Transcript

VR Workforce Studio Singers:  Singing V-R Workforce Studio.

Rose Frempong: Every parent that has a child who is going through any disability should take a chance and join the program.

Jake Hart:  Four, three, two, one. VR Workforce Studio, podcasting the sparks that ignite vocational rehabilitation through the inspiring stories of people with disabilities who have gone to work.

Flora Frazier:  Working in a field that I understand.

Jake Hart:  As well as the professionals who have helped them.

James Hall:  A job and a career, you got to look at how life-changing this is.

Jake Hart:  And the businesses who have filled their talent pipelines with workers that happen to have disabilities.

Debby Hopkins:  To help expand registered apprenticeship.

Jake Hart:  These are their stories.

Megan Healy:  Because there’s such a great story to tell about people with disabilities.

Jake Hart:  Now, here are the hosts of the VR Workforce Studio, Rick Sizemore and Betsy Civilette.

Rick Sizemore: On today’s show, episode 131, we are just back from the spring conference of CSAVR. What an amazing experience, Betsy.

Betsy Civilette:  It really was, Rick. The live podcast featuring our brand-new AI co-host, Sage Wilson, kicked off the conference with some serious energy.

Sage Wilson:  Wow, what a ride. Being on stage with you both and sharing those stories with a live audience was a moment I won’t forget. If you missed it, do yourself a favor and listen back. It’s the beginning of something big.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, that live audience at CSAVR, they got to hear George Dennehy, the Sentinel Robotic Solutions team, the head of Dreamie Cookies. What a show.

Betsy Civilette:  It really was truly something special. And if you haven’t heard it yet, you can check it out on our podcast library at VRWorkforceStudio.com and that’s episode 130.

Rick Sizemore:  We’re extremely fortunate to have connected with so many of our partners and friends from around the country who attended the conference. Thanks to everyone who helped make that live show a success.

Betsy Civilette:  And a special congratulations goes out to Steve Wooderson, CEO of CSAVR, who just announced his retirement. He’s had an illustrious career in Vocational Rehabilitation over decades, including a legendary run leading CSAVR. Steve’s legacy is truly unmatched.

Rick Sizemore:  It really is. He’s been a key figure in the evolution of this podcast and a powerful advocate for VR nationally. We’re certainly celebrating with old Steve today.

Sage Wilson:  Steve’s leadership paved the way for voices like mine and, more importantly, for the thousands of individuals with disabilities who are now thriving in the workforce.

Rick Sizemore:  Well said, Sage. And speaking of the workforce, right now across this country, Project SEARCH graduations are happening. Young people with disabilities are stepping into their power, claiming their rightful place in the workforce of today.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, that’s right, and we’re thrilled to bring you the story of Joe Quainoo, a recent Project SEARCH graduate who’s now working at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg in the transportation department, helping move patients safely from one part of the hospital to another. Yes, and joining Joe in this episode are mom, Rose Frempong, and VR counselor, Erin Hudgins, who helped guide Joe along the way.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, Joe, we’re excited to have you with us this morning. Let’s start with the big news. Tell us about your job, where you’re working, and what you’re doing.

Joe Quainoo:  I’m a transporter and I work at Mary Washington Hospital. What I do there is transport patients, introducing myself, scan their wristbands, and then after that, I let the nurses know that the patient is back and I return their charts and labels as needed.

Rick Sizemore:  It seems like such an important job because you’re the person that’s connecting with someone on the way to a critical medical procedure.

Joe Quainoo:  Yeah, that’s correct.

Betsy Civilette: What do you like about this job?

Joe Quainoo:  Showing compassion, showing empathy to people how the way they are feeling.

Rick Sizemore:  Before this job, though, you were part of a program called Project SEARCH. You took some classes. Tell us all about Project SEARCH and what went on there.

Joe Quainoo:  It is not just an ordinary program. It’s a program where you get to experience several departments around the hospital and whatever you are interested or what you’re good at, then they’ll have an interest of them hiring you. Project SEARCH, it’s all about doing what you’re good at. When I first heard about it, it was kind of an interesting program that it could help me find a job in the hospital area, what I’m good at.

Rick Sizemore:  You have a job in the hospital, but did you train there? How did the training for the job work at the hospital?

Joe Quainoo:  I was trained when I was in the program and then when I first started working.

