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Liz Weintraub shares her unique employment story – her journey from a sheltered workshop to a Senior Advocacy Specialist on the Public Policy team at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. In this episode, created in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Liz candidly shares the ups and downs of her journey and emphasizes the importance of good employee/employer communication and the use of plain language documents. Be sure to check out Tuesdays with Liz, a weekly video series hosted by Liz and produced by AUCD that highlights current issues in disability policy.
Transcript
Amy Scherer:
Liz. You’re always, so willing to help us out in any way that we ask you to and I really, really appreciate that.
Liz Weintraub:
Oh thank you.
Amy Scherer:
So, we’re doing this in honor of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month and your journey from going from a shelter workshop to a competitive, integrated employment position and not a lot of people have done that. So you’re a great example that can hopefully be used to help others. But let’s go ahead and start at the beginning.
Liz Weintraub:
Okay.
Amy Scherer:
When you came out of high school, what was the start of your employment journey, at that point?
Liz Weintraub:
Okay. I graduated from a boarding school for people with intellectual disability. It was actually the best school of my life. And you might be saying, “Why?”. Because it was not a inclusive environment, the kind of environment that I fight for every day.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
But it was a school that I felt like I wasn’t bullied and I could have friends and my friends gave me the respect that I deserved. So after I graduated, they, the school, the headmaster talked to parents about what the next steps. And they recommended to my parents that I go into a private institution.
Amy Scherer:
Was that a surprise to you, given that you had a positive experience at the school and had really enjoyed that? Where you expecting the next step to be potentially a private institution?
Liz Weintraub:
No, and I was very upset because I have thought more about this since I graduated. When I graduated, I probably didn’t think anything of it. I was just told to go there and they went there. But since I became an advocate, I have thought a lot about it. I was very upset, because my friends from that school, some of my friends were in my classes, some of them I lived with, they all went to college. They went to a college program for people with disability.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
You know I went to this private institution and my parents didn’t think anything about it till I got there. And it was actually kind of interesting because after the second day I called home. I remember calling home and crying and saying to my parents, I don’t like this. And they said, well, we’re working on something as back up. After about a year, maybe two years, my parents begged me to go home. And I actually live where I’m living now and where I’m getting the support that I need for emergencies, that I’m getting right now.
Amy Scherer:
Fantastic. So you pretty much spent about two years, it sounds like in the institution.
Liz Weintraub:
No, Nine years.
Amy Scherer:
Nine years. Oh, nine years. Okay. Nine years in the institution.
Liz Weintraub:
And if you wait a minute, I’ll tell you why.
Amy Scherer:
Okay, sure.
Liz Weintraub:
I stayed there because even though my parents begged me to come home. I really believe that if I listened to my parents, I would never be who I am today. I would never have been able to speak up for myself. I would never have been able to make my own decisions, because I would just do whatever mom and dad wanted me to get. They told me to go to the institution. I went. If they told me to go home, if I listened to them, I would never have learned how to stand up for myself.
Amy Scherer:
That’s a great lesson for all of us to hear. So you basically, came to the decision on your own, outside of what your parents were suggesting that you needed to get in a different situation. Is that correct?
Liz Weintraub:
Yeah.
Amy Scherer:
I believe you have spent some time in the sheltered workshop. Was that while you were in the institution, or did that happen after you came home?
Liz Weintraub:
NO, when I was living in the institution, I worked in two places. I worked in a place where I did kind of workshop. I make worksheets, like math sheets that you would get when you were a kid and I would do office type work. It just was a horrible experience.
Amy Scherer:
Was that in like a warehouse situation or were you in an office? Do you remember anything about the environment that you were in? When you were doing it.
Liz Weintraub:
Office.
Amy Scherer:
Okay. It was in an office. Okay.
Liz Weintraub:
And then I worked, then I graduated from that program, but I will still in the same institution. And I worked in a shoppers guide where you had papers, they used stuff for supermarkets that you get at the supermarket.
Amy Scherer:
Right? Like the coupons or the flyers, that type of thing.
Liz Weintraub:
Yes. And there was a table, probably more of a typical workshop that we know of, where there was probably seven or eight people from the institution and two staff people. It was just an awful experience because it wasn’t in a warehouse. Like Costco or those kinds of stores that you, Sam’s Warehouse, for buying things.
Amy Scherer:
And it was not a job that you particularly enjoyed doing. It sounds like.
Liz Weintraub:
No. No.
Amy Scherer:
So tell me what happened next, after that, in terms of your employment journey.
Liz Weintraub:
Well I got out of the institution. The way I got out of the workshop and got into a real job, because I worked in a library for the rest of the time that I was in the institution. I had a library job outside of the institution.
Amy Scherer:
Very nice.
