Leading journalist Steve Paikin talks with global accessibility consultant, Debra Ruh about how employers can better accommodate persons with disabilities. Debra Ruh is the CEO and founder of Ruh Global Communications, an internationally renowned consulting firm focused on disability inclusion, accessibility of information and accessibility of technology products.
You may also watch the interview with Debra Ruh on TVOntario’s February 2, 2015 edition of The Agenda With Steve Paikin, by visiting here (captioning available).
Debra Ruh is a digital marketing professional who enables people with disabilities’ voices to be heard and included in marketing and communications outreach. As the founder of Ruh Global Communications, a strategic communications and digital marketing firm, she strongly believes that social media empowers a diverse array of perspectives to be shared, and is optimistic about the future of digital.
Her business intrigued us, and we just had to hear her perspectives on digital marketing at large. We’re grateful that she took time out of her busy day to share some of her insights with us:
Programmatic Advertising.org: In your opinion, how is programmatic advertising – the growing prevalence of marketing automation, data mining and the cloud – changing the world?
Debra Ruh: I think tools like programmatic advertising can teach us to more effectively market to clients and audiences. It will not replace people because the win is mixing both worlds – technology and humanity. I believe it can help us explore channels and directions that we have not considered in the past.
Programmatic Advertising.org: What systems and ways of thinking do you think are being completely disrupted by the emergence of programmatic buying? By digital advertising in general?
Debra Ruh: I think marketing as a whole is being disrupted. It will be interesting to watch programmatic unfold because the brave souls that tap into the powers of these tools will have great successes. We can tap into the emotional and technological opportunities that marketing now holds for the world.
Programmatic Advertising.org: We’ve often heard it said that ‘man is only limited by his imagination’ – what might be the biggest growth areas for advertising?
Debra Ruh: Blending everything together – science, technology, traditional marketing, new media, programmatic – tying it all together to really change the world. For example, the bionic eye, earand exoskeleton represent science and technology coming together to solve problems that people have had forever. Now tie marketing into those discoveries and you wake people up to so many possibilities. We are in exciting times.
Programmatic Advertising.org: In your opinion, what are some significant trends emblematic of today’s advertising philosophy? Do they align with your own opinion of what’s the most effective?
Debra Ruh: I think that many advertisers are missing many opportunities. People with disabilities and minorities are typically overlooked. People want to be part of the conversation – they want to be inspired and feel like they are part of the answers. Many advertisers forget who their true audience is or could be, and focus only on small, wealthy segments. I think we will have a lot of work to do, paradigms to shift and voices to hear.
Programmatic Advertising.org: Can you discuss how digital marketing is changing to include people with disabilities? During a conversation with another marketer, we learned that just because a population is small, it doesn’t mean it is not influential.
Debra Ruh: Sometimes the most influential are those that aren’t that “influential” in a standard sense. Here is an example that is near and dear to my heart:
Richard Dawkins is a very famous atheist, scientist, BBC Talking Head and professor at Oxford University who likes to pick fights with people – women, Muslims and Christians. On Twitter, he stated, “If your fetus has Down syndrome, abort it and try again.”
Needless to say, that captured my attention.
I sent him a picture of my beautiful daughter with Down syndrome and told him that she’ll never be a famous scientist, but she does add value to the world. It was retweeted by thousands of people and was picked as the Tweet of the Week by BBC. My number of followers (60,000) wasn’t much compared to his 1 million, but we attracted so much media attention. I acquired 3,000 new followers in 48 hours and many of those followers are some of my most vocal supporters.
Who is considered to be influential has obviously changed. Our opinions were influential to other people. Stupid, smart, good, bad – all people can be influential.
However, not much is being done to include people with disabilities or people with acquired disabilities. All marketers need to re-think their marketing to appreciate their value.
One thing we have to do as a society is move away from talking about people with disabilities as charity cases and instead use an empowerment model. They are not a tragedy, disability is just a part of life.