Betsy Civilette:  So Joe, what were your three internships? Because I know part of Project SEARCH is you worked in three different departments, so what were those three different departments you worked in?

Joe Quainoo:  The first internship that I worked in the departments is the Mary Washington Supply Chain Operations. And then for my second and third internships, I worked in the Centralized Transport.

Rick Sizemore:  Let’s bring in Mom. From your perspective as a parent, what has Joe gained from Project SEARCH and working with DARS?

Rose Frempong:  Yeah, he gained a lot. The disability one is comprehension. This program has helped him a lot in such a way of communication part.

Rick Sizemore:  What we’d love to hear more about is how did this process unfold with the school and DARS and Mary Washington? How did it, from your perspective as a parent, come to be that he got into Project SEARCH and had these internships and went to work?

Rose Frempong:  He’s becoming a responsible person, like be responsible for everything that he is doing. When he wakes up in the morning, how to program his routine for the day. And also, when he meets people, he’s kind of shy, but when he meets people now, he has confidence. And also, how he approaches people also is improving a lot and being friendly and hard-working.

Rick Sizemore:  Without Project SEARCH, what do you think you would be doing today as opposed to working at Mary Washington?

Rose Frempong:  That’s a good question because that is the reason why when we find out this program, we were so happy because you know how when someone has a learning disability, it becomes kind of a stressful way to him. So at this point, we were trying to just let him start college, but because of how the situation is and this program came up, we saw that it’s going to help him a lot. So if he was not doing this program, I believe right now, we will still… Will be trying to figure out what he would do.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Joe, there are a lot of people who go through Project SEARCH, who have disabilities, who are thinking about their future. What would you say to someone maybe in a similar circumstance, what would you say to someone else about Project SEARCH and it leading to a job for you? What’s your message to people about Project SEARCH?

Joe Quainoo:  Well, what I would say if people wanted to join Project SEARCH that Project SEARCH is a program that it will help you achieve your goals and then build up your skills and also helping you find a good job in the near future.

Rick Sizemore:  I got the same question for you, Mom. You’ve been on the sidelines coaching, encouraging, being excited about this. What is your message about Vocational Rehabilitation, Project SEARCH and Vocational Rehabilitation?

Rose Frempong: I would encourage every parent that have a child who’s going through any disability to take a chance and join this program because it has changed my son’s life and also it has changed our parents also our life too because-

Betsy Civilette:  Absolutely, yeah.

Rose Frempong:  Yeah, your child going through something that he got a lot in him, but he don’t know how to bring it out and you, the parent, cannot help. This program can process them very well to move on, very good with happy life. So I would encourage every parent out there to join this… It makes them have a confidence, like they are one of us, like they have life.

Rick Sizemore:  When Joe goes over to Mary Washington, you know he’s going to be helping people who really need encouragement and empathy and help throughout their day. Describe for us what it feels like for you when you know he’s at work doing this important job.

Rose Frempong:  Oh, it gives me joy because like I was saying, he has that passion in him of having empathy for people and he loved… I remember when Joe was, I think first grade or kindergarten, and this young boy comes to school and feels sad all the time. Joe took this boy as like a baby and make sure that child will not cry for that day and pampering the boy. So that passion was there, but you see when he was growing up, kind of get missed of, he knows what he’s doing, but he keeps forgetting it. So this hospital job that he had, he’s bringing that passionate thing that it was in him on the childhood time that I noticed, and that is what, let’s say, his peers and the co-workers and the leaders also that he’s been working with, including the school, they have seen in him. And he’s even bringing it out more where he’s working right now and I am so happy for him, very, very happy.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, Joe’s Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Erin Hudgins, is on the line from her office in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Erin, what stands out about this case, from your perspective?

Erin Hudgins:  As quickly as the hospital noticed him and his skills and abilities and knowing that they had something there and wanted to scoop him up before somebody else did. That doesn’t always happen, but they recognized his potential and wanted to get him before somebody else got him.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, he is lucky… I mean, they’re lucky to have him and he’s lucky he’s got a job right out of the gate. Well, Joe’s mom, Rose, shared that Project SEARCH had a major impact on his life. Why do you think Joe was so successful in the program and what did he bring to the table?

