Ruh Global – Page 2

February 12, 2016

Women leaders who are making a Difference – Featuring Joy Kniskern

Debra Ruh - CEO of Ruh Global Communications — Debra Ruh – CEO of Ruh Global Communications

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:

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

February 12, 2016

Are scientific & technological advancements only for the wealthy?

Science and medical technology advancements are helping people with disabilities see, hear and walk again. In a recent BBC article Cyborgs: The truth about human augmentation reveals exciting technology and scientific advances that are augmenting people’s lives. Exciting times for people with disabilities assuming you have the means to pay for these life-changing advancements. Let’s look at a few examples:

Bionic Eye

Another BBC Article is about Argus II or the Bionic Eye: I am Blind…now I have Bionic Eyes. It is a system that includes three parts: glasses, converter box and an electrode array. The glasses have attached a camera and they transmit images to the converter box. The converter box sends signals to the electrode array that was implanted on the retina.

What is it like to see again after years of blindness? Fran Fulton’s sight was restored with a remarkable new eye implant, price tag: $150,000.
Bionic Ear

The bionic ear is being credited as the first device to replace a sensory organ. The ‘bionic ear’: the couple who helped the world to hear explores the topic. A cochlear implant or Bionic Ears is a small, complex electronic device that can help provide a sense of sound to people that are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

The Computerized Exoskeleton Could Help Millions of People Walk Again. ReWalk is a wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides powered hip and knee motion allowing individuals with Spinal Cord Injury walk.

Gene Laureano walks with the aid of ExoSkelton made by ReWalk, price tag: $69,500

These scientific and medical breakthroughs are changing people’s lives. The problem is that these advancements are out of reach for millions of people. The good news is that we have the funding, knowledge, and the social drive to eliminate many of the barriers.
Here are a few programs bringing scientific and medical advancements to people in developing countries.

World Wide Hearing provides access to affordable hearing aids to youth in developing countries.
Fred Hollows Foundation has helped restore the sight of more than 1,000,000 people worldwide.
The Nippon Foundation is assisting with the operation of schools to train them, in the hope of restoring the mobility and independence of persons with disabilities in Southeast Asia.
Clinton Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank expand their fundraising and eye care programs to help reach the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and WHO’s VISION 2020 initiative to eradicate avoidable blindness globally by 2020.

Society needs to expand on these types of programs to assure these advancements are available to more people in the future.

To learn more about our work please visit: www.RuhGlobal.com

February 12, 2016

Accessibility and how we can adapt to a new way of thinking by Kevin Ruh

Kevin Ruh - Chief Marketing Officer at Ruh Global Communications — Kevin Ruh – Chief Marketing Officer at Ruh Global Communications

The changing landscape of accessibility across the globe will be a huge factor that influences technology advancements. The World Health Organization has identified persons with disabilities as the fastest growing minority group. With the Baby Boomers reaching the age where mobility becomes tougher and tougher we will see a huge shift in accessibility. There is no way that things can remain the same, with such a large part of the population needing accessibility in a way they have not before. We need to make our city streets wheelchair accessible, even this task sounds daunting.

While the changes may seem to be difficult to make, never the less, we need to make them and soon. This is just the tip of a very large iceberg that we are viewing from the surface of the water, unfortunately the hidden part is just as important as the visible part. With everyday changes and preparations we can be ready for mobility in the world even if our bodies have trouble with some difficult tasks. The world view on disability needs to shift into one that we consider in our day to day operations. With the world becoming more digital by the second and with things like the digital-divide to consider technology is under the scope for scrutiny. Technology is a part of life and has enriched life for most of the population. We simply need to consider who has been left out of thought, if anyone has, and then help them to join in. This can be done with simple technology like phone keyboards that are predictive and user friendly. User-friendly becomes very important and if we consider all different users it becomes easy to make accessible. ”Technology is accessible if it can be used just as effectively by people with disabilities as it can by those without.” Debra Ruh writes.

This is so true and accessibility is vital, but it should be part of our thinking while designing and not an afterthought. After all, we create minorities that are not represented when we leave some as an afterthought. We can be a prosperous global society that includes all communities, because everyone working together adds value in a way that working against one another we never could.

February 12, 2016

Can our greatest teachers be persons born with disabilities?

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’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.

To learn more about our work, please visit: www.RuhGlobal.com

February 12, 2016

Social Media Response by Kevin Ruh

I am an advocate of using social media to bring awareness about the community of people with disabilities (PwD) and accessible Internet, Communications and Technology (ICT). I believe that the community of PwD is starting to find their voices via social media. However, there are some significant accessibility problems with social media. There are leaps in accessibility that have been made and are in progress. Yet we find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products and when they are, it does not seem to be a priority. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation and movement because the devices are less accessible.

