Podcasts By Dr. Kirk Adams

By: Dr. Kirk Adams PhD
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  • Summary

  • Podcasts By Dr. Kirk Adams is a compelling podcast series that brings listeners into the world of accessibility, leadership, and social change through the lens of one of the most influential voices in blindness advocacy. Dr. Kirk Adams, former President and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind and a lifelong champion for the rights of people with visual impairments, hosts this insightful and inspiring program.
    2024
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Episodes
  • Supercharge Your Bottom Line Through Disability Inclusion | Novacoast

    Supercharge Your Bottom Line Through Disability Inclusion | Novacoast
    Apr 25 2024
    Dr. Kirk Adams hosted a webinar on disability inclusion in cybersecurity, highlighting the Apex program, which prepares blind individuals for cybersecurity careers. The program, developed by Novacoast, offers a 10-week training course for CompTIA Network+ and Security+ certifications, costing $7,500. The program aims to place 400 blind individuals annually in cybersecurity roles, addressing a significant employment gap. Key features include flexible learning, employer support, and a strong industry network. The webinar emphasized the transferable skills from contract management services to cybersecurity and the potential for career growth, with starting salaries around $35,000 and potential earnings of $95,000. Outline Introduction and Overview of the Webinar Speaker 1 introduces the podcast, emphasizing its focus on disability rights, employment, and inclusion.Speaker 2, Dr. Kirk Adams, welcomes everyone to the monthly live stream webinar titled "Supercharge your bottom line through Disability Inclusion."Dr. Adams introduces himself as the Managing Director of Innovative Impact LLC and shares his background in disability inclusion.He introduces two teammates, David Main and Katie McAuliffe, and welcomes a new team member, Kalana.The agenda includes a video about the Apex program, perspectives from David and Katie, and a Q&A session. Background of the Apex Program Dr. Adams recounts the history of the Apex program, which began during his tenure at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).The AFB was named as the third central nonprofit agency under the Ability One program, leading to a five-year cooperative agreement.The research phase identified three lines of business: contract management, digital health, and cybersecurity.Despite the pandemic, the research highlighted cybersecurity as a promising field for people who are blind.Dr. Adams transitioned to his consulting practice, Innovative Impact, and connected with Dan Berlin and Jack Chen, who were involved in the Race Across America. Development of the Apex Program Jack Chen and Dan Berlin were organizing the Race Across America and seeking sponsors.AFB sponsored the race, and Dan Berlin introduced Dr. Adams to Novacoast, a cybersecurity company interested in hiring blind individuals.Dr. Adams met with Novacoast's CEO, Paul Anderson, and was given the green light to develop the Apex program.Katie McAuliffe joined the team later, bringing extensive experience from IBM and Novell.The Apex program was created to prepare blind and visually impaired individuals for certifications in networking and cybersecurity. Personal Stories and Success of the Apex Program A video featuring personal stories of individuals involved in the Apex program is shown, highlighting their struggles and successes.One participant, David Jr., shares his journey from a severe accident to pursuing a cybersecurity degree.Curtis Jackson, another participant, discusses his experience with unemployment and how the Apex program changed his life.The video emphasizes the potential for blind individuals to succeed in cybersecurity careers.David Jr. and Curtis both found employment at Novacoast, proving the program's effectiveness. Vision and Future of the Apex Program David Main outlines his vision for the program's growth, including expanding to more states and potentially international markets.The program aims to offer high school students the opportunity to earn certifications before graduation.The goal is to support students beyond entry-level training, providing further certifications and job opportunities.Dr. Adams expresses his admiration for the program, stating it aligns with his career-long mission to create opportunities for people who are blind.Katie McAuliffe discusses the unique features of Novacoast and how the company's support enhances the Apex program. Career Opportunities and Industry Support Katie McAuliffe explains the various career paths available in cybersecurity, from entry-level roles to specialized positions like threat hunters and penetration testers.The industry is supportive of continuous learning and certification stacking, allowing for career advancement.Novacoast's annual cybersecurity conference provides opportunities for graduates to network with industry leaders.The company's staffing division, Novaco Staffing, helps place graduates in positions.Dr. Adams emphasizes the importance of vocational rehabilitation partnerships and other funding models to support the program. Q&A Session and Closing Remarks Amanda Gomez from Vibrant Works asks about accessing the training independently of state vocational rehabilitation.Dr. Adams confirms that alternative funding models are possible and shares examples of successful partnerships.Katie McAuliffe provides pricing information for the program, which costs $7,500 and includes both CompTIA certifications.The program is designed to be flexible, with students having 10 weeks to complete the training, but the pace ...
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    47 mins
  • Supercharge Your Bottom Line Through Disability Inclusion | Surpassing Sight