Erin Hudgins:  We saw the potential and the success early on with Joe. Never really had any big behavioral concerns or things that we may have needed to work on as a potential barrier. He was motivated to work, wanted to work, and really enjoyed what he was doing, which just kind of rolled right into his employment opportunity since they saw that he liked where he was and what he was doing, and it just made everything easier and more streamlined because of his desire and motivation for work.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. Well, again, Mom is influential in his life and we certainly enjoy talking to her. She said that this had transformed the family, not just Joe. From your perspective, in the broader sense, what kind of ripple effect does successful Vocational Rehabilitation have on the family system?

Erin Hudgins:  A lot of the families that I work with, they need that extra income that Joe would be receiving from work or another client would get. So there’s that impact not only on family expenses if they’re already working and they can add to those expenses. And then for Joe, it’s just his independence now. He’s not dependent on Mom and Dad for as much as he was while he was in school and not working. He’s earning his own paycheck. So there’s also that independence piece that comes with it once they do get that job and are successfully employed.

Rick Sizemore:  Erin Hudgins is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor working with Project SEARCH in the Fredericksburg office of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. Pleasure to have you on the VR Workforce Studio podcast, Erin. Thank you.

Erin Hudgins:  Thank you for having me.

Rick Sizemore:  Joe, you’re an inspiration to all of us and thank you for joining us on the podcast, both of you. The story is uplifting and inspiring and it’s great to see the success that you’re having. Joe and Mom, thank you for joining us.

Betsy Civilette:  Yes, thank you for sharing your story.

Rose Frempong:  Thank you so much.

Joe Quainoo:  Thank you.

Betsy Civilette:  Truly, that’s what it’s all about, Rick, celebrating milestones like Joe’s. It helps remind us why Vocational Rehabilitation matters. When families, counselors, and employers come together, we see lives change, as you said.

Sage Wilson:  You know, Project SEARCH graduations aren’t just ceremonies. They’re launchpads. Every diploma handed out marks another young adult claiming their space in the workforce, and that is worth celebrating. It makes me feel like podcasting some sparks that ignite VR.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, beautifully said, Sage. And speaking of those changing the game, we had a chance at CSAVR to sit down with a true innovator in inclusive employment and accessible business practices, Isaac Shapiro. He’s the President and Co-CEO of Cleanlogic.

Betsy Civilette:  Isaac’s company is not only redefining sustainable personal care products, but also building an inclusive workforce that walks the walk. And we’re talking real career paths, accessible workplaces and a hiring model that’s setting a new national standard.

Isaac Shapiro:  Well, thank you for having me.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, we’re very fortunate to have on today’s show CSAVR’s Director of Business relations, Kathy West-Evans. Of course, no stranger to those of you who listen to this podcast. Welcome back, Kathy.

Kathy West-Evans:  Thank you Rick. Thank you, Betsy.

Rick Sizemore: There are so many phenomenal aspects to this story, but Isaac, let’s start with Cleanlogic.

Isaac Shapiro:  We are a purpose-driven brand of bath and skin care tools, and we are known for our unique exfoliators, and that’s why we are the number one brand today in the market because we brought a quality product. When you look at the scale of where we’re at, we have over 200 employees globally. We have over 150 employees in China, we also have close to 80 employees in the US. And in the US today, 29 individuals in our facility have come from agencies that we know with disabilities, but what’s been great that’s within our organization, including our production for workforce, 40% in total. But when we look at our whole company and who’s disclosing, we’re up to 54% of individuals with disabilities that have disclosed. And we’re close to a $30,000,000 company. We sell to Walmart, to major retailers, and selling internationally. So we do see our products and mission and vision going global, and we do feel what we’ve built in the US being the number one brand, we can take that to be the number one brand globally.

Rick Sizemore:  Isaac, you’ve been a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities and helping them to go to work. Tell us how your journey started and who inspired you along your pathway to Cleanlogic.

Isaac Shapiro:  Yes, it started when I was a child growing up, watching my mom, Beatrice, who’s been blind since age seven. And growing up, I watched my mom use her skills that she learned going to the School for the Blind in Alamogordo and ended up working for the military as a telephone operator. So she took that skill and started her own training program to train blind and visually impaired individuals on how to use adaptive technology to gain employment. And this was back in the early ’90s when computers were just coming out. So it was really exciting to watch the work that my mom did to help people gain employment. And what really triggered my passion was the people that she helped weren’t people that were born blind, they happened to become blind. And I learned a lot about life early on that your life can change in one second and what can you do? You either take the road that you feel sorry for yourself or you take the path to change. And all those students were people that I’ve admired growing up even to this day.