We find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation because they apps are inaccessible. This is difficult to deal with due to the fact that most don’t seem to have accessibility in mind until there is a problem, instead the devices and applications need to be thought of as opportunities for universal access.
Social media has to be accessible or we continue to widen the Digital Divide, it is as simple as that. As long as there are access problems we run the risk of alienating a portion of our community.
The Internet has opened up many opportunities as well as greatly improving the quality of life for these users, but there are still barriers. Many people think of disabilities in extreme terms such as blindness and deafness, but it also includes many others with visual or hearing impairments that are increasingly common in our aging population, and other challenges such motor and cognitive impairment. The spectrum of ability for all users is variable.

Can an organization really afford to lose this audience?

I think not, and this community is chattering on more accessible platforms, about the good and the bad. If social media tools are not accessible those platforms stand to lose out on major benefits, or risk being singled out as not worried about the less able part of the population and their advocates.

Sometimes we hear that it is too hard to make an application or platform accessible. This makes sense only if the organization wishes to put forth the message that their customers are not worth a re-tool of an app. Accessibility should be built into the system similarly to building in privacy, security or usability. The second thought of accessibility as “not an easy add on” and will be noticed by those left out.
The good news is that Social Media applications can be made fully accessible allowing everyone to use them; all aspects of use just need to be considered.

In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less creative or innovative or other security issues. The good news is we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is innovative developers take pride in blending accessibility into the process level. This seems to be the future of technology and it should be our end goal to reach universal access.

Is participation for all out of the question? If we don’t make social media accessible than we continue to widen the “Digital Divide” and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in seven people are impacted with disabilities worldwide. Plus 1 out of 3 households in the U.S. are impacted by disabilities, there for this is an issue that affects family and community. Worldwide, this group numbers 500-750 million people and is a key influencer of the public’s perceptions.

There is no excuse to not make your Social Media applications fully accessible so that everyone can use them. In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less usable or “dumbing” the system down. Once again, ridiculous – we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is BAD design if you do not blend accessibility into the process level.

February 12, 2016

Apple iPhone 6, innovative as long as it is accessible By Kevin Ruh

Finding new aspects to accessibility within the new devices that are forthcoming is exciting and sometimes troubling if accessibility has not been consider. With the recent release of the Apple iPhone 6 questions loom about the added features that make this new device unique and innovative can also cause accessibility concerns.
The screen is slightly larger for the new edition of the iPhone. A larger screen is good for users with a visual impairment as it is simply easier to see. A person with fine motor impairment can make navigating a tiny touch screen accurately very difficult. In that case a larger screen can be an upside to the user. Users that manage the small motions fine may find the larger strokes create a challenge and find it cumbersome. Limited motion due to size has caused some users to criticize the iPad.
The battery life has been improved on the iPhone 6. This is usually seen as a positive to all users. Especially when the user uses their device as communication device or as assistive technology. Longevity is also a huge benefit to everyone but is especially helpful to consumers with disabilities and anyone that needs the device to be accessible.

iPhone 6.0 1
iOS 8 has strived to be an accessible operating system and has accessibility features that previous iOS’s versions inspired. The new iPhone 6 will run iOS 8 when it is released which many hope will include access features that have not yet been announced.
The new OS also promises to run the new Apple Pay, which is a new type of program that is striving to replace credit cards entirely. The accessibility implications of this are numerous. The idea is to use your iPhone to securely transfer money is one that is astounding and would allow many of us easier access to monetary transactions. When the iWatch is released it may too have many accessibility accomplishments that we have yet to imagine. These devices show that accessibility can be a great way to widen the use of mobile technology for all.

Apple has been a leader in accessibility and their innovation has change lives. I hope they continue to blend accessibility into every device, app and service that is offered.

February 12, 2016

Call for Tattoo Submissions By Kevin Ruh

Call for submissions! If you are a person with a disability or have someone close to you that is affected by disabilities then we want to hear from you! Do you have a tattoo? Whats the story behind it? Do you want to get a tattoo? Are you against tattooing? What is your opinion on people who have a disability getting tattooed? What kind of meaningful content do people want? We want to hear your opinion on the subject! If you are a tattoo artist we would love to hear about this topic from your point of view. Are you worried that the tattoo shop may not be accessible or maybe the staff will not be comfortable dealing with a client with a disability? My sister Sara was born with Down syndrome and is now a wonderful 27 year old woman. When she wanted to get her first tattoo at the age of 20 and a family friend expressed concern when our family mentioned that we would be 100% open to Sara getting a tattoo if she wanted one. Who is to say she should not be allowed to get a tattoo, and why? She understands that it will hurt, and not go away. But she is an adult and although she gets support from her family for day to day living she wants to be as independent as anyone would and wants to make her own decisions. After a lot of talk and presenting Sara with the idea that people may not think it was a good idea and may be judgmental. She had the same stance that most do when they have decided that a tattoo is in their future, Who cares what anyone else thinks, this is a tattoo for me and on me. How can I or anyone who loves and respects sara and her opinion say otherwise. The selection process for the Artist who would ink the design was shorter than we expected. The first Artist we visited was told by the shop owners that Sara had a disability and he said he was comfortable with that and would simply like to meet her before and discuss every aspect of the tattoo, this is not uncommon for any tattoo artist to do, you always want to know who you’re working with and it is important to do this on both sides. As an artist talking to a client and as well as someone who is commissioning artwork from an artist. Well thats my story in a nutshell, we hope to hear from you and yours about this, please take a few moments to submit your story to: Kevin@ruhglobal.com

