Phoenix, AZ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/19/2021 -- In this episode VoiceAmerica host Joyce Bender visits with Cheryl Harris, who is a leader committed to people with disabilities will be a guest on the show. The other guests joining Cheryl are Manel Bargaoui and Amine Dridi, as they discuss Employing Tunisians with Disability, as her special guests live from the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia. To listen live at 11am PT on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, go to the Variety/Flagship Channel: https://www.voiceamerica.com/channel/246/voiceamerica-variety and access the show on-demand within 24 hours of the airing here:https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1315/disability-matters .

Please join Disability Matters on VoiceAmerica Tuesdays at 11 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica's Variety/Flagship Channel, and on-demand here: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1315/disability-matters

About Cheryl Harris
- Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State and is currently serving as the Cultural Affairs Officer in U.S. Embassy Tunis, Tunisia.

- Has focused most of career at the Department of State on public diplomacy and public affairs, other assignments include Slovenia, Iraq, and various positions in Washington, DC.

- Received Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University and is originally from New Brighton, PA.

About Manel Bargaoui
- Tunisian English teacher.

- 2019, received the U.S. Department of State's Alumni Impact Award.

- 2017, Professional Fellows Program alumna, AMENDS alumna, TEDx Speaker, CXC alumna, project manager, and social entrepreneur.

- First and only Tunisian teacher who teaches English with Tunisian Sign Language in the MENA region.

- Author of Let's Handspeak English. first and only English student book designed for the deaf community in Tunisia.

- Startup project manager, creating LETSapp, which is the first educational mobile application for the deaf in Tunisia.

- Organized Let's Handspeak Weekend Studies, which is the first exchange program between deaf and hearing communities. This project is to teach entrepreneurship as well as leadership skills. In 2018, Manel's project was selected as the best project in Tunisia among the 24 best initiatives by the international competition organized by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

About Amine Dridi
- Began career in September 2008 at the Tunisian Union helping mentally disabled people, by providing educational rehabilitation for children with a profound and moderate mental disability with some cases of autism.

- Was named the director of the Tunisian Union for helping mentally disabled people in order to ensure the educational, administrative and the financial management of the organization.

- Joined the Rain Bow Association for the education, training and integration of children with Down syndrome in October 2013 and was responsible for the educational management and coordination of the technical team in addition to the administrative management of the association.

- Had the opportunity to follow professional internships in the United States and in Germany in terms of the NGOs working in the field of people with disabilities' development and inclusive education for special need children.

- Also, the opportunity to navigate other countries experiences in terms of special education like Morocco and Egypt through participating in conferences and congress in those two countries.

- In 2019, received license diploma in special education and was accepted to complete research for master's degree in special education.

About Host Joyce A. Bender
Joyce A. Bender is the CEO and president of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. Bender Consulting recruits and hires individuals with disabilities, across the United States and Canada for competitive career opportunities in the public and private sectors. In 1985, Joyce survived a life-threatening accident caused by a misdiagnosis of epilepsy. Due to her personal experience living with both epilepsy and a hearing disability, she founded Bender Consulting Services, Inc. in 1995.

Joyce is the past-chair of both the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the national Epilepsy Foundation. She has received awards from both the Bush and Clinton administrations.

Joyce A. Bender Career Highlights:

- Serves as CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. - http://www.benderconsult.com.

- Lives with epilepsy and a hearing loss.

- Advocates for the competitive employment for people with disabilities.

- Serves as vice-chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and former chair of the board.

- Represented the US State Department on information exchanges on disability employment in Panama, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Kazakhstan.

- Serves as chair of Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA.

- Received the 2003 New Freedom Initiative Award from the Bush Administration.

- Recognized with the 1999 President's Award from President Clinton.

- Board member of Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera.

- Board member of the Bazelon Center.

- Newly appointed board member of WID.

About Disability Matters
Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

Competitive employment and empowerment for people with disabilities is the emphasis of this show. Broadcast live and captioned in real-time for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, we discuss how people with disabilities can secure career opportunities, and how employers, organizations and individuals can support employment and empowerment of people with disabilities. Disability Matters is broadcast live every Tuesday at 11am Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica's Variety Channel (https://www.voiceamerica.com/channel/246/voiceamerica-variety) and you can listen on-demand here within 24 hours of the airing: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1315/disability-matters

For any questions regarding the show or to inquire about global advertising, please contact Senior Executive Producer, Tacy Trump, at tacy.trump@voiceamerica.com / 480.294.6421 direct line.

About VoiceAmerica
VoiceAmerica is the original digital broadcast company for the production and delivery of Live Internet Talk Radio programming and continues to be the industry leader in digital media, marketing, and distribution. We are the pioneers of digital radio programming and have been since 1999. We create and distribute over 500 unique and innovative radio programs for our millions of engaged listeners worldwide over five niche community based channels: the flagship VoiceAmerica™ Variety Channel, VoiceAmerica™ Empowerment Channel, VoiceAmerica™ Health & Wellness Channel, VoiceAmerica™ Business Channel, and VoiceAmerica™ Influencers Channel. VoiceAmerica™ TV offers targeted and exclusive video programming channels. Our network channels distribute live programs daily that reach a growing domestic and international audience who connect through all devices via our mobile, desktop, and tablet VoiceAmerica destinations.

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