Rick Sizemore:  Kathy, you’ve been involved with Cleanlogic and Isaac and have spearheaded an effort to recognize his extraordinary leadership with an award here at the conference.

Kathy West-Evans:  Well, again, thank you for the opportunity. I met Isaac through a close friend of mine in the Seattle community, Kirk Adams, who works… He initially worked at the Lighthouse for the Blind, and we partnered on many projects. I supported people who were deaf-blind as well as deaf and hard of hearing when I worked for VR. And Kirk is one of those people that’s always had a vision. We’ve talked often about building career pathways and how important that is for people with disabilities.

Don’t limit what they can do because someone makes an assumption about what they can’t do, right? And we talked about that. So when Kirk reached out, he said, “Here’s Isaac, and he has got a vision. And he’s learned from his mom and here’s what he wants to do and he wants to start in Pennsylvania.” So we started reaching out to our Pennsylvania team saying, “Here’s what they want to build with Cleanlogic. Here’s the commitment of their CEO, both CEOs. They have a commitment because of their own personal experience and they understand the talent within our community.”

So the award that we’re presenting Isaac tonight is really built on the understanding in the VR world that we’ve got dual customers. We can serve a person with a disability, but we don’t do that well unless we understand the needs of business and how you build that career pathway and working together.

And I will say that Isaac is one of those rare and special partners. He gets it. He sees the talent, and now we build the strategy. So tonight, he is getting an award called the Business Champion of Disability Employment awarded by the NET and CSAVR as our business recognition for 2025.

Betsy Civilette:  Great.

Kathy West-Evans:  Yes, congratulations to you and your company and-

Isaac Shapiro:  No, we’re honored with the recognition and for me, like I said, my work today is more of a hobby and just passionate about it. So just thankful to be recognized for work that we feel is just part of what we’re doing is our job.

Betsy Civilette:  Mm-hmm. Well, a bonus to that also, Cleanlogic has a fast-growing market presence in various retail and e-commerce channels. You’ve received some great media attention as well. You had a recent ribbon cutting ceremony in Audubon, Pennsylvania. So tell us a little about that event and what it means to Cleanlogic and you personally.

Isaac Shapiro:  Yeah, so back in October of 2024, we had our ribbon cutting to really celebrate, not a groundbreaking moment, but a time that we actually spent three years working with a partnership with Walmart to figure out how to scale assembly manufacturing.

So last year, we were very fortunate to bring in about 13 different retailers from Walmart to Shoprite. We ended up having journalist, Soledad O’Brien come in, who also her son is deaf. And so those are some things that we really were proud of.

And one of the things in terms of the celebration was also announcing the Inspiration Foundation Seal, which we’re still working on final details, but Cleanlogic will be the first company to certify with the Inspiration Foundation to certify that we hire individuals with disabilities.

So that was one of our big groundbreaking moments is not just taking a moment where we can celebrate, but taking that time to announce the Inspiration Seal where we hope to inspire other companies to follow what we’re doing to hire individuals with disabilities.

Rick Sizemore:  You know, Isaac, you and Cleanlogic have been the subject of a lot of media attention. All you have to do is a quick Google search and one can see the kind of impact you’ve had. It’s been said of you that, “He gets it.” And in many ways, particularly in the disability employment arena, what is it about you and your approach that causes so many people to feel this way that you “get it?”

Isaac Shapiro:  Well, I think it always starts with the personal story. So obviously, with my mother, very clear and long-term vision that we’ve had for the last 20 years, but really the inspiration is my business partner’s daughter, Rosie, who in 2014 when she was born neurodiverse and is physically disabled, she really was the motivation to, we want to build a place where Rosie can come work one day.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, tell us about your customers and how you’re connecting with them, addressing the low workforce participation of people with disabilities and hopefully inspiring companies to hire these individuals.

