Joyce Cilitti Bender
Beginning in 1979, Bender transitioned from sales to professional recruitment with a position at Alpha Associates in Pittsburgh, Pa. In her role at Alpha Associates, Bender would recruit and interview job candidates over the phone and in person. She would also interface with clients in order to match their needs with job prospects. In 1984, Bender became a partner at the executive search firm Craft, Kraybill, and Bender Associates. Bender specialized in information technology, a field she was unfamiliar with prior to transitioning into the professional recruitment field. Bender affiliated with Data Processing Management and the Association of Systems Management in order to advance her knowledge in information technology. From 1988 to 1997, Joyce operated Bender and Associates, an executive search firm that also provided consulting services. Simultaneous to this business, Joyce also began Bender Consulting Services in 1995, which focused specifically on connecting people with disabilities with gainful employment. By 1997, Bender was working exclusively as a pioneer in this field.
Bender’s introduction to employment of people with disabilities came at the referral of a colleague from Deloitte, who recommended that she affiliate with the Community College of Allegheny County’s Institute of Handicapped Students. This program was designed to connect people with disabilities with job opportunities in the field of information technology. The program was championed by Vince Sarni, former CEO of PPG Industries. Sarni’s wife was legally blind, and this prompted the executive to consider challenges that people with disabilities face in joining the workforce. Sarni convened an event to promote competitive employment of people with disabilities at the Duquesne Club. Despite Sarni’s position as CEO of PPG and Board Director of the Duquesne Club, this meeting was sparsely attended. As an adult, Bender was diagnosed with epilepsy and lost hearing in her right ear as a result of fall related to a seizure. Through Bender’s advocacy, CCAC rebranded this program as the Institute of Advanced Technology. Via Bender Consulting Services, six graduates of the Institute were placed with Highmark. Highmark executive Bill Lowry was integral in establishing these positions. This would be the first in many partnerships between Highmark and Bender Consulting Services that resulted in the competitive employment of people with disabilities. Other corporations that proved valuable early employers of people with disabilities include the Bayer Corporation and the Computer Sciences Corporation. Other key collaborators that aided Bender in identifying talent include the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, CLASS, the Epilepsy Association, veteran associations, and schools.
Recognizing that early career applicants were not to be accepted by employers primarily due to gaps in their resume, Bender worked with the Bayer Corporation to establish the Careers 2B program, which employed people with disabilities on a rotational basis for one year so that they could have a breadth of experience upon re-entering the workforce. In 2015-2016, Bender implemented a training module software which instructed professional employees on how to respectfully welcome and interactions with individuals with disabilities.
The pioneering nature of Bender’s work was recognized early. Bender received the President’s Award from President Clinton for the strides that she made in competitive employment of people with disabilities in 1999. This award catapulted her reputation within the disability and beyond for her work in employment. Former US Representative Tony Coehlo, a longtime colleague of Bender, was the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Coehlo, a disabled person with epilepsy, was former chair of the national Epilepsy Foundation. Bender’s business awards an award in Cuehlo’s name to an individual who has supported individuals with disabilities. They also award a $1,100 prize in memory of Linda Dickerson available to students as well.
Joyce also created the Bender Leadership Academy, who initially served as an annual instructional event which taught young adults with disabilities grades 9-12 about different careers and other job-readiness skills. This program also mandated that students create and deliver a speech about their reflections on working and job shadowing. Bender also facilitates Disability Mentoring Day, an opportunity for students to become familiar with different career fields. Contemporarily, this outreach event usually engages between 450-700 students with 30-40 different professional organizations. Members of Bender Consulting Services work with local intermediate units in order to identify students for this professional experience.
