Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Sabrina Taylor Of Benefits Understood Counseling Services On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have A Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
If you fail, you still won. You only fail when you do not try. Some of the businesses I started were not successful or did not generate any revenue. There were times I felt like a failure. I later realized the only failure is never trying. So, I keep trying.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Sabrina Taylor.
Dr. Sabrina Taylor is a tenured professor at Coppin State University in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and owner of Benefits Understood Counseling Services and Whitty Brown Baby Boutique. She is also the author of 100 Love Notes to my HBCU Students: From your Mama Professor. Dr. Taylor is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Work Incentives Counselor. You can learn more about Dr. Taylor at https://drtaylorisin.com.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
Sure! When I graduated from Elon University, I was working in healthcare as a clinical client manager. I wasn’t really happy in my job and knew I wanted to do something different. My mother, who is a registered nurse, told me about an opportunity to purchase an existing adult care home. I met with the owner and decided at the age of 22 that this would be a phenomenal opportunity. So, at the age of 22, I became the caregiver of six adults with schizophrenia and other mental and physical disabilities. Not only did I learn about caring for persons with physical and mental disabilities, but I learned many life lessons. This experience motivated me to get my masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. While in my masters program, I landed an internship at the Department of Veteran Affairs. I worked at the VA for four years serving veterans with disabilities and helping them meet their employment goals through education. I then decided I wanted to teach others how to serve persons with disabilities and obtained my PhD in Rehabilitation Counseling and Counselor Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Currently, I am a tenured professor at Coppin State University and I own two businesses, Benefits Understood Counseling Services and Whitty Brown Baby Boutique.
You are a successful leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
When I look back over my career, being open, determined, and a risk taker has been key to my success. When I was 22, I started my first business and had no idea how to be a caretaker, especially to six adults with significant disabilities. However, I was open to learning how to become a caretaker. I had a degree in Human Services and people on my team who were more experienced than me that I leaned on to learn how to be a caretaker and business owner. I could not have been successful if I were not open to new experiences or learning from individuals more knowledgeable and experienced than myself. I always try to surround myself with people who are more knowledgeable and successful than myself so I can learn from them and also be critiqued. There is always room for improvement.
I have always been determined to meet my goals, but I didn’t realize how determined I was until I went through my doctoral program. I tell everyone who asks me what it was to be in a doc program that it is like being on a rowboat for three long years in the midst of hurricanes, heat, and killer whales trying to make it to land. If it wasn’t for sheer determination and stubbornness, I would not have finished. There have been numerous times in my life I wanted to give up because things got too hard or mentally draining. When I thought about giving up, I would reflect back to why I started. Once I did that, I would press forward due to my determined nature.
Since I was 22, I’ve owned four businesses and attempted six. Currently, I’m 37 years old. Not every business idea was successful. I’ve lost money and some would even say time. However, I’ve always been of the mindset that money can be replaced, and time is never lost. I’m not scared of taking risks. In the time that my businesses or ideas were not successful, I learned valuable lessons. Those lessons taught me what to do and what not to do in the future. Taking risks can lead to opportunities that can change your life and those around you.
In order to be a successful leader, it is pertinent that an individual exhibit professionalism.
A person cannot be a successful leader without being professional. I define a successful leader as being more than someone who has been financially successful in their business or company. To be successful as a leader, a person must also be successful at leading their team and those who look up to them as a role model. A leader must be professional because a lack of professionalism brings into question a person’s character and integrity.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work-related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
One of my greatest work-related struggles was trying to communicate with one of my residents who had an intellectual disability. Prior to me working with her, no one could understand what she was trying to convey due to speech challenges and she would get extremely frustrated and angry. One day, one of my employees told me that she observed her reading a letter. I wrote a note and asked her how she was doing. She wrote back that she was in pain. That was huge! It completely changed how we communicated with her and we were able to provide her with the best care because we could communicate. Prior to her moving to my facility, she spent 40 years of her life unheard because people did pay attention. She was labeled and unfortunately stereotyped. Her quality of life improved significantly once we were able to communicate with her.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
So, I just wrote a book. It’s called 100 Love Notes to my HBCU Students: From your Mama Professor and it is available for purchase on Amazon. My book was awarded a Readers Favorite 5 Star Rating which I am super excited about. By nature, I love to create and build. Currently, I am designing new apparel for my online boutique, Whitty Brown Baby which focuses on empowering children of color and exposing children of color to careers early.
