Mhm Hello , my
name is Rebecca trainer . Oh and , and
I am the headquarters A F MC disability
Program , strategic advisor and the
chair for the A F MC disability Action
team . And I will serve as your
moderator for today's session . I am
honored to welcome you to this cross
cultural mentoring panel celebrating
National Disability Employment
Awareness Month . This panel is part of
A FM CS mentoring a globally A g
globally diverse workforce
2023 campaign . And the goal is to
create an inclusive culture and to
eliminate barriers our airmen and
guardians may face , I'm sorry , an
inclusive culture where all people feel
comfortable in conversations around
demographic diversity and to eliminate
barriers our airmen and guardians may
face when searching for um and
benefiting from mentors , events will
take place during each special
observance month , providing an
opportunity for all airmen and
guardians to hear about how to better
mentor a globally diverse workforce .
Now , this year um is the 50th
anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 which prohibited discrimination
against federal agency employees with
disabilities . National Disability
Employment Awareness Month is observed
from October 1st through the 31st of
the entire month . Um Each year , the
awareness of it is observed so that we
may reaffirm our commitment to ensuring
equal opportunity for all citizens .
And so that they may pay tribute and to
the accomplishments of men and women
with disabilities who contributed
continue to contribute and wish to
contribute to making the nation's
economy strong . The theme for this
year's National Disability Employment
Awareness Month is advancing access and
equity then now and next . So
throughout the next hour , we plan to
discuss and answer questions on
mentoring a globally diverse workforce
um tactfully through cultural
understanding , respect and inclusion .
I will take a few moments to introduce
myself before I introduce our scene ,
panel members . Um As I stated earlier ,
I work for a F MC for the diversity
equity inclusion and accessibility
office . I started my federal career in
2009 as a student hire , I was
converted to a targeted position
through scheduling hiring , which is
the um hiring authority for people with
disabilities . I've always been in the
201 human resources field just in
different capacities and I've been in
my current role since April of 2001 .
Now today , our panelists that we have ,
we have Mr Ed uh Edward Ed Rua , Chief
Missile Sustainment Division Air
Delivered Capabilities , Directorate
Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center ,
Kirtland Air Force Base , New Mexico
tenant to Oklahoma City Air Logistic
Complex , Tinker Air Force Base ,
Oklahoma . We have Miss Rhiannon brown
curriculum develop developer at the
Defense language Institute , English
Language Center 6 37th training group
joint based in Antonio Lackland , Texas .
And then she's also a member of our Air
Force Disability Action Team . Um and
Miss Melissa Servian , she is the
Tinker Disability Program manager , um
72nd Airbase Wing . Now , lastly , we
do have Brianna Russ and Jasmine Turner
from our headquarters A FM CD EI A team
as well as Mandy Smith Nethercott , our
command mentoring program manager to
assist us with today's panel . Now ,
before I turn this over to the panel
members who will give a short three
minute intro to themselves um and their
view on the importance of mentoring . I
wanna provide some important rules of
engagement just so you know , this zoom
is being recorded , the chat is not
being recorded and the recording of
this session will be posted on the A FM
CPA website under the mentoring
highlight . We do ask that you please
stay muted at all times and do not turn
your camera on to save bandwidth . All
panel members plan to be on camera and
we wanna say thank you for those who
have sent in questions . We will begin
with those and then move into questions
post in um to the Q and A box question
answer box and as moderator , I will
ask those questions as time allows , we
may not get to all questions . But if
you provide your email address along
with your questions , we will get you
an answer after the event . Um Lastly ,
we're going to go the full hour and end
as close to 3 p.m. eastern time as
possible . We ask you to complete the
short assessment informing us how you
enjoyed the panel and things that we
could improve . Um For future panels ,
the link to complete the assessments
will be focused periodically in the
chat . We also encourage everyone to
sign up to become a mentor or mentee
using my vector , the DAF tool for
mentoring and my vector link will also
be posted periodically in the chat
panel members . I'm gonna ask that you
take a few minutes to introduce
yourself , your heritage and your
mentoring journey starting with Mr Rua .
OK . Thanks . Good afternoon . That's
kind of kind of a lot of pressure and
hard to follow , but I will do the best
I can . So , hi everyone . Uh my name
is Ed Rua . I am uh currently a
division chief , but I started my
journey back in 1986 as an equipment
specialist trainee . Uh I know we
talked that this is a , this is an
interesting form and a great
conversation ability to come in on zoom .
What you don't see is that I have a
physical uh disability . I actually
broke my back in 19 8 , 1977 .
Wow , I'm really old . Um just a fluke
accident , stringing Christmas lights
and as a result I severed my spinal
cord and required the use of a
wheelchair um to get around . I'm , I'm
fortunate in that I'm a low level uh
injury and also what they call an
incomplete injury . So I do have a
little feeling in movement in my legs
um for mobility as far as that goes .