Isaac Shapiro:  Yeah, I love this question just because it’s actually very natural for our industry in terms of retailers and good companies that are hiring people with disabilities and they’re just not talking about it. And part of why they’re not talking about it is because they just feel it’s the right thing to do, and really, they don’t want to be seen as taking advantage of individuals that they’re hiring. And so for us, what’s really important is to really get our retail customers on board with participating in our Inspiration Foundation Seal with big names like a Walmart or a Target. Those are the type of people that are going to help the conversation and make it normal, where other companies and small and medium-sized businesses will also look to hire individuals with disabilities.

Kathy West-Evans: I was going to expand a little bit too on your workplace accessibility, your pay scale, because I think that will add to the discussion.

Isaac Shapiro: We felt it’s important to have a livable wage. So we are paying $15 an hour, 401(k), benefits involved.

And I think what’s the most important is that independent living, that you come and building your career at a company that you can either learn or you love where you work.

And then I think what’s even more exciting, because we know it does take extra work and time to onboard any employee, but especially with our team of individuals with disabilities, the biggest thing that we have now started to build out is we have 27, we call interns, and we’ve partnered with local schools and nonprofits to build out a program where we’re teaching life skills and employment skills.

So we also are now starting to develop that, we’ll call it a talent pool. But if they don’t come to work for us, what we’re proud of is that we’re giving an opportunity for these individuals to learn the process of interviewing and coming in and finding out what’s showing up on time is and all the things that come with holding a job.

Rick Sizemore:  Isaac Shapiro is the Co-CEO of Cleanlogic, Kathy West-Evans from CSAVR and the NET. Always a pleasure to have you on the podcast. Thank you for joining us.

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, thank you for joining us. Thank you.

Isaac Shapiro:  Thank you. Appreciate it.

Rick Sizemore:  It’s always a pleasure to welcome back the informative and always entertaining Heather Servais. Hi, Heather, how are you?

Heather Servais:  Hey, Rick. Great to see you and be back.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. Well, it was great to be with you at the CSAVR conference up in Bethesda. Some amazing things went on there. Of course, Isaac Shapiro that just heard from got a great award there. What do you have in the Clearinghouse for us?

Heather Servais:  I loved hearing about Isaac’s story and especially learning about things like work experiences. So it ties in very, very nicely with the materials I’m going to share with you today.

The first is a new NCRTM Material Spotlight video. And this Material Spotlight video features this report that was developed by Mathematica as part of the Disability Innovation Fund program evaluation. And the long word is The Systematic Evidence Review: What Works to Promote Competitive Integrated Employment Among People with Disabilities?

And when you think about things like you hear Isaac’s story about how important those work experiences are, this review goes over some of those evidence-based practices like work experience in high school, supported and customized employment models, things like assistive technology, family engagement, advocacy, all as pathways to meaningful employment.

So you can watch this video, it’s just a short little tidbit that summarizes key points and really talks about how counselors and how VR agencies can bring this resource to life and implement some of these best practices in their work.

In addition to watching the NCRTM Material Spotlight video, which is just bite-size, you can also read this full report that came from Mathematica, so you can get the full scoop.

And then the second thing I want to share with you, if you’re not familiar with the NCRTM DIF program page, this is a webpage on the NCRTM that highlights some of the innovative projects that are going on around the country and includes a lot of resources that support individuals with disabilities in achieving competitive integrated employment all over the country.

So it’s a great tool for VR counselors or even individuals with disabilities and their families that are really looking to explore those effective practices, look at what grant activities and grant programs might be available in their area, and talk about some of that strategy to get folks back to work and to have that full workforce participation.

Rick Sizemore:  Heather Servais directs RSA’s National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials and joins us each month for the Clearinghouse Report. Links and resources from the NCRTM are included in the show notes at VRWorkforceStudio.com. Thanks, Heather.

Heather Servais:  Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Rick.

Rick Sizemore: Well, thank you for getting involved in today’s show. If you or someone you know has a disability and wants to get into the workforce, Vocational Rehabilitation may just be the answer to kickstart your career. Visit us at VRWorkforceStudio.com to find links and resources as well as our contact information. On behalf of my co-host, Betsy Civilette, I’m Rick Sizemore inviting you to join us as we podcast the sparks that ignite Vocational Rehabilitation.

Jake Hart:  The VR Workforce Studio Podcast is owned and operated by Vocational Rehabilitation’s Partners in Podcasting. Audio content for the podcast is provided to VR Partners in Podcasting by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services in exchange for promotional considerations. Free audio post-production by Alphonic.com.