The JW Marriott: Luxury & Accessibility in Downtown Indianapolis

One of the most exciting developments since the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act 20 years ago has been the opportunity for travelers with disabilities to secure and enjoy a variety of lodging opportunities and experiences.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Americans with disabilities have $175 billion in discretionary spending power. When it comes to travel, people with disabilities and their families return to their favorite vacation spots, hotels and restaurants because of the quality of service and ease of accessibility. The ADA has been a catalyst in encouraging the hospitality industry to recognize the economic potential of creating accessible lodging that accommodates the needs of people with disabilities.

To that end, I am pleased to compliment the new JW Marriott Indianapolis on its grand opening and its commitment to the creation of the most accessible and largest JW Marriott in the world. I was privileged to serve on the Marriott Place Indianapolis design team, consulting on the accessible features of the JW Marriott Indianapolis, the Fairfield Inn & Suites and the JW Marriott Convention Center.

All of these facilities were designed to host visitors with a variety of accommodation needs. The Fehribach Group provided consultation on the fully accessible hotel bar and restaurant areas, along with the guest rooms and showers, convention and gathering spaces, and parking services. The JW Marriott provides guests with deluxe accommodations, and for those who seek a more affordable price point without sacrificing the luxury, the adjoining Fairfield Inn & Suites is also an accessible option.

The JW Marriott Indianapolis is also connected to the newly renovated Indiana Convention Center via skybridge and gives visitors and guests access to some of our city's greatest tourist attractions. Guests are just blocks from Victory Field, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Indiana State Museum, Lucas Oil Stadium and Conseco Fieldhouse, to name a few.

Providing people with disabilities a variety of options is what makes an experience inclusive. I often remind my clients that when a facility design works for people with disabilities, it works for all. The recent opening of these new venues give our guests with disabilities the freedom to make a choice and participate alongside every visitor. It's what makes our community both unique - and inclusive.

The Disability Project: Putting People with Disabilities to Work

Recently, The Indianapolis Star and the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette published a letter to the editor from Dr. Ray Scheele and Dr. Sally Jo Vasicko, the co-directors of Ball State University's Bowen Center for Public Affairs. In their letter, they discuss one of the Bowen Center's newest initiatives: The Disability Project. I'm serving as a Distinguished Fellow in support of The Disability Project, and I am most proud to be involved with such a challenging and worthwhile endeavor.

You can read the letter here, as it shares just what Ball State and the Bowen Center are doing to address employment barriers for people with disabilities. As an alumnus, supporter and former trustee of Ball State, I am so proud of my alma mater for its unwavering commitment to educate, engage, and aid in the employment search for people with disabilities.

On behalf of my colleagues at the Bowen Center, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to The Lilly Foundation, as well as the Marion County Election Board, for providing initial seed funding in order to move forward with substantive projects. It's an honor to work with dedicated professionals, who, in a nonpartisan way, are looking at how we can increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

As we close the door on 2010 and embark on 2011, Mary Beth and I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Greg Fehribach

Tips for Navigating the Job Search Process

One of the most frequent questions the students I teach ask is, "how can I market myself to potential employers?" In these tough economic times, it's essential young college graduates - particularly those with disabilities - use every weapon in their arsenal to promote themselves to prospective employers. One of the oldest, and arguably most successful, strategies involves networking.

Networking is a great way for someone to launch themselves into the next phase of their professional life. Some of the best jobs aren't listed in the newspaper classifieds, and can't be found on web career listings. In today's competitive marketplace, it's up to the interested party to do the research. This reason alone is why networking is becoming an increasingly important tool for people with disabilities.

According to a 2010 survey conducted by the Kessler Foundation and the National Organization on Disability, only 21 percent of all working-age people with disabilities are employed, compared to 59 percent of people without disabilities. People with disabilities are less likely than those without disabilities to socialize with friends, relatives or neighbors. Unemployment for people with disabilities is alarmingly high.

So how does a person with a disability begin the networking process? The following list contains some helpful steps to get you started:

1. Find a mentor. Seek out the encouragement of someone you feel comfortable with and someone who has the same goals and perspective as you. Mentors can be professors, current employers, family friends and community leaders. They can provide you with valuable career advice, while connecting you to other professional networks.
   