So I I mentioned that because you
obviously you can't visually see um
that here I could back up and uh show
off my wheelchair a little bit . But
only to mention that when I started my
civil service career , they did have to
uh when I came in as an equipment ,
specialist training and applied all of
my information . At that time , there
wasn't a call out for disability . They
didn't realize that I actually had a
disability until they brought me in for
uh kind of a walk around and then the
team kind of backed up and said , hey ,
this is kind of a technical job person
needs to be able to get up and around
aircraft . Is this really something
that this person can do ? And so that
team came to me and approached me with
that and I , we walked through the
different things that I could do and ,
and obviously wouldn't be able to do
physically and they determined that ,
yeah , hey , we can work around that .
We'll figure out ways and , and things
that you can do for some reason there ,
you need to have access to the top of
something that you can't get to , we
can either take a picture or have
somebody else work that and give you
something in an area that you can do .
So that was my first sort of venture
into creating an opportunity or an
accommodation . I guess if you will at
that time , back in 1986 we didn't talk
in those terms . Uh I started again as
a , as an equipment specialist trainee
on the F 1 11 aircraft also dating
myself no longer in the Air Force
inventory . Um And then the A 10 ,
which is obviously folks trying to get
the A 10 out of the inventory for years
and years and years , but we won't talk
about that . Uh spread out into a
logistics management specialist and a
program manager up through uh a
multitude of platforms uh from
mcclellan Air Force Base in California
through an opportunity to do career
broadening rotation in the Pentagon to
where I'm currently stationed now at
Tinker um working engines , then the E
four aircraft and the B 52 are now
currently into missiles through various
positions and opportunities . Um Had
the opportunity being at the right
place at the right time with the right
experience um to become a division
chief . Awesome . Thank
you for that . Um And now we will go to
Miss Brown .
Hi , everyone . Thanks so much for
being here today . Uh My name is
Rhiannon . That's how you say it . And
if you then just ask yourself , is it
after the song ? Yes , it is . Uh What
a lot of people don't know is that it
means Great queen . And that is
something that I strive to walk in
every day . Uh So a little bit about my
background as far as my Department of
Air Force career . Um I started as an
um podium instructor at the Dlielc
where we essentially um teach English
uh to our foreign allied partners
before they either return to country ,
go start their own English programs or
they continue on to follow on training
with our military . So they have to
have the , you know , sufficient level
of English to do so . Um Unfortunately ,
my disability which happens to be
narcolepsy . Uh I don't have a
wheelchair that I could show off
potentially , but uh you might see me
rocking or doing something because I
need to try to stay awake . So I will
apologize in advance if that's
distracting to anybody . Uh But it
would be far worse if I fell asleep
while sitting here . So that being said ,
um because of my disability , I wasn't
really able to be on podium anymore ,
mostly because of the rigid time
structure . I had to fight very , very ,
very , very hard . Um because my
organization unfortunately doesn't do
reasonable accommodations very well . I
will say they do better now than they
did . I think it was just more due to a
lack of general knowledge of laws and
protocols . Which is partly why I got
involved in the disability action team
at the Department of Air Force level .
So I transitioned into the curriculum
department , uh , because the hour
isn't as necessary as the amount of
hours we put in . And um , I've been
pretty fruitful there . It's given me a
chance to broaden my skills , right ,
my skill set , but also , um , keep my
job , support my son and still uh serve
in our wonderful Air Force . Um As far
as personally , I do um excuse me , I
will be talking about my mentors ,
excuse me a little bit more . But I
always like to any chance that I can uh
lead with um one of my current mentors
who I esteem very high . Doctor Curry
always says , um we're born looking
like our parents , but we die looking
like our choices or decisions . And I
think that's such a profound um
statement and it , it affected me so
deeply in my soul uh that I remind
myself of that every day , especially
on those days when I'd rather maybe
have a pity party moment and feel sorry
for myself for the day or on those days
when I don't wanna have that mental
health battle because I'd rather just
give up for the moment . I'm reminded
that I have a choice um because I am
alive essentially . So with that , I
will say thank you again for being here
and I can't wait to meet the rest of
the panel . Thank you . I , I think I'm
gonna need , um , that quote later .
That was really good . I like that .
All right . Now we are going to go miss ,
um , to Miss Lit . Good afternoon .
Um , my name is Melissa Villian . I am
the distillate program manager at
Tinker Air Force Base . I started off
my career overseas . Um , I was married
to a military member and so we kind of
bounced back and forth . I've had
multiple series under my belt . Um Got
to see a lot of wonderful places . Got
to have a lot of great experiences . We
got to Tinker in um 2006
where I also kind of bounced around
management analysts , program analyst ,
drug testing program until almost three
years ago when I got placed into the
disability program manager position .
Um I think I found my calling . I
really enjoy this position . I think
that my favorite part of it is to come
up with potential accommodations and
help negotiate the interactive process
between the supervisor and the employee .
