Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Alexis India Alm Of Shore Community Services On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Be transparent but understand that it doesn’t mean telling everyone everything as soon as you know it. There are appropriate degrees of transparency that are best for employees, board stakeholders, and the public.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alexis India Alm, CEO of Shore Community Services.
Ms. Alexis India Alm, MNA, CFRE has over 25 years of nonprofit success. She is the CEO of Shore Community Services in Skokie, Illinois. A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), she serves as the Vice Chair on CFRE International’s Board of Directors. She is a highly accomplished major and planned giving fundraiser, having established successful multi-million dollar planned giving programs in local, community-based organizations. A well-known speaker, trainer, and presenter of philanthropy and nonprofit management, Ms. Alm holds a Master of Nonprofit Administration from North Park University. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Walter S. and Lucienne B. Driskill Foundation, a Chicago-based grantmaking charitable foundation. Ms. Alm is passionate about supporting individuals with disabilities and has been involved with disability advocacy for more than four decades.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
When I was 16, I attended prom with my date, who was smart, witty, and in a wheelchair. This was in 1976, way before the ADA. When we went to the restaurant for dinner, we could not come up the front stairs and instead had to enter the restaurant via the loading dock and through the kitchen. I remember wearing my white sandals and white lace dress and trying not to slip and fall on the wet kitchen floor while my date navigated through the restaurant kitchen in his wheelchair. I remember thinking how unfair it was to be treated that way. I decided then and there to write letters to the mayor, governor, and our congressperson. Then I heard about a movement called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and an advocate was born. After college, I continued my advocacy volunteer work and went to work in corporate public relations. It wasn’t until years later, that I moved into working in the nonprofit disabilities world full-time. So, technically, I have been working in the disabilities field for over 47 years and I am not at all ashamed about what that number says about my age. This has been a life-long journey that has culminated in my tenure as the CEO of Shore Community Services.
Growing up, my parents and most of my friends and family always called me by my middle name or a derivative of Alexis. I had always planned to change it legally when I became 18. Well, college, marriage, kids, and work delayed it. Sadly, my husband of 27 years passed away in March of 2020. I didn’t think I’d ever remarry. A little over 2 years later, I met the second love of my life and we got married and have a wonderful, blended family. I’m old-fashioned so I knew I would change my last name, and I thought, I might as well finally make the first name change. 45 years later than I originally planned. I decided to look up the meaning of my name:
Alexis — Alexis, of Greek origin, is largely considered gender neutral from the revered Saint Alexis of Rome. It is derived from the Greek verb ἀλέξειν (aléxein) meaning “helper” or “defender” of the people.
India — stems from the “people of the Indus River” and ultimately, represents the country of India. As a name used for females in early Britain, it is associated with “a strong and competitive leader.”
Alm(s) something, usually money given to charity, those in need.
My name is also who I am. A defender, and protector of the people. A strong and competitive leader, and one who gives to those in need.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
First, be a visionary. Envision where you want to be and what you want to accomplish. Embellish and develop that vision to crystal clarity. Over time you will add to it, remove things from it, enhance it, and even go back and correct elements of it. But never lose sight of your core vision. Back in the 90s, I owned a public relations firm. After 10 years, and a shelf full of awards, I wanted to do something more meaningful with my life. That is when I decided to move into working for a nonprofit. I had a vision that one day, I would lead an established and well-respected nonprofit organization in disabilities. After a great deal of work and learning from the school of hard knocks, I became a top candidate for Executive Director/CEO roles. However, I began to feel like the “Susan Lucci of nonprofit CEO interviewing” I was very often a finalist, but it took more hard work and additional credentials to finally get the position I have now as CEO of Shore Community Services. The vision was formed in 1999, but it wasn’t realized until 2016.
Second, be a life learner, always willing to learn new things about your career, yourself, and life. When we decide to be life learners, we are simultaneously accepting that we don’t know everything. In fact, the saying “the more you know, the more you know you don’t know” is true. When I was thinking about getting my master’s degree I was lamenting to my boss and mentor at the time that it would take TWO YEARS and in two years I would be 50!!! He said, “In two years you will be 50 with or without the master’s degree so it might as well be WITH the master’s degree.”
Lastly, be willing to do the hard work to BE Better. Be honest with yourself and others. Learn to take criticism. Own your mistakes. Own your shortcomings. Some of the most important things I’ve learned that have had the greatest impact on my success came from my mistakes. Owning them and not letting them destroy you but using these situations to build your resilience.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
My biggest challenge was coming to Shore in 2016, fresh into my first CEO role, and finding out just how much financial trouble the organization was in. Luckily, I have a brother, a sister, and a dear friend who are all CPA accountants. They helped me to unravel the financial quagmire to discover that this $6.5 million dollar organization was operating at a $1.2 million dollar deficit! Things were sinking fast and really no one in the organization or on the board realized just how dire the situation was. Even my own brother told me to “jump ship,” because the organization was going to go down and I shouldn’t ruin my reputation over it. I had to stop talking to my brother for a while. I was relentlessly searching for the answers to turn the organization around. My search took me to reach out to a former colleague who was the CFO of our organization. Let’s just say that the relationship didn’t end on a friendly or positive note. However, it was clear that I was on a path that would include reconciling a professional relationship that just a few years before I would have thought impossible. However, they bent over backward to help me. Their efforts and understanding of the disabilities funding structure through the Illinois Department of Human Services proved invaluable. While working to heal the organization financially, I managed to heal some former relationships along the way. And yes, through hard work and my willingness to be fearless in solving every financial challenge, I managed to lead the organization out of that deficit to a profit. I look back on that time and I’m still amazed and yes, I do believe there was divine intervention where just the exact help we needed showed up at exactly the right time. It keeps me positive and optimistic when I think of that turnaround. It made it possible to keep leading the organization forward through the impact of COVID-19 and even my own personal loss.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Right now, I’m really excited about a redesign of our employment services programs and our training facilities. Yes, it was initially driven by federal changes in Olmstead rulings regarding the ADA. The irony is not lost on me that over 45 years ago I was advocating for the ADA as a teenager upset about the lack of wheelchair accessibility for my date and being forced to enter the restaurant from the loading dock. Fast forward to today, I’m thrilled to be working on an exciting project tied to this landmark legislation 40 years later that reinforces the rights granted by the ADA.
