INSIGHTS
People with disabilities forging new pathways to employment
From tech hackathons to inclusive cafés, theaters, and global talent platforms, people with disabilities are not just entering the workforce—they’re reshaping it. Structured support, role design based on strengths, and inclusive hiring practices create genuine career pathways.
Other employers—from corporations to nonprofits—can learn: start small, think inclusively, build supports, and empower local or neurodiverse talent to thrive.
What’s happening
Despite lingering employment gaps—just ~37% of working-age Americans with disabilities are employed—individuals and organizations worldwide are forging new, empowering employment pathways.
Breakthroughs & Case Studies
✅ Amazon’s Supported Internship (UK)
A year‑long, structured training program for young people with autism and learning disabilities in UK Amazon fulfillment centers. Interns learn workplace skills, social norms, and gain high-retention jobs—often permanent—with pay around £14.50/hr. Just 4.8% of adults with learning disabilities are in paid work—this initiative helps shift that record.
✅ Specialisterne (Global)
Founded in Denmark, this social enterprise hires neurodivergent individuals for tasks like software testing and metadata management—leveraging their strengths in pattern recognition, attention to detail, and focus. Now operating in 26 countries, it turns autism and dyslexia into professional advantage (Wikipedia).
✅ Bitty & Beau’s Coffee (U.S.)
This café chain employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With 20+ locations and 400+ team members, it emphasizes ability—not experience. Offers above-minimum wages and growth, reshaping how hospitality can be inclusive business (Food & Wine).
✅ Prospector Theater (Connecticut, U.S.)
A nonprofit movie theater where ~75% of the workforce have disabilities. Over 125 inclusive jobs created—from box office to board. Built to match passions with professions, it demonstrates community-based, inclusive employment at scale.
✅ Affirmative Hackathon (Brazil)
Zup Innovation’s remote hackathon designed for developers with disabilities: 50 participants yielded 10 hires and 146 candidates added to a talent pool. Serves as model for accessible recruiting and inclusive hiring practices.
Why it matters—The lessons
| Lesson | How to apply it |
|---|---|
| Structured support | Provide job coaching, mentorship, onboarding training (like Amazon’s program). |
| Play to strengths | Design roles using inherent abilities—e.g. pattern‑focused tasks for neurodiverse employees. |
| Hybrid funding models | Combine social enterprise, donations, and community support—Bitty & Beau’s and Prospector Theater show viable models. |
| Accessible recruitment | Use inclusive events (hackathons, remote options) to connect talent with opportunity. |
| Representation matters | Organizations like Specialisterne and advocacy groups normalize inclusion across hiring and governance. |
Broader impact
- People with disabilities bring creativity and resilience that benefit teams and drive productivity.
- Employing neurodiverse talent boosts innovation—studies show productivity gains of up to 30% when inclusive cultures are adopted.
- Employment-first policies at the state level (e.g. Washington, Oregon) show 57–83% success in supporting citizens with disabilities into work—demonstrating what public leadership can do.
COP must evolve with the times, or go down the abyss of irrelevancy.
COP 30 lands in Belém, a vulnerable Amazon city, Nov 10–21, 2025. The host nation hopes to spotlight deforestation, Indigenous rights, and climate inequity. Brazil plans to launch the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)—a proposed $125 billion blended‑finance fund to reward forest conservation.
What’s at risk
- Affordability crisis: Belém has ~18,000 hotel beds for ~45,000 expected attendees. Room rates surged to $700–$2,000/night. Developing nations may be shut out.) Brazil has deployed cruise ships and capped rates for poorer countries—but gaps remain.
- Credibility gap: A new highway cutting through protected rainforest (Avenida Liberdade) contradicts the summit’s conservation message—even though officials deny federal involvement.
- Fossil fuel influence: COP media deal awarded to PR firm Edelman, which also represents Shell—sparking conflict concerns.
Why it may just “kick the can”
- Progress stalled in Bonn: Critical texts—like the Just Transition Work Programme and the Gender Action Plan—are underpowered, with weakening language on Indigenous and gender justice. Negotiations postponed to Belém.
- Ambitious goals, low political will: The annual climate finance scale-up roadmap to $1.3 trillion by 2035 lacks binding commitments. Most countries’ updated NDCs remain underwhelming.
- Logistical chaos: Thousands of civil society, women groups, and youth may be excluded by cost and infrastructure constraints, undermining representation.
Why it still matters
- Location is symbolic: Holding COP in the Amazon aims to humanize climate action, not sanitize it in luxury venues.
- TFFF could deliver: If fully funded by COP or 2026, the forest conservation fund could redefine climate finance.
- Health in focus: A WHO-led Climate & Health conference in Brasília is shaping a Health Action Plan for COP, embedding public health in climate policy.