At the end of the day people with disabilities are consumers – and the numbers are staggering – they are 1 in 7 of all people on this planet. I’m a consumer, my daughter is a consumer and my son is a consumer. If we know that you are actually trying to make sure my daughter is included in your service, products or marketing, you just got our attention – I become an advocate for your brand. You have all of these multipliers that come into effect.
Programmatic Advertising.org: Can you tell us about any campaigns over the past year that have caught your attention (in a good or bad way)? Why did they stand out to you?
Debra Ruh: Since much of my work focuses on Disability Inclusion, Social Good, Human Rights and Accessible Technology the campaigns that caught my attention were the ones that included persons with disabilities in meaningful way. My favorite is probably the Microsoft 2014 Super Bowl commercial. I also loved these others by Nordstrom and Guinness about power of the human spirit.
Programmatic Advertising.org: What excites you about the future? What are you looking forward to?
Debra Ruh: Everything coming together for the good of all. Not just for the rich, the powerful, for one country or another – but the good of mankind. I know that sounds trite but I believe that marketing could help us all evolve as human beings. I am hopeful about the future. I also love that the “new” social media rules allow many more voices to be heard, not just the select few.
Programmatic Advertising.org: What precisely are these “new” rules of social media marketing?
Debra Ruh: Honestly, the “new rules” are that the “rules” keep getting re-written very quickly! For example, celebrities and corporations weren’t following their audiences, as if it was an unwritten rule that if you’re Kim Kardashian or HP, you’re so famous, you don’t need to follow your supporters. These rules have changed, as the voices that seem to be the most credible are people that are actually connecting with their followers.
After all, social media is a conversation. If I am listening to and engaging your voice, you should care about mine, too.
I had the pleasure to interview Joy Kniskern for this blog. Joy is an amazing woman with many talents. She started her career determined to make a difference. She has accomplished those goals and her efforts are going to making a difference for many years to come. Joy is a shining example of a woman that believes that her success comes from helping other people succeed in life.
Joy has spent her entire career making a difference in other people’s lives. She has also accomplished a lot academically including earning a Master’s Degree in Counseling & Psychological Services from Georgia State University and was honored with a Phi Chi Honor Society. She also holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Joy works with Dr. Christopher Lee and his team at AMAC Accessibility Solutions and Research Center (AMAC). AMAC is part of the Georgia Institute of Technology located in the College of Architecture.
I recently highlighted Dr. Lee in my blog about Leadership. “Leaders Making a Difference in the World” Story of Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities and Finding his Greatness – Introducing Dr. Christopher M. Lee. To read the blog please visit: http://ow.ly/COCRX Here is my interview with the Joy Kniskern:
Joy Kniskern
Debra: What led you to this field?
Joy: I wanted to contribute to the social good, and found rehabilitation was an area where so many people with disabilities wanted to go to work but encountered so many barriers – stigma, lack of training opportunities, physical access issues, no transportation.
Debra: What are some of the highlights of your career?
Joy: The first grant I received to establish, before ADA one of IBM’s Projects to give persons with disabilities skills to become COBOL computer programmers. There was excellent involvement of private industry in every imaginable way, over 90% of graduates were hired at wages higher than staff within 3 months of graduation, I worked with first braille printers and speech output devices. I started a parallel program in customers’ service skills training so students who didn’t like or do well at programming had a path to good employment.
Debra: Tell me about our work with AMAC – what role do you play in this program?
Joy: I am the Technology Initiatives “go to” person at AMAC- I led several initiatives like our 508 and Accessible ICT work, special grants, and outreach to new and global partners.
Debra: AMAC is part of GA Tech, College of Architecture that is an interesting place to be located. Do you think this provides an advantage to the AMAC program?
Joy: Absolutely! The College of Architecture is focused on design expertise and we are seeing that inclusive design is just as important as good and accessible design of physical spaces. AMAC started in 2006 as a production environment to meet the needs of students with disabilities through disability services providers within and outside of Georgia. Now that we are in the School of Architecture, we know that we have access to some of the finest research and academic resources in the world, and that fact and our action on it will help deepen and broader our path and impact on ICT accessibility in our digital world.