We have developed certificate programs, renovated, and modernized our facility, incorporated new training for staff and individuals participating in our programs, and added more partnerships with businesses throughout our community to fill open jobs while also fulfilling our client’s goals for both work and independence.
We are grateful for the support of our generous donors, and the expertise and collaboration skills of Steve Cashman, the architect that is developing the design of the new program facilities.
Fantastic. Let’s now shift to our discussion about inclusion. Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
As an African American woman, working as a CEO for an organization serving individuals with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities, I live in a breadth of diversity. It is woven closely into every aspect of my life, my work. It isn’t about a separate act, program, or number. It is a mindset, to always seek actively to include everyone. Yes, it is an active thing, not a passive one. What’s that Rhonda Byrne saying? “What you think about you bring about.”
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
Many years ago, I believe it was in the 1990s, I read an article in Advertising Age that talked about how someone thought it would be a great idea for their restaurants in predominately Muslim countries to include sayings from the Quran on the box of their kid’s meal. Everyone in the room thought it was a great idea. Hundreds of thousands of these boxes were printed only to discover that many Muslims considered items with sayings from the Quran printed on them to be sacred, like the Quran itself. The article went on to say that the marketing VP of this fast-food restaurant promptly fired their advertising agency. All that could have been avoided by simply having someone and ideally several people, in the room who were a part of the target audience to give their insights. Lots of time, money, and embarrassment could have been avoided. Yes, that was over 30 years ago, and I remember it so vividly because it is still true today. We are all different and have unique experiences in life. It adds to the richness, texture, and brilliance of the world. It has been proven time and again by studies and every way you want to measure it. Diversity equals better outcomes. It will take more work and even more time, but the result is always better.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 21.3% of disabled people are employed, compared to 65.4% of persons without a disability. Even worse, disabled workers earn 26% less than non-disabled. Shore’s goal is to ensure equitable access to, and inclusion in, work, volunteering, and recreation so our clients can live productive, fulfilling lives. Shore has 7-plus decades of experience promoting inclusion for a population often excluded; we are their voice in many ways.
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
To ensure inclusion, we live it every day. Shore’s staff, management, board members, and clients hail from, represent, and share diverse cultural backgrounds across Shore. Fourteen languages are spoken; this strengthens inclusion and communication across each important group within Shore. We live in a culture of respect where we learn from and work successfully alongside one another. For employees and clients alike, we use best practices by creating a safe learning space, delivering instruction in different ways, inviting guests to share stories, and relentless advocacy.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
Shore has been transitioning to comply with the Olmstead Act, a federal regulation requiring all states, as of this year to promote our clients’ inclusion within the mainstream community, rather than separation, and to ensure rights for individuals receiving Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) funded through Medicaid. Shore’s Koenig Center’s focus is to encourage clients to participate in the True North — Find Your Path Program, which was created for developmentally disabled individuals so they can identify interests, learn necessary skills, and be part of their community to lead fulfilling and happy lives.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
Take care of yourself (physically, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, and spiritually). You can’t run a successful organization if you run yourself down in the process. You can’t drive a bus with no gas in it. And that goes for every single one of your employees too! Everyone must be at their best. Be sure you are setting the example and the environment for a healthy organization both figuratively and literally speaking.
Trust no one 100% (including yourself). Always have systems of checks and balances in every aspect of the organization. A good executive coach helps to keep YOU on track. Under the right set of circumstances, people can make bad decisions inadvertently or deliberately that can be costly to the organization. Even the most ethical person can make bad decisions under the right set of circumstances.
If you see a problem, it may not require immediate action but don’t delay addressing it because problems tend to get worse and more complex over time if not addressed.
Be transparent but understand that it doesn’t mean telling everyone everything as soon as you know it. There are appropriate degrees of transparency that are best for employees, board stakeholders, and the public.
Stay positive, focused, and optimistic even when it seems outright crazy to do so and in the face of the scariest of obstacles. Believing is some of the best fuel for achieving.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“Two wrongs don’t make a right.” It’s never okay to do the wrong thing even if everyone else is doing the wrong thing. Even if you are having a bad day. I know I will make mistakes but it’s important that I always own them. It’s a simple concept that is a great guide for high ethics and good character.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
A movement to end cyberbullying. To end hate speech. To end the fear of people who are different from you. I’d end people taking out their life frustrations, fears, shortcomings, insecurities, and weaknesses on others behind the safety and anonymity of their computer screens. Social media has become “social mayhem.”
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow my work online at www.AlexisIndiaAlm.com. For more information on the incredible work we are doing at Shore Community Services, please visit our website, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