   
2. Know where to go. Many public events and meetings directly relate to the disability community, whether its health care, transportation, employment or education. Search community calendars to find the best fit. Most of these events come at no cost to the attendee. Consider joining service groups, Internet list-servs, and alumni organizations. If you are passionate about certain issues or causes, find ways to volunteer or attend fundraisers. You will undoubtedly meet many people who share your interests.
   
   
3. Be prepared. Manage expectations as to who you think will be attending the event. Consider everyone you know to be a contact and an outlet to even more networks. Come up with a list of questions that may be asked of you and that you want to ask of the guests, and always have a resume on hand. This is paramount to making a good first impression.
   
   
4. Stay organized. All networking should be catalogued by keeping track of the business cards you collect. Follow up with the people you met with a brief e-mail or thank you note. Suggest a lunch or coffee meeting if you wish to learn more.
   
   
5. Play the game. You never know who you may run into at the grocery store, a local park or the coffee shop. Take the opportunity to reintroduce yourself and start up conversation where you last left off. It's always important to stay fresh in the minds of those who can be most helpful.

Continually developing and exercising these networking skills will help you stand out, while increasing your self-confidence when meeting new people and adapting to new situations. These five steps will help you get started on the road to sustainable employment and economic independence.

Good luck!

Access and Inclusion: A College Senior's Perspective

Ball State Senior Patrick Mautner shares his thoughts about how access and inclusion at one of America's top campuses is helping prepare him to enter the job market.

For those of us fortunate to call a college campus home, fall is a particularly special time of year. The possibilities of a new academic year seem endless.

As a senior at Ball State University, I am making plans to graduate. Like most seniors, I'm doing all I can to make myself marketable to future employers. As a student with a disability, I think I'll be able to hold my own in this very competitive job market.

Why? Ball State's accessible and inclusive environment is helping prepare me to make meaningful contributions to our economy.

One of the main reasons I chose Ball State was because of the Disabled Student Development program and Director Larry Markle. I met with him when I was narrowing down my choices, and I just thought he had the perfect attitude and philosophy toward students with disabilities. I knew he would be a good mentor to have during my time at the school.

I see the Americans with Disabilities Act at work nearly every day at BSU. I've found that it is one of the most accessible campuses for students with disabilities. It has become accessible to the point where it's almost uncommon NOT to see a student with a disability every day. Along with that, I think the best part is the fact that everyone is OK with it. I don't think I have ever seen a single incident where a student or professor singled out a person with a disability. I do make professors aware of my situation ahead of time and they work with me privately if needed, but aside from that it seems that I am treated just like everyone else on campus.

Technological advances - especially the internet and its capabilities - are essential in connecting people with disabilities to our communities. At BSU, we're on the cutting edge of inclusive and accessible technologies. I personally have benefited from accessing lesson plans on my professors' websites. Texting and email/internet access has greatly helped me, due to my hearing loss.

People with disabilities have to deal with countless challenges that crop up during the course of our daily lives. The ability to address those challenges and keep moving forward will serve me well in the workplace. Armed with my education from and experiences with Ball State, I'm up for the challenges and opportunities that the future holds.

Our trip to Washington, D.C.

This issue of The Indiana Lawyer features an article about the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It includes an interview with my husband Greg, and touches on his experiences as a lawyer, inclusion and accessibility consultant, and a person with a disability.

Greg, our boys Daniel and Luke, and I had a wonderful trip to Washington, D.C. to commemorate this landmark civil rights legislation. But, as you'll read in the article, we did encounter some challenges during our visit. A lack of accessibility prevented us from enjoying tourist amenities together. On this trip, when we celebrated how far people with disabilities have come, we were once again reminded of still how far we have to go.

In our many years together, I have had the privilege to be a part of the many advancements that we have made in Central Indiana in terms of access and inclusion. These advancements have made a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, as well as those who love them. The commitment of community leaders to ensuring our spaces are accessible and inclusive has had a tremendous impact on our collective success as a state and as a city.

I hope you enjoy the article.

Mary Beth Fehribach

The ADA: Traveling the Journey

"This act is powerful in its simplicity. It will ensure that people with disabilities are given the basic guarantees for which they have worked so long and so hard: independence, freedom of choice, control of their lives, the opportunity to blend fully and equally into the rich mosaic of the American mainstream." President George H.W. Bush

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act. On that sunny July day, I was in attendance as then-Governor Evan Bayh's representative to the White House and witnessed the signing of this landmark piece of civil rights legislation.