Debra: There is a lot of work to do across the US and globally to fully include PwD in the workforce and other aspects of society. How can and should Universities be part of these solutions? What steps are AMAC taking to also be a major part of the solution in US and abroad?
Joy: Research shows that to support the 9 million people in a world whose resources can support roughly half that number of people considering current consumption of goods and resources suggest that we all need to be engaged: governments, universities, thought leaders, environmental experts, in how to better engage everyone. Universities like Georgia Tech can identify technology applications that make competitive work more possible. Robots and SKYPE make telework more possible, for example. There are many examples of how universities can be engaged in developing technologies and resourceful strategies to tap into talents of persons with disabilities.
Debra: AMAC has recently won several significant grants – can you highlight and explain the part you played in winning these grants?
Joy: The First in the World Grant to establish Center for Accessible Materials Innovation (the Center) to expand access to higher education digital course content for students with disabilities, thereby supporting the improvement of their retention and graduation rates.
The proposed Center addresses the identified issues with an over-arching goal of expanding the availability and use of fully accessible textbooks for all students with disabilities, and for students at MSIs in particular, through four objectives:
(1) To develop applications to pioneer an innovative marketplace mechanism (a digital label) for the disclosure of standardized consumer information about the accessibility features of digital textbooks;
(2) To provide textbook remediation services to increase the immediate availability of frequently used titles, especially those requested by students, and to use the tools created for Objective 1 to check accessibility and add to the pilot database of digital accessibility labels;
(3) To research the causes of the seeming under-utilization of accessible textbooks by MSIs and to reverse this pattern with education and services; and
(4) To provide professional education and training on accessible electronic information for college faculty and staff including DSPs, administrators, content developers, curriculum procurement officials, and information technology managers.
AMAC, through partnerships with ATN members, publishers and AT vendors, will devise tools and applications to support the availability of consumer information through the creation of a standardized Document Accessibility Profile (DAP) for disclosing the specific accessibility features of digital textbooks. Similar to a nutrition label for packaged food, this “label” produced by an application or ‘app,’ will be created from a checklist of features enabled in the existing Online Information eXchange (ONIX) international standards used by book publishers and distributors. The “label” will be available on a web portal, and accessible from computers, tablets and mobile devices.
I designed and wrote the evaluation section of the proposal which includes an conducting focus groups at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) focus groups to understand why the Digital Divide is much greater for minorities. We don’t have enough information about this issue to properly address it.
Debra: When you look towards the future of AMAC – what do you hope to see unfold?
Joy: My hope for AMAC is that it continues to unfold as the “go to” place for disability service providers and students they serve for digital access, and that we fully embrace the opportunities to make a difference in creating greater ICT accessibility in Georgia, the US and the world. We can play a significant role in reducing barriers related to access to information for people with disabilities. I also hope that we can sustain and strengthen allied efforts of the “Pass It On” Center for AT Reutilization, a national technical assistance center, and resources to grow our capacity for Georgia’s State AT Act Program – Tools for Life.
Debra: When you look back on your career in the future – what do you hope to see?
Joy: You know, it’s not about my career, it’s about my contribution to making the world a little better. That is what matters.
Debra: What advice do you have for young people that are interested in following your footsteps?
Joy: Look toward the highest good in everyone you encounter, do your best, and do what matters most, and take time to step aside and reflect on what is going on in your life, and those of others around you.
Debra: What are you most proud of in your career?
Joy: When I was 27, taking a risk by stepping out of the status quo early in my career to find funding and launch the Georgia Computer Programmer Project. One of my students retired making a six figure income after 20 years of employment with a well-known software company. It started me on a path of social entrepreneurship that I’ve mastered ever since then. ***End of interview***
Speaking to Joy is a breath of fresh air. She has accomplished so much during her career and she is still going strong and changing the world. I look forward to watching her career continue to unfold. She is a woman that has made a huge difference in the world. Joy Kniskern is global role model for us all.
For more information about Ruh Global Communications please visit: www.RuhGlobal.com
So many people are sad and have lost their ability to find the simple joys in life. My Mom is one of those people and as she has aged she has become more and more negative and sad. She has always been the half-empty type person but when we lost my Dad last year her filters went with him. She struggles seeing the world as a good place and often gets lots in the darkness.