Thank you . I appreciate that . All
right . So I again , thank you panel
members for your introductions . We are
looking forward to a dynamic and
engaging discussion , utilizing a
combination of set and free flowing
questions um from the chat session . So
please be sure to input your questions
into the Q and A sec uh section . We
will start with Mr Rua . Um I'm gonna
ask , how do you feel disability should
be discussed in a mentoring
relationship .
Wow , that's a great question . I'm so
glad you asked .
I think that mentoring relationships
are based on , on trust , first and
foremost , right , whether you're the
mentor or the mentee . And so to talk
about how , how disabilities should be
discussed , I really believe I , in my
case , having such a physical
disability . Although I would argue I
have some unseen disabilities as well .
Uh My wife would say I have selective
hearing and my vision is not great . Um
Having said that if I'm seeking
information or if I'm seeking a mentor ,
I think it's really kind of in
incumbent upon me to not talk about the
things that , that , that I want to do
and ask for sort of an interpretation
or guidance , but also talk about my
disability and how I think that that
may have impacts both positive and
negative in the future and talk about
the different things associated with my
disability so that the person that's
mentoring me can relate back or be able
to take that into consideration without
having to poke and pry and ask me
specific questions . So I think to , to
answer the question probably more
directly , I think that uh the
relationship is based on trust . And I
really think it's more incumbent upon
the mentee to talk about uh their
particular disability , what that means
to them and ask for advice on how to
either move forward in the career or
any particular issues that you're
seeking advice on as you go forward ?
Thank you . Yeah , I agree . I think
trust is a big thing . Um You know ,
amongst people and if you , if you feel
like you can trust someone , you feel
like you can open up , right ? OK . So
next question is for Miss Brown and um
I wanted to ask how have mentors
influenced you in your career ?
Thank you . Great question . Um I wanna
go back just a little bit even before
my career and say that being a child
without really having parents , um I
sought what I didn't know were mentors
my entire life , but just people to
model after people to look to people to
learn to trust , as Ed said , and then
people to hopefully guide me , for
example , I wouldn't have the career I
have . Now if I didn't have a
supervisor back when I was a teenager
working at social security , who was
like , why are you here ? Why aren't
you in college ? And I was like , I
don't know , isn't that for rich people ?
And she literally took me at lunch down
to the registrar and stayed with me the
entire time until I got registered for
college because I , I didn't know , I
thought that was for people with money ,
right ? So if you were to ask me ,
probably the first major um influence
on my career , I would say it was her
uh because I wouldn't be where I am now
without her . Uh That being said ,
I look to mentors um just like I look
for almost surrogate parents and I know
that might sound weird . But again ,
going back to what Ed said , if I can't
trust you , um I don't really
necessarily look to you as a mentor .
So I look for mentors and all types of
um folks , you know , men , women , uh
younger , older uh people with Children ,
primarily as a single parent . Um But I
do also look for the perspectives of
those without and all of these people
influence me in my career . Um And that
they help shape the person that I am .
So now going back to the direct
question , uh I will say
intentionally positive
supervisors are probably my first go to
as far as mentors in my career because
they literally not only shape how I can
do better in doing my job , but for the
ones that support my outside advocacy ,
the efforts they really um showed me
that they can help grow me not only in
my job , but in my career within the
Air Force , right ? I don't just work
for dli I work for the Air Force ,
right ? So everything from a great
supervisor who would allow me to take
either leave if I needed or um even
duty time , depending on how tight it
was to the mission , right ? To do this
advocacy work all the way up until um
you know , colonel beloved who got me
involved in the best . And it was
because of his stellar leadership and
then mentorship that even got me to
step out of my comfort zone , which
ultimately would lead me to do in an
event like this , right ? I have the
personality to do it but not
necessarily the
audacity , I guess if you will . And so
mentors along the way , have , you know ,
taught me be bold , um you know , stand
behind what you believe in and don't be
afraid to sh to show it . And without
that type of mentorship and frankly
leadership in my life , I probably
would have , you know , ended up um
essentially signing up for disability
because I couldn't teach anymore cause
I wouldn't have known there were other
options and things that I could do
despite uh the neuro um diverse ,
excuse me , the neurological disorder
that I have . I love that . I love that
you mentioned the supervisor because
really , honestly , any , any one of us
can be a mentor , any one of us can be
a minty . And so I like that you
mentioned supervisor , you know ,
because sometimes I don't think
supervisor tend to think , you know ,
mentor , you think I'm the supervisor ,
right ? So I really like how you put
that out there that I like that a lot .
So next , I'm gonna go to um Mr William
and there are a multitude of different
disabilities , both physiological and
psychological . Um you know , a lot of
those uh invisible disabilities , what
would you recommend to people trying to
learn more about leaving people who may
um have varying needs based on their
diverse disability or I'm sorry ,
diverse abilities .
So I would recommend creating a
supportive environment getting to know
all your employees focusing on
the abilities rather than any
disabilities or what someone cannot do .