February 5, 2016

Ruh Global Communications

Ruh Global Communications Logo

Debra 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

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.”

Follow Ruh Global Communications — 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

For more information please visit www.RuhGlobal.com

February 5, 2016

Focus on Abilities, a series: Jessica Cox

Ruh Global Communications Logo designed by Emily Ha

By Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global Communications

I am writing a series about people with abilities and am proud to tell the story of one amazing woman named Jessica Cox.

Pilot, Jessica Cox standing by a plane. Image from www.katolik.ru

I am blessed to meet interesting people all over the world that are making a difference. It is time to celebrate our differences and understand that we come in all shapes, sizes, colors and abilities.

Many years ago a neighbor told me that she cried for me

every night because our daughter Sara was born with Down syndrome. I was shocked because I never thought of Sara being born with Down syndrome as a “tragedy”. Sara has so many gifts and I believe she is perfect the way she was born. She was born with hazel eyes, brown hair, a beautiful soul and Down syndrome. As she grew she complimented these god given talents with a good sense of humor, quick smile, compassionate heart and other talents.

My daughter, Sara Ruh, using different Apple Products simultaneously. Sara has Down Syndrome and loves the Accessibility Features that Apple's Products offer — My daughter, Sara Ruh, using different Apple Products simultaneously. Sara has Down Syndrome and loves the Accessibility Features that Apple’s Products offer

It is time to rethink the negative connotation of a person with disabilities and instead focus on the entire person. Each of us has abilities and disabilities. As we live our lives our gifts, ability and disabilities shift and change.

Jessica Cox is a perfect example of someone that is using all her abilities to make a huge difference in the world.

Jessica Cox a 30 year old born with no arms but born with many other talents. From a young age she was determined to make a difference and fully embrace her life. She is a beautiful, talented and amazing young woman.

Jessica cox, Pilot and Motivational Speaker. Image from: http://media.azw.s3.amazonaws.com/

Jessica Cox has achieved more using just her feet than most people. She also decided at a young age to not let anything get in the way of accomplishing her dreams. She achieved a black belt in Taekwondo at the tender age of 14. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona by typing papers with her toes.

She always dreamed of becoming a pilot, and in 2008, after years of persistent effort, she achieved this goal by soloing a single engine 1946 415C ErcoupeAirplane. Cox loves adventure sports—rock climbing and snowboarding to name a few—and she just made her first sky dive in January. Cox is named in the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person certified to fly an airplane.

Jessica cox, Pilot and Motivational Speaker. Image from: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/

She is also a sought after motivational speaker, mentor, and advocate for living your life to the fullest. She has traveled the world from Europe to Australia and Africa, sharing her inspirational story. She has spoken at the World Economic Forum and the Pentagon, met Pope Benedict XVI and President Obama, and appeared on The Ellen Show and CNN. She also recently won a Susan G. Komen Inspiration Award.

Her speeches emphasize the importance persistence and dreaming big. “There are two words I’ve eliminated from my vocabulary,” Cox says. “’I can’t.’ Because once you say those words, you’ve already failed.” She also emphasizes the importance of inclusion and opportunities of for persons with disability.

Jessica Cox sitting on the side of a plane. Image from www.marieclaire.com

A documentary called RIGHTFOOTED is being created to document Jessica Cox’s life. Her goals are to change attitudes about

Jessica Cox writing. Image from: http://winnerswithinus.com/

what’s possible, and to inspire change. Want to learn more about Jessica Cox and her most recent project? Visit her Indiegogo campaign at bit.ly/Xyx15O where she is currently raising funds to support a trip to Ethiopia to advocate for disabled kids. For more information please see the press release at http://bit.ly/WfxlZj.

Please help me spread these stories by sharing them with your networks. You can find more information about my work at www.RuhGlobal.com. Please follow me on Twitter, Linked-in, SKYPE, Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest: @debraruh