Fantastic. Let’s now shift to our discussion about inclusion. Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
My entire career has centered around advocating for persons with disabilities and underserved populations. I kind of have the best of both worlds. I get to teach at a HBCU with many students who are first generation college students. I also own a business in which I assist persons with disabilities learn how they can work while receiving disability benefits. This enables them to live as independently as possible and support their families. Presently, I am President of the Maryland Counselors for Social Justice Association. Our association strives to promote social justice advocacy in our society, through confronting oppressive systems of power and privilege that manifest in a lack of equal access, benefits, resources, and opportunities to large segments of our population. Now, a story. I obtained certification as a Certified Work Incentives Practitioner from Cornell University in 2019. Through my company, Benefits Understood Counseling Services, I counsel persons with disabilities who receive Social Security disability benefits on how to reenter the workforce. Social Security enables persons with disabilities the opportunity to participate in the Ticket to Work Program which affords them the opportunity to re-enter the workforce and increase financial independence while reducing the reliance on disability benefits. I had the opportunity to see some of my consumers obtain full time employment and not have to rely on disability benefits. Their life completely changed, and their quality of life improved significantly. I am very fortunate to be a part of their journey.
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
Listen, all of us are one accident or illness from obtaining a disability. Everyone has skills, abilities, and talent that can contribute to the greater good. With that being said, it is important for businesses to have an inclusive work culture so different voices can be heard. Having different voices at the table can save a company money, increase revenue, and increase work morale. For instance, there have been many companies who have been sued because their website was not accessible for persons with disabilities. If someone with a disability worked in IT or focus groups were conducted with persons with disabilities, these are costly mistakes that can be avoided. Also, work morale increases when work environments are inclusive, and everyone feels welcome and wanted. When work morale is high, employees work harder, and productivity is high. High morale equals increased revenue.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
Years ago, I worked with a colleague who used a wheelchair for mobility. My colleague was a supervisor and extremely talented. As a part of my colleague’s accommodations, the cabinets in her office were lowered, the office door widened, and the handle on the door was changed to make it easier for her to open. These are just a few examples of environmental accommodations that can be made to make a company and work accessible for an employee. Essentially, reasonable accommodations are modifications to a work environment, job, and procedures during the hiring process.
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
Some best practices I’ve always tried to implement in making a business feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities are being mindful of environmental barriers and aesthetics, using person first language, having accessible electronic and hard copy documents, and being willing to change based on feedback from clients.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
At one point in my career, I owned an adult care home for persons with physical and mental disabilities. I worked with the Department of Rehabilitation Services to find employees who would serve as caregivers to my residents. People receiving vocational rehabilitation services have incurred a disability and are attempting to re-enter the workforce. I was fortunate to hire an employee referred by the Department of Rehabilitation Services and she was one of my best employees. The residents loved her, and she got along well with the other employees. Not only did I serve persons with disabilities, but I hired persons with disabilities as well.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
- I wish someone sat me down and showed me how to budget when I first started my business. I was 22 years of age and my company was bringing in $13,000 a month. I had never earned that much money in my life and was never taught how to budget. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have saved and reinvested into my business. It is important when someone first starts a business, they obtain a financial advisor. It is worth the money and advice.
- If you fail, you still won. You only fail when you do not try. Some of the businesses I started were not successful or did not generate any revenue. There were times I felt like a failure. I later realized the only failure is never trying. So, I keep trying.
- Take some business courses. When you start a business, you are the accountant, marketer, social media coordinator, receptionist, and many other titles. The Small Business Association offers free courses and community colleges offers cheap business courses. I spent a lot of money paying companies to do things I could easily have done if I had taken a class. I found out later that I could take free courses and I took advantage.
- Find a business mentor: Find a mentor in your industry. They will be a wealth of knowledge and resource for you. When I started my first business as an adult care homeowner, I did not have a mentor. I made a lot of mistakes that could have easily been avoided if I had found a mentor early. After that experience, I always found a mentor to guide me in my business ventures.
- Practice self-care: I did a horrible job practicing self-care when I first started my business. I was working 16-hour days and not sleeping well. Rest, family, fun, and exercise are important. Make time. Money cannot buy health and family.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“Life is fleeting. Use your time wisely.” I’ve chosen to be a servant to others in my career and personal life. Life is short and time does stop for us all eventually. I choose to help and invest in others so they can do the same. I truly believe in paying it forward in order to make this world a better place. As a professor, I mentor many students and share opportunities with them that can help them achieve their career goals. I also do the same with my clients with disabilities.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to create a movement where persons with disabilities could rate inclusivity and accessibility of businesses globally. I feel if companies knew they were being rated on accessibility and it was made available to the public, they would work hard to make their business inclusive and accessible.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I can be reached at the following:
Drtaylorisin.com
Twitter #drtaylorisin
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/drtaylorisin
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Sabrina Taylor Of Benefits Understood Counseling Services On… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.