In February 2020, Brandon Simpson, who is on the autism spectrum, was attending Columbus State Community College (CSCC) seeking an associate of arts degree in business. He wanted a job, so he reached out to Jessica Terry, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Ohio College2Careers (Ohio C2C) Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at CSCC.
Brandon has a strong interest in personal finance. To learn how income earned from employment could impact his Social Security disability benefits, Jessica connected him with Darenda Geer, Senior Benefits Analyst with the Fairfield County Board of Developmental Disabilities for work incentives planning.
Jessica also linked Brandon with Karen Krainz Edison, Program Manager with The Ohio State University Nisonger Center Ace! program, which helps college students with autism foster self-determination, social connections, and campus involvement.
In the summer of 2021, Brandon applied for a 10-week internship at JPMorgan Chase & Co. He worked behind the scenes in the Consumer and Community Banking (CCB) department, learning how the area serves people, families, and businesses by helping them bank, save, invest, make purchases with credit cards, and finance homes and cars. Thomas Suhm, VP Executive Recruiter II with JPMorgan Chase & Co., connected Brandon with other areas of the bank to broaden his understanding.
Spectrum News 1 featured Ohio C2C in July 2021 and interviewed Brandon and Jessica. See the story here.
In the fall of 2021, Brandon began meeting with Special Cobb, who had become the Ohio C2C counselor at CSCC. They built on the career planning efforts that Brandon began with Jessica.
Brandon returned to JPMorgan Chase & Co. this summer for an additional 10-week internship, where he is making $28 per hour. His expanded role includes greater responsibility to find efficiencies and ensure programs comply with audits.
“During Brandon’s internship, he has been able to help our team automate a few manual processes that added great value to my team,” said Janel Dolan, CCB Technology Lifecycle Management Program Manager, Vice President. “Brandon has been a pleasure to work with. He is extremely motivated to learn new technologies and has been enjoying learning new reporting tools this summer.”
Brandon will graduate from CSCC in the spring of 2023 and plans to transfer to The Ohio State University in the fall to complete a four-year degree in Banking and Wealth Management. He hopes to be a personal finance manager.
“Jessica and Special have been very supportive,” said Brandon. “Work is important to me. I feel a personal calling to work so that I can help others in the community understand financial matters.”
“Brandon is very determined,” said Special. “He is focused and does a great job making good decisions. He is determined to be successful.”
OOD Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors also work with students with disabilities at any college and university in Ohio. To get started, students can visit OODWorks.com to explore vocational rehabilitation, take a self-assessment, and apply for services.
For more information about Ohio C2C, visit the webpage, or contact Kristin Garrett at (614) 955-1527 or Kristin.Garrett@OOD.Ohio.Gov.
Governor DeWine, Lt. Governor Husted, and family members cut the ribbon at the opening festivities of the 2022 Ohio State Fair. Marlena Schmitz, OOD American Sign Language Interpreter, provides interpretation.
The return of this year’s Ohio State Fair, taking place now through August 7, 2022, is more accessible and inclusive for everyone! (Read the full press release, and watch a video from WCMH Channel 4 Columbus.)
Fairgoers are enjoying continued accessibility enhancements: wheelchair/mobility device charging stations, technology to connect people who are blind or have low vision to an agent who can help with navigation, accessible picnic tables, service animal relief areas, a dedicated sensory-friendly morning on August 3, and a new accessible playground.
Opportunity for Sighted Guides
The Ohio State Fair is offering ticket vouchers for sighted guides who accompany fairgoers who are blind. To request a ticket voucher, please contact Allison Meloy, OOD Program Administrator with the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired, at Allison.Meloy@OOD.Ohio.Gov.
New Accessible Playground
On July 27, 2022, OOD Director Kevin L. Miller attended the ribbon cutting at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Park at the State Fairgrounds for the opening of the accessible playground powered by the Division of Oil and Gas Resource Management.
 
The July 27, 2022 ribbon cutting for the accessible playground.
The accessible playground was designed with inclusion for all abilities as a priority.
The playground features low-impact, easy-to-access entertainment for children. Whether kids are searching for remarkable fossils, navigating a path through a maze of towering barrels, exploring a mini truck, or pretending to camp under the stars after an unforgettable canoe adventure in a life-size boat, there are opportunities to unwind and experience imaginative play in this newly constructed oil and gas themed area of the Natural Resources Park.
This week marked the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To celebrate, Julie Wood, OOD Worksite Accessibility Specialist, shared three facts about reasonable accommodations. Watch the video.
The Employers’ Reasonable Accommodation Handbook webinar series kicked off this month, and there’s still time to get involved. Learn best practices for navigating the interactive process with employees with different types of disabilities, ways to foster a disability-inclusive workplace, and ideas for providing effective reasonable accommodations. Learn more on the OOD website.
OOD congratulates several of its Employer Partners who were recently recognized as 2022 Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion by Disability:IN. To earn this distinction, businesses must score 80 points or higher on a scale from 0 to 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI), a national benchmarking tool that allows America’s leading corporations to self-report their disability policies and practices. The Index measures key performance indicators across culture and leadership, enterprise-wide access, employment practices, community engagement, and supplier diversity.