The ADA has had a tremendous impact on millions of Americans with disabilities, their friends and loved ones. I am one of those Americans. Born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or "brittle bone disease," I have utilized a wheelchair since childhood. I graduated from college, earned masters and legal degrees - all before the ADA became law. For a young lawyer, the ADA meant that I could finally enter nearly any business and meet clients and colleagues without concerns about accessible accommodations. Up until the ADA, the logistics of a simple client meeting presented a daunting challenge.

The ADA is continually evolving. It's been a privilege to see this process firsthand, working with businesses and organizations in the public and private sectors to create accessible and inclusive spaces. The physical access the ADA has encouraged - ramps, curb cuts, audio tools, for example - is tangible evidence of the progress we have made. Businesses and organizations across the country have applied a comprehensive approach to integrate structures and programming, thus increasing opportunities for people with disabilities to participate. Not only can we now access the park, we also can enjoy a picnic in the pavilion with our family and friends because of the accessible features.

As I look back to where people with disabilities have been - and where we're going - there is much to celebrate. By law, we are afforded the same rights as other Americans and diverse groups. But, we have much to do if we are to fully blend into the fabric of our nation.

People with disabilities have the ability and the desire to participate in our economy. Yet, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is disproportionately higher than for the general population. With technology revolutionizing how we connect to each other and our jobs, people with disabilities have an opportunity before them to apply their skills in ways never thought possible. After all, if a person can navigate the complexities of living with a disability, they can certainly navigate the challenges of full-time employment. Indianapolis has long been a national model for encouraging all levels of access and inclusion. Ball State University's Bowen Center for Public Affairs is identifying and addressing employment barriers for people with disabilities. I'm proud to be a part of that effort.

Next week, I'll return to the White House to witness President Barack Obama commemorate the 20th anniversary of the ADA. That a man with a disability will come to the nation's capitol to celebrate a landmark civil rights legislation with our country's first African-American president speaks to the power of America. Even more, we will celebrate this milestone publicly, in the same house where an American president 70 years ago hid his disability from the world.

How far we have come. How far we have to go. Yet, we can - and will - travel the journey together.

The Americans with Disabilities Act: An evolutionary process

Juli Paini, the director for the City of Indianapolis Office of Disability Affairs, shares her thoughts on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I was a student at Indiana University when Congress passed the ADA. The ADA received a lot of attention when President Bush signed it into law and I began to notice that people were more aware of people with disabilities.

The ADA helped raise my comfort level talking about my disability, as well as the comfort level of the people around me. While I had always adapted to the situations that faced me as a person with rheumatoid arthritis, the law established a civil rights framework of legal protections that had not previously been available to me and others with disabilities.

After I graduated from IU, I entered law school at IU-Bloomington. My motivation to pursue a legal career was definitely influenced by my disability. I knew there were people - with and without disabilities - who needed access to quality legal services and someone to advocate on their behalf. After passing the bar, I practiced law for several years. When the opportunity arose ten years ago to direct the City of Indianapolis' ADA Program, I took it immediately.

Indianapolis already had an effort in place relative to access and inclusion before the ADA was signed into law. Mayor Hudnut established the Mayor's Advisory Council on Disability, which is still in effect today. Peter Bisbecos, a talented lawyer, served as Mayor Goldsmith's ADA coordinator during a construction boom in our city. The City put a priority to make access and inclusion a part of what we do. It's a bipartisan approach that has carried through several administrations and continues to this day. In fact, the National Organization on Disability recognized Indianapolis with its 2009 "Accessible America" award, a tribute to this collective work.

In all of our projects, we look at access and inclusion in a holistic way. Whether it's employing audible signals for the visually impaired, or creating mentorship opportunities, or including people with disabilities when we define diversity, the perception of people with disabilities and how we integrate the ADA is evolving.

Initially, everyone thought of the ADA in terms of physical access. As the years have gone by, we're now looking at the ADA in terms of its significance to the issue of employment, and how that affects any other independence that the act brings. Economic independence helps people enjoy the physical independence.

People with disabilities - and the ADA - have come a long way since this landmark legislation became a part of our lives. As we look to the future, we still have much more to do. I hope the Indianapolis model will help other communities realize that they can be at the forefront of accessibility and inclusion, and do it in a creative and bipartisan way.