Um educating yourself and others
established clear and open
communication , um promote
collaboration between your employees .
Just build a strong team that can be
open and communicate and openly discuss
anything that they feel they need to
talk about .
Thank you . I like that and I'm just
kinda kinda throw this out here right
now if um if you didn't know you can um
put your disability code in my biz . Um
so you can , because we know that at
any point I'm kinda like Ed said , you
know , he , he wasn't born disabled um
at any point , um Any one of us could
become a person with a disability . Um
We , you know , it could be at birth ,
could be when you're older , it could
be in the middle of your life . And so ,
um you know , and , and that is
something that your supervisor doesn't
see , but it is something that is
needed for people like , you know ,
Melissa , I , you know , disability
program managers just to see the
overall workforce and , you know ,
really know who we need to service ,
right ? So just kinda kinda throw that
out there . Um We do have a question in
the chat so I'm gonna uh switch it up a
minute . The question says , what is a
great attribute that you feel you have
that is important for others to have in
order to effectively mentor others ?
And so then they added , I think this
would be um oh , I'm sorry . Yeah . Um
effectively mentor others . So is there
anybody that would wanna maybe answer
that or has um any input to that
question ? Um And I can act it one more
time if I need to . But OK , r I think
a great attribute to being a good
mentor is uh two things um making
yourself available and active listening .
Um I think there are a lot of people
who raise their hand uh to do good
things because they have a good heart
and they mean , well , um however , if
you don't make time for your mentee ,
even if it's , you know , randomly ,
but yet scheduled , you know , it
doesn't have to be all the time . Uh
But if you don't make time for them ,
then that effectively crushes the uh
the relationship . In my opinion , I'd
rather have , you know , a few solid
quality minutes uh with you than not
really have your focus time as my
mentor . Um And in turn as the mentee ,
making sure to give my full self when
having that connection is equally as
important . So that I honor the
mentor's time , right ? So as I'm
mentoring others , uh I'm very
intentional um in both both of those
aspects . And then as far as the active
listening , um I'm not going to earn
the trust of a mentee . Uh like I keep
going back to what Ed said because it's
so important . Um I'm not gonna earn
their trust if I'm not listening and
due to my , my broken memory as I call
it because of my disorder , uh That's
uh another thing is just full
transparency , right ? Being honest .
Um If , if I have to ask you to repeat ,
it's not because I'm not listening .
It's because I literally just forgot
and I need to write it down . So I
think being open and honest and an
active listener and then being
intentional with your time , um When
you're with the MT is absolutely
critical . No , I agree .
Yeah , that's , that's great . And um
does anyone else wanna add or answer to
the question ?
Sure . I'll find that out . Oops , go
ahead , sir . I would say uh
honesty and sense of humor .
I like that too honestly . And since we
weren't nice . All right . Um OK , I'm
going to continue on the questions ,
I'm sure we'll have some more in the
chat soon . Um So Mr Rua , how would
you encourage leaders to be inclusive
when establishing mentor mentee
relationship
by not being exclusive ? I think it's
kind of the opposite of that kind of
pointing out the obvious , I guess .
But , uh , I , I think seeking
relationships again and , and going
back to how I answered the , the , the
first question about the , the mentee
and the mentor , uh , I , I think it's
just being open and if you were a
mentor taking on mentees with , um ,
with all backgrounds , um , I guess
that's really more about being , being
diverse than being inclusive . Um One
of the things that , that I look for ,
uh , when I'm looking at being
inclusive , I guess specifically over
diversity , to me , the difference is ,
or the way that I look at it is I have
a number of folks that I work with that
are very easy to
come forward and tell me their thoughts
and the things that they're thinking
and make recommendations . And then I
have another group of folks that I work
with that are not so much , they're a
little more reserved , a little bit
more a I don't wanna say afraid , but
just aren't comfortable , would
probably be a better way to describe it
in coming forward and providing advice
in front of a large group . So I think
it's about probably that the active
listening , um , that was mentioned and
seeking out different ways to interact ,
whether it in a group or individually
to bring those people forward in under
hearing what they had to say and making
sure that you are being an , an active
listener and really taking into
consideration what it is that all have
to say , rolling that in and moving
forward . I think that's probably a
long way to answer the question . But I
really would circle back and say by not
being , being exclusive and just
looking at a single group of folks to
solve problems , but making sure you're
including everyone and I , I hear
commonality and some of the answers is
that active listening , making sure
we're good listeners , right ? Um I
think a fun way , one of the fun ways I
like to get to know people is , you
know , like the color test or the um
Myers Briggs , those kind of , you can
kind of understand people . I feel like
a little bit better sometimes with um
some of those as well . OK . Um Miss
Brown , I'm gonna come back to you .
How do you keep your feelings separate
from your decision making ? Oh , I love
this question . Uh because um
not only just in my personal , my
personal walk of life but also my
parenting , uh you'll hear me or
parenting a lot because I think first
and foremost , I'm a mentor to my son .
