Episode 2493: Thomas Foley J. D. ~ Executive Director of National Disability Institute talks Financial Transformation, Equity, Inclusion & Freedom

Tom Foley began 2021 as the new Executive Director of National Disability Institute (NDI).

Trained as a tax lawyer and financial planner, Tom has more than 30 years of experience in the disability community. As a person who is blind, he has been an advocate and dedicated his career to partnering with other thought leaders to address the complex drivers of economic inequality and create pathways to employment and financial security for the most vulnerable communities. In addition, Tom has been instrumental in developing and influencing federal and state legislation to encourage employment and increase participation of people with disabilities in employment and wealth-building programs. He most recently held the position of Managing Director at the World Institute on Disability.

Tom says: 
I think financial institutions, educators and banks each have to recognize the disability community as a specific market segment of the population that have been traditionally underserved and have a demonstrated need for access to financial tools and services. Once they make the decision to work with the disability community, they need to partner with organizations who are particularly well-positioned to provide industry technical assistance to reach the disability community and further the financial industry’s inclusion goals – like National Disability Institute. For example, NDI reaches two million people per year and has been doing this for 15 years. We are particularly well situated, through our research, policy and practice, to reach this community.

In addition, it’s important for banks and financial institutions to target people with disabilities through their CRA activities. NDI’s Center for Disability-Inclusive Community Development (CDICD) works to improve the usage of the opportunities and resources available under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This is really important as millions of dollars, that could help people with disabilities in LMI communities, goes unspent every year. Through NDI’s research, we’ve identified that Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities with disability are the most underserved. How do we change this? Financial institutions, in particular, need to make a concerted effort to work with and support this segment of the community. In addition, we, the disability community, need to be intentional in our own efforts to better address these issues.

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