing line for kids in 2016.

Founded on the basis that clothing is a basic human need, RoDF develops, delivers and supports initiatives to broaden the reach of mainstream adaptive clothing and promote people with disabilities in the fashion industry. Through adaptive clothing donations, employment opportunity initiatives, adaptive design workshops, adaptive fashion shows, wardrobe grants, awareness building campaigns and scholarship programs, RoDF is empowering people with disabilities in style. Mindy serves as a consultant for Tommy Adaptive, is a member of the Advisory Council for Zappos Adaptive and works to educate many other fashion brands on the population of people with disabilities. Envisioning a world where fashion is mainstream and accessible for all, Mindy continues to break down barriers and challenge industry norms.

In 2019, Mindy created Gamut Talent Management to represent people with disabilities and create a marketplace where businesses and industries can connect to this target audience. Gamut is rebranding the way PWDs are viewed, marketed to and represented in the mainstream world. The continued support of the mission of Runway of Dreams will always be a component of Gamut, as the company’s 501c3 partner.

Mindy has been featured in Newsweek’s “The Creative Class of 2019: Innovators,” People magazine’s “Heroes Among Us,” and Pix 11’s “Changemaker: Making the Fashion Industry More Inclusive.” She has also been featured in USA Today, Parents, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue Business, WWD, NBC’s Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, Access, CNBC, Fox News Channel and more.

An inspiring TED speaker, Mindy has received numerous awards including the Catalyst Award for “Marketing Influencer of the Year,” Citrin Cooperman’s “Women at the Wheel Leadership Excellence Award, the Association of Image Consultants International Bravo Award and Enable Inc.’s Michael Graves Award for Creativity and Persistence. Mindy studied Fashion Design with a dual program at the University of Vermont and Fashion Institute of Technology.

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Hosted by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh and Neil Milliken.
Marcie Roth is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for the World Institute on Disability (WID), WID is a highly regarded global public policy centre WID works to advance the rights and opportunities of over 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide by disrupting exclusion and accelerating radical social justice.

Marcie has served in senior and executive leadership roles for national and global disability advocacy and public policy organizations since 1995, establishing and leading coalitions committed to operationalizing disability inclusion as an intersectional imperative for global social justice. Marcie’s focus on improving emergency preparedness and disaster outcomes for people with disabilities and building accessible disaster-resilient communities began in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks while advising the White House on the rights and urgent needs of people with disabilities living in the area around ground zero.

Appointed by President Obama to the U.S Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from 2009 to 2017, Marcie established and directed the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC). Under her leadership, ODIC led national transformation towards integrating the access and functional needs of the whole community throughout emergency preparedness and disaster response, recovery and mitigation. Ms Roth represented the U.S. government internationally as an expert on whole community inclusive global disaster risk reduction from 2012- 2017, serving as a leader throughout the development and implementation of the United Nations’ Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

In 2017, Ms Roth established the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, the only U.S. disability-led organization (DPO) focused exclusively on disability inclusion before, during, and after public health emergencies and disasters.

Marcie is a Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow with a BS in Public Safety Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She maintains offices at WID’s global headquarters located on the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, CA, and in Washington, DC.

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Discover the captivating journey of Peter Torres-Fremlin, the visionary behind Disability Debrief, as he reveals how a platform dedicated to disability reporting came to be. Through his experiences with international organizations and his commitment to amplifying voices from the global south, Peter takes us on a tour of the crucial role investigative journalism plays in the disability sector. Unravel the challenges of navigating an overloaded information landscape and the transformative potential of AI in shaping the future of journalism.
Explore the profound questions surrounding disability data accuracy and the importance of transparency and accountability within the community. Peter and Antonio engage in a thought-provoking discussion on the reliability of widely cited statistics, such as the World Health Organization's 15% figure, and consider the implications of data on public policy. By examining the global adoption and debates surrounding methodologies like the Washington Group questions, we shed light on how accurate data can influence societal understanding and decision-making processes.
Finally, we confront the complexities of disability representation in media, emphasizing the need for both specialized and inclusive reporting. By addressing issues like media misrepresentation and the importance of dedicated spaces for the disability community, we underscore the power of resources like Disability Debrief in equipping advocates and professionals with trusted information. Join us as we advocate for improved quality in mainstream media while fostering environments where voices from the disability community can thrive and lead the narrative.

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Darryl Adams, a luminary in the field of accessibility, joins us to share the extraordinary path that defined his 28-year career at Intel, shaped profoundly by his personal experiences with retinitis pigmentosa and single-sided deafness. Darryl's story is a heartfelt exploration of how Intel's inclusive culture, coupled with his relentless passion, empowered him to champion accessible technology for all. Through his reflections, we learn not just about the technological strides made at Intel, but also about the wider impact of fostering diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
Darryl takes us on a journey into the future of technology and communication, unveiling the world of possibilities opened by machine learning and conversational AI. Imagine a world where interactions transcend traditional interfaces, transforming into seamless, conversational exchanges that nurture human connection. Darryl shines a light on the transformative potential of these technologies to enhance communication tools, especially for those with speech differences or hearing loss, promising a more inclusive and interconnected world.
As we navigate the ethical dimensions of technology, we are urged to consider the responsibility of major tech companies in shaping AI that prioritizes inclusivity and fairness. By weaving together cybersecurity, accessibility, and ethics, the conversation addresses the need for personalized algorithms that cater to individual needs, ensuring trust and enhancing user experiences. Darryl's insights underscore the importance of refocusing tech industry objectives from profit to user-centric optimization. Finally, we reflect on the shifting demographics of an aging population and the vital role this plays in the ongoing dialogue around accessibility, urging collective efforts to embrace and address these emerging challenges.

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