Uh I have essentially one job as far as
being his mother and that's to , you
know , guide him into being a fully
functional and contributing member of
society who is respectful , but also
respectable . And so if I can't mentor
him , really , I don't have any
business mentoring anybody else . Um
That's my personal take on it . Uh you
may not agree and that's ok . Um But
that being said , I always tell him
that how you feel is 100% valid . Uh
because feelings are not facts . Uh
as an extremely logic minded person , I
have to remind myself sometimes to
allow myself to feel or , you know ,
remember that other people might let
feelings influence their decisions if
you will . But because feelings are not
facts yet , they are 100% validated ,
um valid it . Jesus valid ,
excuse my tongue . It's slow sometimes .
Um It's best to
discover what the facts are . Do your
research and then incorporate how you
feel about those facts and then you can
make , you know , good level headed
decisions . A knee jerk responses based
upon feelings usually , uh get you into
trouble . And again , it's just one of
those things . Um growing up watching
my birth mom be what I would consider
to be an emotional nightmare . I was
like , I don't think I wanna be like
that . And so , you know , as a kid ,
uh I learned to not let my feelings
force my decisions , maybe guide , you
know , feel how you feel . Uh But , but
also make sure to learn what's actually
going on . So when that comes to active
listening to others and things , you
know , if someone says I need to vent
and they slam the door , I might be
like , no , you didn't just slam my
door . But the fact is they need to
vent . So what I'm gonna do is listen
and listen for the underlying problem .
The root cause you know , how can I be
helpful and then try to address the ,
the emotion in the room so that we can
get to the problem ? I think the N I
got there was let my feeling , guide my ,
guide me but not force my decision . I
was like , oh that's good . That's one
of those like write down , right ?
Thank you . OK , Miss uh Sevilla ,
we're gonna come back to you and if
anybody else wants to add after um a
after she answers , so this question
says , what mentorship can you offer to
leaders and individuals with
disabilities going into the reasonable
accommodation process ?
So I think the most important part of
the reasonable accommodation process is
the interactive process . So I would
recommend for both parties to be fully
willing to engage in that process um to
have open minds and be willing to
accept new ideas . Um
accept open communication from the
supervisor , just be open minded to
actually um find out the find the best
effective accommodation for not only
the employee but also for the agency um
and encourage ongoing communication to
make sure that what they have decided
that the most more or that the
effective accommodation is , is always
effective or effective in staying
effective and there doesn't need to be
any changes made to it .
Thank you . Yeah , I like that does um
does anyone else on the panel have
anything you wanna add to this question ?
Oh , and I don't wanna talk too much
but having just uh had to go all the
way up to eo um to fight off
discrimination . I've had a lot of
experience with the R A process over
the years and I will say , um self
advocating for yourself , uh Those are
done . It is really important . Uh
sometimes you just have to um be heard
and or be seen in order to be
understood . And um I hate to say , but
everybody has a boss , right ? Luckily
for the R A uh process , it can't be
truly denied except at wing level . Um
So hopefully , along the way , if you
don't feel seen and hurt at the first
step , hopefully along the way , you
will . Uh but I would just say hang in
there and have a wingman or battle
buddy if you need . I did um I asked
the former supervisor slash chief uh to
stand by me through it because I didn't
feel that I could take up for myself on
my own and having his support empowered
me um greatly . So if you hit the
negative wall , uh don't give up ,
I like that . And do you wanna add to
this at all ? Uh
I mean , I thought those were great
answers . II , I guess as I were to
look through this and , and looking at
trying to be a neutral third person in
the room at the end of the day , it's
about supporting the mission , right ,
for the Air Force , for the Department
of Defense , for our nation . And so if
finding a way for somebody to
accomplish that to at the end of the
day , do that , I think if you start
and finish with that in mind , I would
think that that would help ease the
pain uh on both sides .
Thank you . Thank you . So , I wanted
to know um one of
one of the good , one of the fun
questions we like to ask sometimes is
does anyone have or , or what are each
of your maybe book um or podcast ? Like ,
what would you recommend ? Um you know ,
in regards to uh like a favorite book
that you or a favorite podcast that
maybe provide some um you know ,
optimism , inspiration , just something
that um you know , really strikes a
nerve with you , I guess . So I'll
start with um we'll , we'll go Melissa
and then um Rhiannon and Ed .
So for my book , I would say Crucial
Conversations , um
it focuses on how to avoid conflict
and come to positive solutions when
they're having high stakes
conversations . So it can be effective
in your personal life and your
professional life . And other than my
book , I'd like to also add the uh job
Accommodation network webinars . They
are so informational apps , they're
just wonderful . They have so many
subjects that they cover and it's a lot
of good information that we can use as
a supervisor or as an employee . I like
that . And that website is ask jan dot
org just saying it . Ok , re in it .
