Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Katherine Magnoli of KatGirl and Friends On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Not everyone will embrace what you’re doing. Regardless, don’t give up.
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 Katherine Magnoli.
Born with a disability, Katherine Magnoli has lived her life with the vantage point of being in a wheelchair . This unique perspective makes her the ideal person to educate both children and adults on the importance of inclusion and disability etiquette.
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?
Hi! Thank you so much for having me here today to discuss my journey in the business world whilst living with a disability. My name is Katherine Magnoli, I am a 40 year old entrepreneur and inclusion advocate who has spent her whole life observing the world from a wheelchair. The disability I have is a birth defect called Spina Bifida, which coupled with scoliosis and kidney failure has not only given me many health obstacles but at times has been the source of my being bullied and ostracized. These experiences are what have shaped me into being the person, entrepreneur and advocate that I am today.
You see, at the age of 22, when my kidneys failed I felt my life was over but truth is it was just beginning. I say this because during my second year of receiving dialysis, I met my very first mentor ( a holocaust survivor who would later encourage me to look outside of myself and help others.) This is when I began as a volunteer teacher assistant at a school for children within the autism spectrum and other learning disabilities. This experience was life changing because it gave me a chance , after growing up in a family of all “able bodied” people in a small town where I was the only student with a disability to reconnect with people who were similar to me. This helped me reaccept and love who I am. Thus, giving me the strength to spread a message of hope, self love, and inclusion to anyone and everyone that I could.
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?
Well, first off, thanks for the compliment, hehe. Next, I would have to say my number one trait would be my determination. This, however, is something that I can say was ingrained in me at a very young age. The first time I noticed my determination was when I was learning how to hold a pencil properly and I practiced my letters in a little notebook. Now, 35 years later, I have witten five published books for children.
Next, would be my passion for work that I do and my ability to transfer the hardships I’ve endured as inspiration for people to embrace themselves and others for their differences. An example of this would be when I met a boy who is also living with Spina Bifida, who the principal told me was rather shy, and invited him to be my special helper of the day. He, indeed, was shy at first but then he opened up and started cracking jokes that his wheelchair was cooler than mine. Now, he’s on a wheelchair basketball team.
Another quick example would be the thousands of kids without disabilities who are scared, worried or sad when they first meet me. However, after hearing my stories they are inspired and want to know if I have a magical chair. This is not a momentary change that has a lasting effect. An example that proves this is a boy, now in his twenties, stopping me at an event and telling me he remembered when I came to his third grade class!
Lastly, I would have to say my willingness to broaden my reach. This one did not come overnight, for a long time I was set in only advocating to and for children. Then, as time went on, the world was beginning to take notice of my public speaking skills and I was asked to speak on several different topics that affect both children and adults living with disabilities. This gave me the opportunity to connect with more established organizations and really make people notice me on a larger scale.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
My greatest struggle was probably having society view me as nothing more than just a girl in a chair and being skeptical that I had anything else to offer. I learned, in time, to not take it personal but to approach those situations with a sassy and upfront approach. I am not saying I am aggressive but I do love to see the look on people’s faces when I turn to the page of the book that shows my picture and prove to them that I indeed wrote the book. Another great example would be the look of skepticism people have when I wheel into a room or stage to speak and by the end of it everyone is either hugging me or shaking my hand while they thank me for my bold authenticity.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I would have to say, the most exciting project would have to be the prospect of my books being turned into an animated series. Speaking of animation, I was also asked to read for a voice over project that Disability Rights Florida will be doing about the importance of Self Advocacy. Lastly, due to the atmosphere of our world right now, I have many more topics that I would like to write about and help children with.
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?
That is a great question and I can answer it with 3 quick examples:
- A few months ago, I was a part of a video ( that can be found on YouTube) that discusses how important it is for people with disabilities to have the option to Vote by Mail ( This is a video that was done for Disability Rights Florida). The very next day, I was the emcee for the Christopher Reeve Summit. (These experiences were not related).
- Next up would be being asked to be a liaison for the Miami Inclusion Alliance where I, and six other advocates and two mentors, helped bring awareness to the stifling statistics and intersectionality of disability and abuse. This was my first chance to really speak about my experiences of bullying and abuse that I faced throughout my teenage years and early twenties. We, also, focused a lot on educating them on disability etiquette training in order to give them the tools to best help us when we come into their facility or courtroom. This knowledge has helped me reach a different demographic which is those who are in college and universities. As a matter of fact, I will be going to my local Keiser Unversity, this Monday, to talk to several different departments. This includes: Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Dieticians, and Criminal Justice students, just to name a few.
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?
It’s funny that you should ask this because I have had several recent experiences that have shown to me that we are in dire need of disability voices to be heard in the workforce. I mean, this has always been apparent to me but it has become even more of an issue lately. I say this because, in reality, we are the only ones who truly understand our needs and wants. So, when you are looking to make your establishment accessible and/or inclusive but you do not feel the need to get the opinions of those with lived experience, I am sorry to say but you are doomed to fail. I mean as a mayor who I advocated for beach access once said; “ I can’t change what I do not understand.”
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?
Reasonable accommodations are adjustments to an environment that help make the experience in an establishment for a person living with a disability to enjoy the activity more easily.
A few examples of this would be, making sure there are well structured ramps, bathroom stalls and accessible parking slots. Not to mention, buttons for the doors. In regards to those who are blind or deaf it would be making sure you have all their needs met. For those who are blind this would mean; signs that incorporate Braille or Large Print for those with some vision ability. Also, maybe have audio instructions.
For those who are deaf the best thing to do is to educate yourself on sign language and/or make sure there is a sign language interpreter present at all times within your establishment.
Finally, for those with “invisible disabilities” such as autism, educate yourself on the best ways to interact with them and be mindful that they may need a quiet and peaceful place to decompress.
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.
For me, as an ADULT with a disability who is rather small in stature, I would have to say it would be treating me like an equal. Please, do not pat my head or talk in a baby voice to me. Also,do not patronize or discard me when I tell you the work that I do.
An example of the last one, is when I told a man who, while giving me a medical exam, was being rather nosey that I am an author and public speaker and he said “Oh, so, you are unemployed.”
For the first one I honestly can’t think of just one example because it is unfortunately something I combat almost daily.
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?
I would say the biggest idea that I implemented in my work with disability inclusion is that I do not focus on just the disability that I identify as. In other words, I do not just write stories about a girl in a wheelchair, I have written stories about people who are blind, deaf, overweight, and of another culture. This to me is what true inclusion is about. This has helped impact the work culture because I stated above I have had many opportunities to talk about the experience of living with disabilities in many different arenas and through many different scopes of my lived experience.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
Things don’t happen over night, you have to put in the work.
Not everyone will embrace what you’re doing. Regardless, don’t give up.
Things may not turn out as you envisioned but I promise you what will come to you will be mind blowing.
Listen to your inner voice, take the opportunities that most align with the message of your work.
Finally, you aren’t in this alone, open your mind and heart to the idea of collaborating and combining efforts with others.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
There are two quotes that come to mind. The first is: “You can turn off the sun but I’m still going to shine.” This quote comes from the singer Jason Mraz’s debut song “Won’t Worry.” The next comes from my favorite musical newsies “ Seize the Day!” As a person with a disability this is very important both as a person with a business and life in general. We must remember to make the most of every day presented to us.
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. :-)
I would have to say the movement that I most would like to inspire is that of accepting and loving who we are. I think, once we do that, we can inspire others to do the same.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I am active on social media.
You can find me on Facebook under the name: Katherine Magnoli
TikTok: @katherinemagnoli
Instagram: @katgirladvocate
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