    Supercharge Your Bottom Line Through Disability Inclusion | Surpassing Sight
    Jun 2 2024
    SUMMARY KEYWORDS disability inclusion, employment opportunities, blind professionals, Race Across America, social impact, documentary film, employment statistics, internal locus, meaningful employment, cybersecurity training, private screenings, social action campaign, employment disparities, film distribution, stakeholder connections 00:00 Music. 00:09 Welcome to podcasts by Dr Kirk Adams, where we bring you powerful conversations with leading voices in disability rights, employment and inclusion. Our guests share their expertise, experiences and strategies to inspire action and create a more inclusive world. If you're passionate about social justice or want to make a difference, you're in the right place. Let's dive in with your host, Dr Kirk Adams, 00:36 wonderful. Welcome everybody. This is Dr Kirk Adams, Managing Director of innovative impact LLC, welcome to my monthly live streamed webinar. Supercharge your bottom line through Disability Inclusion, I began this monthly series in February, so this is the fourth episode. It is being recorded so we can share with folks later. Every month, I partner with another ecosystem that shares my passion and focus on accelerating inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce. This month, we're featuring a documentary film and social impact project called surpassing site, and the documentary films producer Lucas Behnken is with us today, Lucas, if you want to say hi and just a brief headline about who you are, and we'll dig deeper into your amazing background in a bit. 01:35 Thank you so much. Yeah, I'm Lucas Behnken and I'm a producer, and have a production company called Sterling light productions. And I was the producer and production company for this film titled surpassing site, which we have now established what is called surpassing site foundation to be the distribution campaign for the film, 01:57 fabulous. So a little background, I want to talk just a little bit about myself, a little bit about employment of people with disabilities, employment of people who are blind in particular, and then tell a very interesting story about how we all came to be here today. So again, I'm Dr Kirk Adams. I am a blind person. My retina is detached. When I was five years old in kindergarten, I attended a school for blind children in the state of Oregon. Oregon State School for the Blind first, second, third grade. Learned to read and write Braille, travel confidently with a white cane type on a typewriter, and was given some real gifts there. As I went to school with 120 other blind kids, I was given a strong internal locus of control, which meant I felt in my bones, as I left third grade and went to public school in fourth grade that I could be successful in whatever I chose to do with my life. I also was given the gift of lofty expectations from the school and my parents about what I could accomplish. And I was given skills. I was given, like I mentioned, Braille skills, key it was typing then, but keyboarding skills, skills to travel confidently and independently. And those are three of the main factors that lead to successful employment for blind people as we become adults, unfortunately, the employment outcomes for us are not even close to what they should be. Only 35% of us are working, compared to about 70% of the general population that are working age, that are that are in the workforce. So about half, if you look at the actual Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate people who are actively seeking employment, if you see the general population is 4% for people with disabilities, is going to be 8% so our outcomes are always half as good or twice as bad as the general population. As far as employment goes, for those of us who are employed, we're in a much narrower, narrower band of occupations than the general population, and over half of us that work are working for government or nonprofits, which are great places to work, but they definitely have caps on the level of income one can achieve As composed to other employment settings. So this persistent unemployment problem leads to things like poverty. A third of people with significant disabilities live in poverty. Our home ownership is 1/10 that of the general population, and leads to health disparities educational achievement. This disparities, all, all kinds of bad things. So I have devoted my professional career to creating opportunities for other people who are blind and have other disabilities to thrive in employment. There's lots of ways to tackle lots of problems. My My choice has been to focus on employment, because I believe that meaningful employment not only solves financial issues, but it also provides individuals with the experience of the dignity of work, the positive self identity that goes with meaningful work. So I have pursuit of creating those opportunities for people who are blind. I have earned a PhD in leadership and change my dissertation, which is ...
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    59 mins
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