Ok , because as an article up , you
might imagine , I don't get to read .
Uh , so I have to listen to all my
books . However , you would not know
that based upon my book library . So I
came prepared . I'm actually going to
mention uh four books . So I will put
them in the chat only because each of
these have changed my life in a major
way . Uh The first one which I couldn't
fine to show you is a man's search for
meaning by Victor Frankl . Um It , it
actually changed who I am at the core
um of my person . Um Also reminding me
that no matter how hard life is , uh it
could be worse . And so to have
gratitude for what I have . Uh the next
book I will show you , I'm quite proud
of it because I am one of the
contributing authors . It's called The
Women We Watched and uh tributes for
men and women across the Air and Space
Force . And the principal author is uh
Charlene Keys Bowen . Uh But I will say
um the person that I wrote about is uh
the person who I'll just tell you saved
my life . Literally , she was my first
mentor in life and um my favorite
person on earth . So I'm proud of this
book , but you will be happy if you
read it and you'll be supporting a good
um cause nonprofit . My next book I'm
gonna show you is actually written by
that favorite mentor . I mentioned
earlier , Doctor Curry , he probably
would be mad at me for doing this , but
I'm OK . I'll ask for forgiveness later .
His book is called Driving For
Perfection and I actually um forced
myself to get through it . It took me
months , but I did it and then I had my
son read it as well to edify him . But
it's a great look at how you can
develop a minority specifically ,
you know , black officers , but not
only that , it gives you a rich history
um of our history and our Air Force .
And my last one is parenting with
love and logic . Again , I told you a
lot of what I do centers around my
parenting . Um But again , I think if
you aren't mentoring intentionally
parenting and mentoring your Children ,
you're doing it wrong . And I'm happy
to have a conversation with you on any
of these books and I will put them in
the chat . Awesome . Thank you . All
right , over to you . All right .
I'm not uh I'm not a big reader , but I
did about five years ago uh sit in
on some leadership training and one of
the foundational concepts was
start with why ? Um I think it's a book
that's been around for a while that
many of you may be familiar with . And
this one's by Simon Sick . And it
really has helped me throughout the
years when , particularly when I'm in
an organization and there's an issue
that comes up or an organizational uh
change that needs to be made . I think
it uh the , the starting with why uh
principle and foundation has helped me
work through that .
Sorry , you're waiting on me . OK . So
the next question I would like to um
ask you is um and this can be for any
and all um what do you constantly
challenge ? Um You're under what
do you do to constantly challenge your
underlying beliefs and assumptions ?
And maybe we'll start with Rhiannon
since she's in the , she's been in the
middle if you wanna , if you wanna
answer , no , I was over here like be
quiet , be quiet . Um I think
managing your assumptions is so hugely
critical , especially as a person with
an invisible and apparent uh disability .
Um It also connects you with your , the
empathy that you need , I think to be a
decent human . And so , um assuming
anything , um we all know the phrase ,
it's not , not very beneficial to you ,
but it also stops communication , right
to where when you set your assumptions
and biases , right ? Um Aside , try to
learn what your unconscious biases
might be and bring them to the
forefront um asking questions and just
seeking knowledge with you know , an
open heart and mind is so , so
important to helping you . I think not
only be a well-rounded person in
general , but it will definitely help
you be a better mentor and example . Um
to those around you , if you sit behind ,
you know , um your judgment chair and
act like you have the gavel in your
hand , uh you will probably be quickly
reminded in life that that's not your
role . So unless you literally are a
judge and that is actually your job in
the courtroom , I would just recommend
that maybe you step aside , um , and do
what your job is , which is to seek
answers and truth and then try to form
your opinions based upon the knowledge
and information that you have
Melissa . And would either of you like
to add to that ?
And I thought that was a , a great
response . I , I just , I guess adding ,
adding to that someone told me years
and years ago in re related to
just issues , concepts , really almost
anything in life to be able to see both
sides of the coin . I think the , the
comment went something along the lines
of the smartest person on an issue can
understand both sides . And so I tend
to be a very logical person , not a
as much of a sensing and feeling person .
And what has helped me through that
looking on both sides is to walk a mile
in somebody else's shoes . Right . I
may have a very , very strong opinion
on an issue or a concept or even a
disability and being able to look at
that logically from a completely
different point of view to have that
come and , and meld in to what it is
that I'm thinking , seeing or feeling
tends to help me kind of balance that
out . Thank
you for that for that addition to that
question . So there is a question in
the chat and probably a little bit for
Melissa and she is a disability program
manager . But um it might be for either
the two that you want to add to it . So
I'll start with Melissa . It says what
happens when we run into issues in the
reasonable accommodation process . How
do we stay empowered without losing the
job ? And how can we navigate potential
complaint process while managing fear
of retaliation ? It's a big one .
Oh , that's a hard one .
