Highmark Inc. – Disability Ally and Employment Champion

Joyce is excited to have back to the show the returning champion of competitive employment for Americans with disabilities, David Holmberg, President, and CEO of Highmark Health. Mr. Holmberg launched an initiative in 2020 to hire 30 people with disabilities from Bender Consulting Services to honor the 30th anniversary of the signing of the ADA, called the Highmark 30/30. He continued this work in 2021 and hired 31 people with disabilities. It is amazing that under his leadership he has already set the bar for 2022 with a commitment to 32 hires from Bender Consulting Services. Even during the pandemic, Highmark was able to achieve the goal, becoming a national example. During the show, David will talk about the initiative and how it happened. Additionally, David will discuss how the company plans to continue its unprecedented record to hire people with disabilities in 2022. For this and so much more, Highmark will be receiving the 2022 Corporate Leadership Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) at the AAPD Virtual Gala taking place on April 28th. As the current Vice Chair and Past Chair of the Board of Directors at AAPD, Joyce will be part of this special award presentation to Highmark with David accepting the award. Joyce will share more about the AAPD Virtual Gala during the show, or as she refers to it, “the Academy Awards of Disability Rights.”