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Pittsburgh Woman Receives America's Top Honor for Furthering the
Employment of People with Disabilities
(Washington DC- June 2, 1999) President Bill Clinton will present
Joyce Bender, president of Bender Consulting Services of Canada, Inc., with the
1999's President's Award in the East Room of The White House on
Friday, June 4, at 2:00 p.m. The President's Award is America's
highest honor for achievement in furthering the employment and
empowerment of people with disabilities.
During this event, the President also will honor the co-recipient
of the 1998 President's Award. James H. Click, Jr. is the founder of
the Tucson, Arizona, nonprofit LINKAGES program, which connects
employers and job seekers with disabilities. Laura Hershey is the
interim Executive Director of the Disability Center for Independent
Living in Denver, Colorado.
Bender Consulting Services (BCS) actively recruits and hires people
with disabilities who have expertise in information technologies. BCS
contracts its employees as consultants to client companies throughout
the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware areas.
"Joyce Bender's commitment to furthering the employment of
Americans with disabilities is unsurpassed. Instead of focusing on
barriers, she looks for challenges. By developing a network within the
information technology industry, Joyce has been able to identify
current needs as well as provide "foot in the door" opportunities for
IT professionals with disabilities," said Office of Disability Employment Policy
Chairman Tony Coelho.
Bender is involved in numerous community efforts aimed at enhancing
the employment of people with disabilities. She is a board member of
Tech-Link, a local project of the Office of Disability Employment Policy's national
High School / High information technology networking industry. Bender
serves on the computer programming training program for individuals
with disabilities. She co-chairs a local task force called "First
Hired" and chairs the employment sector of Pittsburgh's Disabilities
Agenda 2002 project.
On the state level, Bender is a member of the Pennsylvania
Governor's Committee of Employment of People with Disabilities and on
the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation.
Bender's commitment to employment opportunities for people with
disabilities stems from her personal experiences. In 1984, she
sustained a life-threatening accident that caused a cerebral
hemorrhage and subsequent brain surgery. Following rehabilitation, she
returned to work with a seizure disorder, a 40 percent hearing loss in
one ear and a renewed respect for the attitudinal obstacles faced by
people with disabilities.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy
is a small federal agency based in Washington, DC. The Committee's
mission is to communication, coordinate and promote public and private
efforts to enhance the employment of people with disabilities. The
committee provides information, training and technical assistance to
America's business leaders, ofrganized labor, rehabilitation and
service providers, advocacy organizations, families and individuals
with disabilities. It also operates the Job Accommodation Network
(JAN), a toll-free information service on workplace accommodations and
the employment provisions of the American's with Disabilities
Act. Additional information about the Office of Disability Employment Policy is
available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/dol/odep.
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