I would say at any time during the
process , if you feel that you're not
comfortable talking with your
supervisor or you're not getting any
headway with your supervisor , I would
suggest involving your disability
program manager to help navigate ,
navigate you through the process um And
taking the advice that they can give
you to lead you to an effective
accommodation and a better avenue to
get there with your supervisor .
Thank you . Um Anyone who wanna add ,
does anybody have anything that they
want to add or would you like me to
maybe proceed . Um , I know . So for me
with reasonable a combination , you
know , we do have supervisors that tend
to wanna give everything that somebody
asks , even if somebody doesn't need
absolutely everything or don't wanna
give anything . And so it really is
what Melissa talked about prior that
and , you know , and open communication ,
active listening . It's really that
conversation back and forth , just
trusting as both , you know , Anne and
Rian and I said trusting each other
through the process and just making
sure that , um , each person , employee
and supervisor are making every effort
to understand each other to really get
through that . Um , so let's see .
Um , so , yeah , so Brianna just , uh ,
bringing something different . So in
regards to , um , you know , um , she
had mentioned , uh eo , right , and I
think Brian had mentioned this . So at
any time in the process , if an
employee feels discriminated against ,
they do have the right to go to , um ,
the EOOEO office . Ok . Um , so just
know that you do have those rights ,
you know , if , um , you get an
accommodation and it doesn't work . Um ,
as Melissa mentioned , you have that ,
um , you know , right , an opportunity
to talk with your supervisor or to re
interact to re enter into that
interactive process . You know , we
know , um , a lot of times with
disabilities that some get worse ,
maybe some get better , but a lot of
times they get worse . So what worked a
year ago , might not work right now .
Um , and that's kind of what r had
touched on with what she had going on
through her former job . Right . Um ,
and so just making sure that , you know ,
you , you know , that those rights ,
those rights you have and your
disability program managers should be
able to , um , help you guide you
through that with what rights you do
have , um , as an employee . Um OK , so
we have another question and it might
be best suited to read . Um Again , so
it says , is there an effective method
to educate other people to be
respectful um of inconspicuous or
invisible disabilities ? And then this
person said I have first experience
with people minimizing a person
disability and , or phobia because it's
not obvious to them . No evidence . I'm
an assistive device , Walker , et , et
cetera . All right . So great
question . I'm gonna take it from two
perspectives first , from the person
with the disability . Uh I can speak
from firsthand experience when I have a
sleep attack . Um I've heard uh people
whispering that I looked drunk or
hungover um or you know , cause I might
bump into walls or I start losing all
my balance and it's partly just that
self advocacy . Um I also , I
don't shame myself for being disabled
and because of that , I don't allow
anyone else to shame me either . So ,
you know , I also have no problem with ,
you know , voicing which I know it is
my right to not say anything . Uh , but
because I believe that communication is
better , I'd rather you hear it from me
than have your thoughts and questions
and then run with that , you know . So
I have no problem with saying , you
know , oh , I'm just trying to stay
awake and I'm gonna hold up the wall .
Right . And I might line my hand along
the wall as I walk or something like
that because those same people might
see me in other times where I seem to
be perfectly fine . And then two
minutes later , I look completely
different . So the self advocacy part
of it and just maybe having a prepared
elevator pitch if you will , um that
kinda succinctly uh shares what you
might want to share to help , um gain
some empathy and understanding for what
you might be going through is something
that uh was recommended to me and , and
I've since done . So it's been very
helpful for me and I feel like it's um
an empowerment tool uh to take back the
agency . And if you're gonna spread a
rumor , be it what I said , right ? Not
what other people said . Um Now from
the perspective of someone else , an
onlooker , um I would say , you know ,
be that person who speaks up for others
like you would want them to do for you .
You know , for example , um if I hear
people being , you know , gossipy and
considerate of someone else . I might
just challenge them and be like , have
you asked ? So , and so if they're OK
or what the issue is , um have you
considered that ? Maybe it's personal
and they don't wanna talk about it ? Um
You know , so just challenging people
to be respectful and empathetic . Um
And I am a rumor mill shut downer . Uh
I am known for that . So I also just
have , you know , the , the nerve to
challenge people if needed , um not
combative , but gotta keep it cordial .
But at the same point , you can't let
those hostile work environments kind of
permeate . Lastly , um I'm not a
supervisor for the government , but I
was , you know , in a former life and I
will say as a supervisor , I think um
if you hear that type of behavior , um
excuse me , hear that type of verbiage
or see that type of behavior , um then
it would be wise for you to maybe pull
that person aside and have a
conversation and , you know , direct
them to speak to the person if they
would like to know more otherwise . So
tell them that um let's just keep talk
about work , you know , and so on and
so forth . So there are a lot of
different , I think ways uh just
depends on who you are in the
experience . Um But I would say
ultimately just challenging people to
have a little empathy . Um And if they
can't then maybe they can just be quiet .
That's also an option . Thank you . I
like that . Um So someone did ask about ,
I think um what Melissa recommended .