I try to gently remind her of all the joys and wonders all around her. Instead she tells me that I am in denial about the sad state of the world. She also thinks that I should lose the Rose Colored Glasses. I love her and will always be there for her but her view of the world makes me sad. I see the world as such an amazing place and as I get older want to continue to contribute to the world.
I have been blessed by a happy marriage for over 32 years and we have two grown children – Sara and Kevin. Our oldest daughter Sara was born with Down syndrome and we named her after my mother. Everywhere we looked we were told the dark, negative stories associated with raising a child with disabilities. We decided the experts were wrong and proceeded to prove them wrong.
Our beautiful, loving, joyful and simply amazing daughter has been a great teacher to us. She lives the great spiritual truths: “stay in the moment”, “see the good in everyone”, and “Life is about Love”. I also practice these truths but it is truly a walk in faith sometimes. If our intelligence was measured on how a person lives the greatest spiritual truths – Sara would be a great sage.
Sara and Kevin
Sara’s brother Kevin has also been positively impacted by his sister. Read his blog “Lessons Learned From my Sister” http://ow.ly/COnrj
Sara has inspired my work and I have spent the last twenty years in the disability field working hard to empower persons with disabilities (PwD). I have worked with countries all over the world to create programs and policies to include PwD in every aspect of society with an emphasis on the workforce. I have had the pleasure to work with huge corporations (national and multi-national) to help them understand how to include this segment of the population in their workforce and marketing efforts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 1 in 7 people are impacted with a disability. In the United States 1 in 3 families are impacted. Source: NOD
Disability is part of life and we all will experience disabiity in our life times. As we age more of us are acquiring disabilities. I have worked hard to shine a different light on disabilities. Instead of seeing it as a tragedy – we should realize it is part of life. Obstacles allow us to find our greatest strengths and treasures in life?
My Mom has been a great teacher to me and she has been trying her entire life to manage her mental illness. Life is tough for her and I try to be authentic with her and love her regardless of her negative view of the world. I have heard experts say to stay away from negative people but at this time in my Mom’s life she needs me. So I try to be authentic with her and try not to make her walk more difficult.
I view her negative lens of the world as an inspiration for me to always be grateful and see beauty in all things. Maybe it is a defense mechanism but I have become a better person because of my Mom.
I also believe we can learn a lot from people like our daughter Sara Ruh. She inately seems to understand the value of staying in the moment. Eating when she is hungry, sleeping when she is tired (no matter where she is – smile), and staying 100% in the moment and fully authentic. She is an amazing soul and I am so blessed to be part of her life. Both the Sara’s in my world – my Mom and my Daughter have been great teachers and gifts to me.
Ruh Global Communications Logo designed by Emily Ha
Photo of Deb Dagit. Image from: http://www.leadershipexcellenceanddevelopment.com/Debra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess
Deb Dagit, President of Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC has 22 years’ experience as a diversity practitioner and has worked as a top executive in both the Information Technology and Health care fields informing both HR and business practices and strategies.
She is known for her pragmatism, subject matter expertise with regards to all dimensions of diversity, and results orientation.
She recently retired from her role as the Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer and Vice President at Merck, where she spent over a decade advancing the Company’s global diversity and inclusion strategies.
Deb Dagit. Image from: http://www.lpad12.org/D12_links.html
From an early age most people’s expectations for Deborah Dagit were very low. Doctors told her parents when she was born that it was unlikely she would live to see her second birthday. They asserted that if she did live beyond that milestone, she would not be able to engage in any normal life activities. Educators were similarly pessimistic about her ability to learn. Her first two years in school she was segregated with other children who were considered too disabled to participate in a regular classroom, in an environment that was in essence a babysitting service for children with a disability.
Deb’s working-class single mother knew that although her daughter was physically fragile, she was also bright and capable of learning. Deb had learned how to read before Kindergarten, and was described as precocious by most adults. Deb’s mom pleaded with a local elementary school Principal to allow Deb to attend public school in the second grade. At that time (1966) there were no legislative policies or protections to promote school mainstreaming, and she would be the only child in her school with a disability through the remainder of her K-12 experience.
