Chapter Transcript
Chapter 9: Reflections on Career
09:41:43:15 - 09:43:53:16
Lisa: Is there looking back any particular contribution or accomplishment you take particular pride in?
Marsha: I don't like the word pride so...now there are a couple of things that I've done that I wouldn't use "I". I mean, you work with extraordinary people. You know what, I will. I'll give you one that is reflective. For many, many years I don't know if the name Dr. Norman Mulgrave has come up but Norman, a Trustee of ACHIEVA many, many, many years and he worked hand and glove with Ginny Thornburg and Pat Clapp and Jean Isherwood. Norman was a professor and head of the Senate, actually, for years at the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Mulgrave has a booming voice and it was that professorial type of thing that I'm sure you are familiar with at Temple but Norman and I had been lobbying in Washington DC one time years ago and we were having dinner and at one point he sort of leaned across the table and he said "Marsha I believe you have but one great talent" and I'm sitting there and I'm working my butt off and I'm thinking maybe two or three little things, Norman, you know? What he said was you manage to surround yourself with the most talented people in this field and you make them loyal to the values of the organization, and despite my initial offense at Norman, I reflect upon that over the years and yeah, maybe the thing that I'm most proud of is that I have had some part in bringing other people into this movement and mentoring and nurturing others to carry on.
09:43:57:15 - 09:46:54:10
Lisa: Earlier in our discussion you talked about being aware that you were a part of a Movement; this wonderful Disability Rights Movement. Where do you see this Movement headed now?
Marsha: Do you mean what do we still have to do? Is that...
Lisa: Yeah, I guess. Maybe that's too big of a question.
Marsha: I mean we still have tons and tons of things to do. I love the fact that some of the founding members of our organization, some of whom have now passed away or of course are older, that their sons and daughters are stepping up to the bat. We have, among our trustees, some extraordinarily talented people with big, big jobs in Pittsburgh who happen to be second generation folks of the ARC and you know who share their tales of their father and mother being away for the weekends and missing that but knowing that the work that they were doing through the ARC was important work and now brothers and sisters stepping up. I think one challenge is that families, younger families, some younger families take it for granted that the supports that they receive; early intervention, education, transition services, a job coach that they think those things were always there and I work to help younger families appreciate that the family members who preceded them left really, you know, their blood in the street to great sacrifices to their families, to work to create the great community support system that they have; not that it won't improve because it will improve. I think that a lot of families don't appreciate the work that was involved and that they need to commit to working to both keep these things in place as well as to take the next steps toward improvement. A couple of big things that were out there as well as the things that we've already discussed in terms of making supports I wanted to say it that way because that confers that they have to be created but listening to individuals and then providing what supports they need based on the individuals needs as opposed to the staffing in the group home and that sort of thing, you know. A lot of work here yet.
Lisa: Thank you.
More Interview Chapters
- Background
- Early Career, Parent Reaction to Conditions at Polk State School and Hospital
- Creating Community Supports
- Marsha Becomes Executive Director of Allegheny County ARC
- Advocating to Close Institutions, Pennhurst Lawsuit
- Closure of Western Center
- Federal Mandate for Early Intervention, ARC Becomes ACHIEVA
- Working to Continually Innovate
- YOU ARE HERE: Reflections on Career
About Marsha Blanco
Born: 1951
President and Chief Executive Officer, ACHIEVA
Clearfield County, PA
Keywords
ACHIEVA, ARC, Community Supports, Disability Law Project, Family Trust, Media, Parents, Pennhurst, Polk, Western Center, Workshops
The Disability and Change Symposium is available as a free online learning module.
Combating Implicit Bias: Employment
About this year's theme
Employment statistics for persons with disabilities continue to be disappointing, ~19% compared to ~66% of peers without disabilities. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). We ask ourselves, "is there something beyond overt discrimination and access that perhaps we need to address? Are there silent barriers such as those created by implicit bias?"
Most of us believe that we are fair and equitable, and evaluate others based on objective facts. However, all of us, even the most egalitarian, have implicit biases – triggered automatically, in about a tenth of a second, without our conscious awareness or intention, and cause us to have attitudes about and preferences for people based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion. These implicit biases often do not reflect or align with our conscious, declared beliefs.(American Bar Association, Commission on Disability Rights, "Implicit Bias Guide," 2019)
This year's theme challenges us to each ask ourselves "What implicit bias(es) do we have and encounter, and how do we recognize them and move beyond them to create opportunities, welcome, and full participation for all?"
As always, this Symposium privileges first-person voices and experiences.
About the Disability and Change Symposium
The stated goal of the annual Symposium is "to create conversation that transcends any one-dimensional depiction of people with disabilities, and foregrounds the multidimensional lives of our speakers - as writers, educators, performers, and advocates."
The Disability and Change Symposium is a one-day, interdisciplinary conference focusing on cultural equity and disability. The event is free, accessible and open to the public.
Acknowledgments
Organized by the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, the Symposium is an outcome of collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Faculty Council on Disability whose mission is "to foster collaboration across Temple University on disability-related projects including research, teaching, programming, publication, and grant-seeking. By connecting with one another, Council members help build community among the growing number of people at Temple whose work engages with disability."
Core funding for the Disability and Change Symposium is through a grant from the Center for the Humanities at Temple University (CHAT)
We extend our appreciation to Disability Resources and Services for providing Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and American Sign Language services for the day.
The Institute on Disabilities, Temple University College of Education is pleased to recognize some of our 2020 Symposium Partners/Sponsors from Temple University:
- Center for Bioethics, Urban Health, and Policy (CBHUP), Lewis Katz School of Medicine
- Center for Humanities at Temple (CHAT), College of Liberal Arts
- Dean of Libraries
- Dean of Students
- Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society
- Disability Resources and Services (DRS), Student Affairs
- Division of Student Affairs
- Faculty Senate Committee on Disability Concerns
- First Year Writing
- Intellectual Heritage
- Interdisciplinary Faculty Council on Disabilities
- Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (IDEAL)
- School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management
This year we also want to recognize the contributions of students (Associate Professor Deb Blair, STHM 2114 - Leisure & Tourism in a Diverse Society), who contributed to shaping and supporting this symposium:
- Madeline Culbert, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management; Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
- Jair Guardia, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management. (est. 08/2021)
- Hallie Ingrim, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management
- Thomas Leonard, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
- Bryan McCurdy, School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 05/2022)
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