Liz Weintraub:
That I just adored. It was probably one of the best jobs besides my job today, that I had.
Amy Scherer:
And did the people that were working with you at the institution, did they help you get that library job?
Liz Weintraub:
Yes. Yes.
Amy Scherer:
Okay, great.
Liz Weintraub:
But the way I got out the institution was, I faked seizures.
Amy Scherer:
Wow.
Liz Weintraub:
I faked seizures and I would rock and rock and rock and rock and rock. And I would run away when I got upset. I studied people, when they had seizures. I don’t know, I could notice how they had seizures. And I don’t mean to make fun of people, because I know seizures are really serious things, but that’s only way I knew that I could have people stop and listen to me.
Amy Scherer:
Yeah. Wow. Did that then lead to a change? Where you were able to be in a different circumstance?
Liz Weintraub:
Yeah. I still was living in the institution, because my parents didn’t think anything of, that I should move. And so I went to a conference one day, a national conference, and two of my best friends, so happened, they were talking to some people from Massachusetts. Again Massachusetts was at that time, just starting to work on self advocacy. And they wanted to hire as someone to help them with self advocacy. Two of my friends said, two people from Massachusetts saw me at this conference and offered me a job. My main job was to work on quality assurance.
Amy Scherer:
Fantastic.
Liz Weintraub:
They had a survey that they give to people, to provide this to interview people. And then they did some trainings. And one of the other interesting part of that story is, and I learned this very important lesson. I kept saying to people at my interview, or before I got the job, I want to be treated just like everyone else. The only issue, and the training department was at the institution. I said to my friend, I said, “Why am I in the institution, why am I in the institution? I don’t want to be in the institution. I live in the institution, I got out the institution.”. And he said, “You want to be treated just like everyone else. So you’re going to be treated like everyone else.”. And that’s where the train department was. I wanted to do more traveling and more seeing the world. And I also wanted to live closer her to mom and dad. I left that job. I went back to the conference where I found my job in Massachusets.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
And somebody recommended a job called the counseling quality and leadership. And I stayed there for 16 years where I did survey work. And I also did some training work and it was just a great job.
Amy Scherer:
Great. And so that sounds like that built directly on what you had already been doing with the survey work and the quality assurance. Where was this job located that you got, that you stayed at for 16 years?
Liz Weintraub:
The headquarters was in Baltimore.
Amy Scherer:
Okay.
Liz Weintraub:
But people were all over the country. They wanted me to move from Massachusetts to Baltimore. And then I said, I wanted to live closer to mom and dad. But once I met my, at that time, my boyfriend now, my husband and he was living in the Rockford area where we live today.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
So I begged and begged and begged my supervisor, if I could work from home, just like everyone else. And I would travel when I needed to, and they agreed to. And then I got bored about doing that. So.
Amy Scherer:
Well 16 years is a long time.
Liz Weintraub:
Yes.
Amy Scherer:
So you didn’t get bored too quickly, but then you just got to a point where you were ready to move on to the next step.
Liz Weintraub:
Yeah. And then I found my job at AUCD.
Amy Scherer:
That is great. So tell us a little bit about how you found your job at AUCD.
Liz Weintraub:
AUCD was doing a project, the self advocacy summit and AUCD knew that they could not, it was actually a project that ACL was doing when the there [inaudible 00:16:04], and AUCD knew that they could not do that work without a self advocate. So they hired me.
Amy Scherer:
That is fantastic. And so what were your job responsibilities when they hired you? What did you have to do each day?
Liz Weintraub:
I was doing part-time work, so I was working for CQL and AUCD, but what I was doing was I help them set up webinars. I went to all the summits. After all the summits were over, I wrote their reports. I help them write a plain language report. After that was all done, I had a vision of doing a video show.
Amy Scherer:
Well, and let’s talk a little bit about Tuesdays with Liz.
Liz Weintraub:
Tuesdays with Liz has been around for four years. It’s a YouTube show where I make policy in accessible and fun ways, for people to understand. And my idea was, has always been, and it began with my idea. Maybe it was a selfish idea, but I think everything begins with you in some ways. When I was little I sat at the table, the dining room with all my family and I never understood what a policy was. I never understood how community based services was. I never a never understood what this was. I never understood what that was. So I wanted to make sure, and when I had that opportunity right after the summit, to develop YouTube show that that people could understand what a policy was. So they could go up to the Hill, whether it was here in Annapolis in Maryland, or in DC, to talk about, okay, I know what the Able Act is. I know what a transformative, competitive employment act is. And I know. Yeah.
Amy Scherer:
So it sounds like your goal is still today, that you want to make policy accessible and understandable to everybody. So that it’s clear what policies exist today and what type of advocacy needs to be done. Is that what your goal is?