Debra Ruh and Deb Dagit
Despite more than 70 fractures and 25 major operations to repair and straighten her legs, Deb was always a straight A student and graduated from high school with honors in 1977, just before her 18th birthday. She was also active as a student leader and received many accolades at public speaking competitions. She went on to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in Clinical Psychology. She applied her academic and leadership skills to become one of the premier Fortune 100 corporate leaders in an emerging HR discipline that came to be known as Diversity. Along the way she married her husband Dan, and they adopted three children, who also have various disabilities. She also became very active as a community leader serving on the boards of a broad array of national nonprofit organizations.
Deb Dagit Speaking Image From: http://www.educationupdate.com
Advocates and thought leaders for people with disabilities are often from the medical or health care community, who often consider people with disabilities as a population in need of a cure and/or relief from the symptoms associated with their diagnosed condition. No other diverse population is subject to this type of assessment in modern society. While women, racial minorities, and gay people have historically been labeled as genotypically predisposed to be weaker, less intelligent, and or medically compromised – only people with disabilities continue to bear this burden in modern times.
Throughout her career Deb has been a compelling and vocal advocate for people with disabilities. As the only Chief Diversity Officer with a visible disability, she has often found herself in the unenviable position of being the sole voice in the room to advocate for societal and workforce inclusion for people with disabilities.
Deb Dagit on Diversity Magazine. Image from: http://abilityaxis.com/debdagit.html
Her journey to achieving personal and professional success is all the more remarkable given the lack of belief that these achievements were even remotely possible.
Deb has an anonymous advice column called “Dear Deb” on her website www.debdagitdiversity.com. It is a unique resource for practitioners to seek support, affirmation, and ask questions re: how to cope with the emotional roller coaster that can come with performing diversity and inclusion roles.
Visitors can pose questions and provide a name that is anonymous to others. Only Deb will know the original author from their e-mail address and any other identifying information they wish to provide. (e.g. signature that appears could be something like “Troubled in Toledo”)
Typical topics may include:
expectations of colleagues who share the same demographic affiliation as the practitioner who are requesting a primary focus on their needs and interests
concerns about how to respectfully address and show up as an effective ally for groups a practitioner is not familiar or confident with
addressing internal conflicts that can arise when what is expected in the diversity role and how a person was raised to think about and interact with people from different backgrounds creates stress and/or confusion
demonstrating confidence and executive presence when working with senior leaders
friction that can arise with colleagues who do not share a similar priority/passion for diversity work
Ruh Global Communications LogoDebra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess
I have had an interesting career and am grateful to follow my passion for inclusion of people with disabilities in every aspect of society. I have been consulting in the ICT Accessibility and Disability Inclusion industry since 2001 and recently founded a new consulting firm, Ruh Global, which will focus on Inclusion of People with Disabilities via Digital Marketing and Communications.
Ruh Global provides innovative yet personal marketing and communication consulting with a superior level of expertise and a strong professional reputation. Our services span communication channels including mobile, social media, websites and digital media, email, direct mail, sales activities and call centers. The firm will design and implement targeted marketing and social media programs that reach and resonate with the disability community while complementing and extending an organization’s current communication efforts. We will also partner with other PR, Marketing, Branding and Communications firms to assure people with disabilities are included in marketing campaigns.
TecAccess, Making the world of technology accessible
In 2001, I founded TecAccess, one of the leading providers of accessible Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and Section 508 compliance for the largest and fastest growing minority group – People with Disabilities, Baby Boomers and Veterans with Disabilities in the world.
It is always interesting creating a new business because there are so many ways to fail. The reality is that there are many potholes and ways to take a false step, and there was no roadmap to create the kind of business that I envisioned – a for-profit technology firm which could thrive by hiring a diverse group of technologists many with disabilities.
Photo of Debra Ruh and Sean Stapleford, a brilliant Engineer who also happens to be quadriplegic.