Uh They said maybe they thought it was
like a podcast or something . So , uh
Melissa had mentioned that the Java
Combination Network has different
helpful videos . They also have helpful
articles . And so , um we will drop
that in the chat . It's ask dot org
where you can find that because someone
had asked about that . So , and , um ,
and closing and this is gonna be the
last question that I asked you all
before we kind of finish up because we
are getting closer to the top of the
hour . Um So I will start with Ed . Um
And then I'll go , Melissa and Rhiannon .
How and where do you find
inspiration ? So we'll go and first
everywhere . Uh And
I , I really didn't uh intend that to
be in a , in a humorous way . I really
do find inspiration everywhere . Uh
I've gotten inspiration for instance ,
from being able to sit in on , on this
Zoom meeting and hear what other people
have to say . Uh I'll sometimes get
inspiration from watching a commercial ,
uh sometimes get inspiration . Um Being
with my family , watching my kids do
something . Um , watching people I work
with , do great things , watching the
sun come up in the morning , watching
the moon and the stars at night . Um ,
a belief in a higher faith uh and a
higher being . So I , I tend to get
inspiration from all around me .
No , I like that . I like that . I like ,
but I like your explanation as well .
Ok . Um Melissa , we'll go to you next .
I agree with Ed , you can get it
everywhere . Um But in my day to day
work life , I feel like I get a lot of
inspiration from the employees and the
supervisors that I talk to and deal
with daily . Um It feels great to hear
that I've helped them in some way or
I've given them information that they
needed or just had give them an open
outlook of reasonable accommodation
process and how we can all help each
other and just more information about
disabilities overall ,
I bet . All right . Thank you . And
then uh Rhiannon ,
oh , I forgot the question . Was that
the inspiring ? Oh , I'm sorry . Um How
no , wait , I forgot to how and where
do you find inspiration ? Ah , yes .
Thank you . Um Well , in
general , I think uh what , what the
other animals have said is uh when you
have a heart of gratitude , you can
find it anywhere . Um So to try and
vary the answer , I think I will say um
this is gonna seem really crazy . So I
giggled but I'm being very serious . Uh
the fact that I was able to get myself
out of bed uh with the struggle that it
is I find inspiring . Uh because I
could have given up . And so when I
take something as seemingly ridiculous
as that , um And then I can remind
myself that I did do it and I can do it .
Uh Because every day it's a challenge
I'm inspired by my own um God given
strength . Uh Because if I didn't ,
right , I'd be depressed . So being
inspired by the fact that I am alive ,
uh God chose to let me have another day
means I have the opportunity to make at
least one more person smile or one more
person feel better about themselves .
Uh which is usually a goal I have
throughout the day and knowing that
there are still good people and hearts
out there inspires me to keep wanting
to meet them .
I love that . Yeah . Thank you all so
much for those answers . And before we
um do closing remarks , is there
anything that anyone on the panel wants
to close with that ? Maybe you forgot
to say and want to say um to everyone
that's listening before we um you know ,
start concluding this penal .
Can I elaborate um some on individuals
that are requesting reasonable
accommodation ? Sure . Just to remind
them to be open minded , be willing to
discuss it with their supervisor , be
willing to accept new ideas . Um come
to the table with ideas that they think
would help them and be willing to keep
the open communication . Um Just to
make sure that they can get the best
possible accommodation to help them
perform their essential functions .
Henry . Yeah . And then were you , were
you gonna say something ? I was , I was
gonna say that um I know that you all
are part of a different mag com but A
TC has um the A TC mentorship council
uh which I am a part of and I have
found some wonderful mentors in there .
Um And I say that because in looking
for people to kind of emulate and learn
from uh where better to go than a
mentorship council , right ? People who
specifically make this their passion .
Uh So I share that in case there's
anyone else on the call who's also a ,
etc um one of my mentors um is on the
line MQ Henson and I saw that she put
one of our events coming up in the chat .
So that reminded me to also um mention
that that exists and if you are part of
a TC and do you have questions or if
you wanna start up your own medcom um
Mentorship council , I'm sure that Miss
uh Q would have information to share .
Thank you . All right ,
let's see . So , in closing , um and
well , I just wanna make sure Anne ,
are we good ? Do you have anything ? OK .
All right . In closing , we would like
to thank all members of the panel for
their participation today and for
sharing their experiences , lots of
advice . We also thank all the um all
the others who have assisted in making
this cross cultural mentoring panel
possible . We encourage everyone to go
into my vector and register to become a
mentor or mentee . And lastly , as
mentioned earlier , please complete the
short online assessment . The link um
address is listed on this photo slide
and it's both in the chat and we want
to hear your thoughts on this event as
it will help us to improve future
events . And I believe that we will um
compile the questions from the chat if
there's any that we didn't answer , um
We can definitely get to um uh if we
need to , we hope to see you again for
the rest of the cross-cultural
mentoring series . And we thank you and
have a great rest of your day . Thanks .