Liz Weintraub:
Yes. And we have even done that with our newsletter club, called the Disability Policy News. There’s a piece of it that I edit every week for plain language. And some of the words, can’t be changed, because it’s part of the law, right.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
Part of the words are the way it is, but [inaudible 00:19:55] that’s where we have a plain language that we can talk about it.
Amy Scherer:
And can you say why plain language is so important for people who may not know about plain language or why we strive to make things in plain language? Why is that important to you and to others?
Liz Weintraub:
Great question. Thank you. I think plain language is important because it helps people bond to the conversation. It’s help people to understand that they can contribute. And if there’s no plain language and there’s so many times that I’ve gone to a meeting and people talk in big words, I don’t mean 17 letters. I mean, big words that I don’t understand.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
Some of them there are 17 letters, but sometimes they’re just big words. And if I can’t understand it, I feel like I want to cry because I’m not part of the conversation and I can’t be part of the conversation, and I want to be part of the conversation.
Amy Scherer:
That’s a very important point. And if people want to find Tuesdays with Liz, can they search on YouTube or how would they find your show,
Liz Weintraub:
You can go to AUCD.org.
Amy Scherer:
Okay.
Liz Weintraub:
Or you can and Google On Tuesdays with Liz.
Amy Scherer:
Fantastic. And do you actually have input into the people that you’re going to interview? Do you have to come up with the questions?
Liz Weintraub:
Yes. Yes. How we do it is that there’s a team of us. The director of public policy, the producer and myself, and that was why we need to wait for the producer. But as I said, we’re still doing past episodes. Mostly I’m voting because voting is important in these days.
Amy Scherer:
Absolutely.
Liz Weintraub:
We come up with who we think would be good people to interview. Whether it’s a topic that is in the news, whether it’s a topic that AUCD is working on or whether it’s just a topic that I think that people might be interested in.
Amy Scherer:
That sounds fantastic. And is that the main part of your job now at AUCD, as well as helping to make sure the documents are in plain language, like we talked about? Is that and the podcast, your two main responsibilities at this point?
Liz Weintraub:
Yes. And I should have say the questions are all probably 90 percent my ideas.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
Because it’s what I’m interested in. And sometime my supervisor, the director of public policy, Ryeland Rogers, will suggest things.
Amy Scherer:
Great. Great. Do you have any particular commendations for your disability when you’re working AUCD? Do they set things up in a different way, or is there anything that makes it easier for you to be able to do your job well, that you can share?
Liz Weintraub:
Well, I think we have tried voice recognition for me to learn how to type faster, because I type, I know that my mother would be rolling in her grave, but I still type like a ham pack typist.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
It is just hard for me to use two hands.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
It’s really important that I feel very supported in my job. And I’ll give you an example.
Amy Scherer:
Sure.
Liz Weintraub:
And this is so wonderful. AUCD has changed our emails, so roads, I don’t understand what it’s called, but anyway, and I got frustrated. I didn’t know how to work things.
Amy Scherer:
Right.
Liz Weintraub:
I didn’t know what it looked like. And I got scared and the web person at work, walked me through it, and it was just wonderful. And now I’m happy and I can do things myself. And yes, it’s nice to know that I have that my back up with Phil, my husband.
Amy Scherer:
And the other thing that seems to run through your story, as you have recounted it to us today is that you’ve had good communication with your supervisors.
Liz Weintraub:
Even people above your supervisor, if there’s a problem with your supervisor, and this has never happened to me. But if I ever had a problem with my supervisor, often people have said to all of us, you know you can talk to the ED of AUCD because I could have a problem with my supervisor. I think it’s also important that people with disability need to be accountable for their job and what they say they do. And if we mess up, okay, we mess up. But we can’t say, Oh yeah, you’re a person with a disability, we will overlook that.
Amy Scherer:
That is a very important point. Very important.
Liz Weintraub:
Treat me just like everyone else. Like me going into the institution. Did I like going into the institution? No, but that’s where the training department was. And that’s how being treated just like everyone else. And then the other thing I’ll say is about giving me real work to do and not busy work, I’m doing at AUCD. I’m doing real work. I’m contributing. I think I [inaudible 00:28:04] but I will say it, two words, nothing about us, without us. And that means if there’s something involving me or my friends, I should be at that table, not me personally. Well, maybe me personally.
Amy Scherer:
That’d be fine too.
Liz Weintraub:
There are people and then, all means all. We all need to be included.
Amy Scherer:
That is the perfect way to end this conversation. I really enjoyed spending the time with you today, Liz, and I’m so glad that we’re able to share your story as widely as possible.
Liz Weintraub:
Okay. Thank you. Be safe and happy. Happy employment month. Okay, bye.
Curt Decker:
Thank you for celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month with us. We hope you continue tuning in all month. As we talk more about the importance of employment and the dignity of work.
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