The following OOD Employer Partners scored 100% on the DEI: Amazon, Aramark, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cargill, Inc., Choice Hotels International, Citi, CAI, CVS Health, Eaton Corporation, Fifth Third Bank, Giant Eagle, Inc., Hilton, Huntington Bank, JCPenney, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), Kohl’s, Labcorp, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Marriott International, Inc., Meijer, Nestlé USA, PNC Financial Services Group, PPG Industries, Procter & Gamble, Sodexo, Starbucks, Synchrony, Target, The Kroger Co., UnitedHealth Group, UPS, U.S. Bank, Verizon, Walgreens, Walmart, and Whirlpool Corporation. OOD Employer Partner Cintas scored 80%.
Collectively, OOD has assisted more than 1,060 individuals with disabilities in obtaining employment with these businesses since July 2021.
OOD partners with these 2022 Best Places to Work employers plus hundreds of other companies throughout Ohio to promote employment for individuals with disabilities. OOD also provides services to employers at no cost, including recruitment of job-ready candidates with disabilities, disability etiquette and disability awareness training for employees, worksite accessibility consultations, information about employer tax credits, plus hiring events and job fairs.
More information about how OOD’s Business Relations staff support disability inclusion practices in the workplace can be found at OOD.Ohio.Gov/Employers.
The OOD Council meeting on April 20, 2022.
The OOD Council will conduct an in-person meeting for OOD Council members and the public on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 10 a.m. For those who are unable to attend the in-person meeting, a virtual meeting will be available via Microsoft Teams.
Public comments or correspondence should be submitted to OOD.OfficeofCommunication@OOD.Ohio.Gov by the close of business on Friday, August 12, 2022. For more information about the meeting, please visit the OOD Council meetings webpage.
The Ohio Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) will hold its State Community Employment conference September 28-29, 2022 in Dublin, Ohio. Day one kicks off with trainings on engaging businesses and families. On day two, ten years of Ohio Employment First will be celebrated, including panel discussions and a special award presentation. To learn more and register, visit http://apseohio.eventbrite.com/.
APSE is currently seeking nominations for the 2022 Community Integrated Employment Awards 2022. Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OHIOAPSE2022 to nominate no later than August 5, 2022.
Ohio will have a sales tax holiday from Friday, August 5, 2022 at 12:00 a.m. to Sunday, August 7, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
During the holiday, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax:
- An item of clothing priced at $75 or less;
- An item of school supplies priced at $20 or less; and
- An item of school instructional material priced at $20 or less.
Items used in a trade or business are not exempt under the sales tax holiday.
For more information regarding the sales tax holiday, please refer to the Ohio Department of Taxation’s “Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions” webpage.
Ohio is working to change the way society views mental illness and substance use disorders. Governor Mike DeWine’s RecoveryOhio initiative, the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Illness, and the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance have created Reporting About Substance Use and Mental Health: A Resource for Media Professionals as a tool to help journalists, producers and other media professionals reduce the use of potentially stigmatizing language or imagery in news and media coverage.
The guide was developed as a collaboration among several renowned substance use and mental health doctors, veteran journalists, and nationally recognized media relations professionals in the public and private sector. It provides an in-depth look at stigmas and how media professionals, often unknowingly, use them in their imagery and language. The resource offers alternatives that allow accurate reporting and storytelling on mental illness and addiction without stigmatizing the conditions.
Service Dog Awareness Week: Advocates Push for Access, Not Pets, for Their Animals
Columbus Dispatch, 7-29-22
Kids with Disabilities Make Signs and Wear Shirts to Show What the Inclusive Playground Means to Them
The Gazette, 7-29-22
Accessibility Improvements for Ohioans with Disabilities
WCMH, 7-28-22
Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities Starts Virtual Project on How to Better Include People with Disabilities
The Gazette, 7-27-22
Perfect Match: Ability Center Introduces Perrysburg Man to His New Service Dog
WTOL, 7-27-22
New Local Nonprofit Provides Free, Unforgettable Experiences, Memories
WKRC, 7-27-22
Biden Celebrates the 32nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
PBS News Hour, 7-26-22
Advancing Technology Can Help Those with Cognitive Disabilities Live More Independently
WCPO, 7-26-22
Goodwill Starts Business Services, Custodial Division
Chillicothe Gazette, 7-26-22
Goodwill Easter Seals Now Offering Afternoon Support Program for Adults with Developmental Disabilities
Hometown Stations, 7-25-22
Deaf Welcome Studios
CBS Chicago, 7-25-22
How Lauren Ridloff and Joshua Feldman are Making Hollywood More Accessible for Disabled Creatives
Deadline, 7-25-22
Importance of Sunglass Safety: 3.2M People Go Blind Every Year from UV Exposure
WJXT, 7-25-22
GetGo Named “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion”
CStoreDecisions, 7-25-22
Finding a Destination That’s Fun and Accessible in Central Ohio
WCMH, 7-24-22
Bronx Family Aims to Help People with Disabilities Find Accessible Attractions in NYC
CBS New York, 7-24-22
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