Most of the team members at TecAccess were people with disabilities that were hired because they were uniquely qualified to be Accessibility Testers, Trainers and Consultants. Over 80% of our team had disabilities, including individuals who were blind, had vision loss, were deaf or hard of hearing, had CP, MS, MD, TBI, Down syndrome, Autism, Severe Depression, Bipolar, Quadriplegia, Paraplegia, and many more. To say we were a diverse group of individuals is an understatement.
A photo of Ed Ziegler, TecAccess Accessibility Tester who sustained two Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
TecAccess merged with another ICT Accessibility firm, SSB BART Group (SSB), in April 2011 and I took on the role of Chief Marketing Officer for SSB. The decision to merge the two companies was an easy one to make, as SSB very successful, had a similar culture and also employed a diverse staff which included technologists and project managers with disabilities.
Although I greatly enjoyed working for SSB, I eventually decided to step back out on my own in late 2012 with the full support and blessing of the SSB executive management team. I created my new company, Ruh Global, to focus on strategic marketing and communications to help ensure the community of people with disabilities (PwD) is included in a meaningful way in every aspect of society with a special focus on employment.
Ruh Global services will enable corporate and public organizations to easily navigate the legal maze and confusing messages about and from the community of PwD.
Our goal is enable business success through innovative marketing and communications programs that are:
Strategically and creatively aligned with corporate goals
Seamlessly integrated across traditional and digital mediums
Tailored to the specific needs of each client
Scalable with measurable results
Delivers integration of messaging for all customers, not separate but equal opportunities for different diversity groups
A photo of Sara Ruh as a baby
As part of a family that has been impacted by disabilities, I believe that Ruh Global has the ability to have a unique and empowering voice. My daughter Sara Ruh was born with Down syndrome in 1987. At the time, she was the first person in our family with a disability. Sara’s positive influence has given us the ability to have a unique and empowering voice.
It is believed that 1 in 3 American families are impacted by disabilities. This is an enormous market, but still a very confusing one to many corporations. This market has many stakeholders, including not only people with disabilities, but also their parents, children, spouses, siblings, extended family and friends.
An individual who is considered a Thought Leader in the disability community once told me that the stakeholders without a disability were often much more insistent that their loved ones be included and have equal access than the actual person with the disability. I believe that he is correct, because it has been my observation that people will often fight for another person’s rights more passionately than their own.
I believe we all have abilities and disabilities and it is time to move from a deficit/charity only message to a message of empowerment.
Ruh Global provides innovative yet personal marketing and communications consulting with a superior level of expertise and stronger professional reputation with the community of PwD than any of the larger consulting firms.
We work with our clients to assess and determine gaps between current conditions and future goals across all areas within their marketing and communications plans. In partnership with your team, we will develop innovative solutions for closing these gaps.
SSB Bart Group Logo. Image from: www.ssbbartgroup.com/
“SSB BART Group and TecAccess share the same commitment to ICT accessibility, and both firms recognize the value of employing people with disabilities, as well as the value of their subject matter expertise when working with clients to achieve compliance both with the technical and functional requirements of leading accessibility standards. We wish Debra Ruh great success with Ruh Global and look forward to collaborating with her on future projects.”
Tim Springer Image from: http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/
Tim Springer, CEO of SSB BART Group.
“When I merged my company The Bartimaeus Group with SSB Technologies in 2005 it was a natural fit because each firm brought different strengths to the table. When TecAccess and Debra Ruh joined us in 2010 it added yet another layer of diversity to the firm. It has been a pleasure working with Debra. Her passion for the value and inclusion of people with disabilities is inspiring and infectious (so much so that the two of us are writing a book together about using Social Media to follow your passion). I believe it is this passion that makes her such a fantastic marketer for the disability community.”
To follow up on Debra Ruh’s current endeavors, follow her on social media: @DebraRuh or visit Ruh Global Communications
Contact Information:
Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global Communications
Ruh Global
(804) 749-3565 (office) debra@RuhGlobal.com Follow us on: Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, BlogSpot, SKYPE @debraruh
Ruh Global services will enable corporate and public organizations to easily navigate the legal maze and confusing messages about and from the community of PwD.
