Find us at:
A Place to Know More About Ability
The time Jeff and I spent in Boston went so fast. I had some interviews for my research and Jeff had some friends to meet, so we were busy at moving around everyday. Boston was colder than I expected and very windy. Spring did not seem to come anytime soon. We both have been to Boston. Jeff went there 9 years ago, and I was there 8 years ago. We found again that Boston is really nice place. I am going to share our trip briefly!
When I visited Seattle in February, I was interviewed by “SoySource”, a local media in Seattle. If you live in Seattle area, you can read the interview article in issue 504 which is released April 10th, 2016. You can also read it from SoySource’s official website! (Japanese Only)
We are having our first wedding anniversary on April 12th today. Our original plan was not to celebrate it since I am doing my research in the U.S. and Jeff is working in Japan. However, in the end we decided to manage to get together and celebrate it in Boston.
The last report of Starbucks Headquarters visit. I had an opportunity to meet Jessica Rafuse who is manager within the Equal Employment Opportunity team at Starbucks. Jessica has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. To empower employment for people with disabilities, Jessica works with Starbucks business units to develop individualized hiring strategies. I often hear from US companies, including Starbucks that “hiring the very best person for the job” is first priority. A person with disability often develops a powerful strength, which is developed by the disability. Jessica gave an inspiring example.
On the other hand, it appears that Japanese companies has not yet realized and recognized persons with disabilities’ strengths. I see Japanese companies often remove people with disabilities from “the very best person” from the beginning of recruiting process.
Continuously on the Starbucks report, I had a chance to talk with Adam Novsam who is a Deaf Starbucks partner and works as a Business Analyst. I was impressed when he shared his perspective as a Deaf person in the Starbucks Access Alliance meeting. He shared his interesting background and career experiences before he joined Starbucks. There are lots of differences between Deaf and hearing culture. I also shared my previous experiences of working with Deaf colleague in Tokyo.
Continuously on the Starbucks report, I interviewed Ms. Marthalee Galeota who is a manager, Equal Opportunity Initiatives and is also a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter. Marthalee is like a professional “bridge.” She serves as an internal consultant sharing her subject matter expertise on new and existing initiatives, and also dedicates her efforts for Starbucks customers with disabilities by improving customer service and accessibilities at store.
I am always impressed by Starbucks’s high quality of customer service and very curious how Starbucks maintains the high quality of customer service at the numerous number of stores. In Seattle, I could visit Starbucks Headquarters twice! I have lots of stories to share with you. In part 1, I write about my great experience at the meeting of Access Alliance, one of Starbucks’s employee resource groups which promote inclusion and integrate accessibility. I found real strength of diversity and inclusion at Starbucks.
In this blog, we have shared some episodes about our relationship. We also received messages and questions from readers who are in the same situations, for example people who are dating with people with disabilities, who are in a long distance relationship or in an international relationship. This time, we would like to write our stories from the beginning.
I had some precious experiences besides interviewing for my research in Seattle. One of them is to give a talk at “Meet the Professional” hosted by ICC Seattle Office, a study abroad agency. Meet the Professional is an event which a professional in various field gives a talk to Japanese students in Seattle area! What I talked was my disability, school life in Japan, findings in study abroad in U.S., experiences as an employee, and reasons why I research about employment for people with disabilities now. For one hour, I shared my experiences and how I changed my thoughts in my life.
In Seattle, I have visited Disability Rights Washington, a private non-profit organization, and the designated protection and advocacy agency. Today, in the US, many people with disabilities have equal opportunities to receive general education and work in various fields. However, equal opportunity doesn’t exist from the beginning. It is earned by brave advocates speaking up for people with disabilities. Part of the history is sad. Disability Rights Washington not only provides litigation support, but also have implemented interesting projects to raise awareness of people with disabilities.