Bottom line
COP 30 has the potential for impact—but so far, optics risk overshadowing outcomes. High costs, diluted ambition, fossil-fuel influence, and delayed mechanisms could make Belém another kickoff, not a game changer. Unless financial pledges and rights-centered action materialize, COP 30 may merely defer real climate solutions to the next summit.
As people in America–and worldwide–are rethinking their residencies, Brazil offers a unique opportunity.
Why it matters
Brazil’s investor visa (VIPER), launched in 2018 and expanded in 2025, offers straight to permanent residency, family inclusion, and a path to citizenship in ~4 years. Designed to attract foreign capital, it’s one of Latin America’s most competitive options.
✅ Pros
- Low investment threshold: BRL 700K (~USD 140K) in the North/Northeast; BRL 1 M (~USD 200K) in other regions.
- Fast processing: Approval typically in 3–6 months.
- Minimal stay requirement: Spend just ~14 days every 2 years in Brazil to maintain residency.(
- Path to citizenship: Apply after 4 years of residency; dual nationality allowed.
- Family included: Spouse and dependents can join under the same investment.
- Access to MERCOSUR: Freedom to live/work across South America and access public services locally.
❌ Cons & caveats
- Capital-intensive: Though cheaper than many EU programs, still requires upfront investment.
- Low liquidity: Must hold qualifying property or business for residency status.
- Complex documentation: Must transfer funds through formal Brazilian banks; property deed must be fully registered.
- Tax implications: Residents become Brazilian tax-liable; must file global income.
- Risk & bureaucracy: Mistakes in property purchase or application can lead to denial.
⚙️ How it works
- Choose investment route:
- Real estate: BRL 1M (~USD 200K), or BRL 700K in North/Northeast.
- Business investment: As low as BRL 150K (~USD 30K) if it creates jobs or invests in tech.
- Acquire property or company with clean title in urban region.
- Transfer funds via central‑bank‑approved channels.
- Apply via MigrantWeb and attend a brief visit (~30 days in-country).
- Receive temp residency (2–4 years), then upgrade to permanent if holding the investment.
- Citizenship after residency plus Portuguese proficiency and clean record.
Real-world impact
- Stimulates foreign investment into Brazilian real estate and startups.
- Helps diversify global mobility: Dual citizens gain visa-free access to ~171 countries.
- Competitive edge: Lower thresholds than Spain, Portugal, and others, with faster timelines and better climate
Who should consider it
- Remote workers or retirees seeking affordable residency in Latin America
- Investors looking for second passports or access to Mercosur markets
- Entrepreneurs or families seeking global mobility and alternate residency options
Bottom line
Brazil’s Golden Visa isn’t just another residency-by-investment program—it’s a strategic gateway to permanent residency, citizenship, and regional access, at competitive cost and with minimal residency obligations.
Whether you’re buying property in Recife or launching a startup in São Paulo, Brazil offers a forward-facing bridge for global citizens—without the EU price tag.
America’s public media system is stuck in a time warp — built for a world that no longer exists.
Back then…
When the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was founded in 1967, there was:
- ❌ No internet
- ❌ No YouTube
- ❌ No MP3s or MP4s
- ❌ No smartphones
- ❌ No TikTok, file sharing, livestreams, or global DIY distribution
NPR, PBS, and local community stations were born in the age of vinyl and rabbit ears — and many still operate like it’s 1975.
The old model
- Broadcast licenses → transmit radio/TV signals
- Federal subsidies + pledge drives → fund operations
- Audience = passive receivers
All built for one-to-many media when the internet has made everyone a node.
The new reality
Welcome to media in motion:
- Creators self-distribute across platforms
- Real-time news spreads peer-to-peer
- Audiences expect participation, not programming
- Livestreams, podcasts, and video-on-demand rule attention
It’s horse and buggy vs the electric car, and too much of public media is still shoveling hay.
Why it matters
| Then | Now |
|---|---|
| Top-down | Peer-to-peer |
| Static schedules | On-demand, everywhere |
| Centralized stations | Decentralized communities |
| Annual pledge drives | Micro-giving, crowdfunding, subscriptions |
We can’t build the future with our minds in the past. Yet too much of public media clings to legacy systems, dated org charts, and siloed content.
What’s being lost
- Entire generations under 40 have no relationship with public radio or TV
- Community voices, diverse stories, and local impact are drowned out by outdated delivery
- Opportunity for global collaboration, multilingual content, and co-creation is missed
Public media could be a participatory ecosystem — but instead, it’s often a museum exhibit of what media used to be.
What’s next
✅ Shift from broadcast to networked ecosystems
✅ Enable community-owned media nodes
✅ Train creators in digital-first storytelling
✅ Embrace open-source, global collaboration
✅ Reimagine the CPB as a commons infrastructure, not a broadcast subsidy
Bottom line
We don’t do that anymore.
Public media must evolve—or become irrelevant. This is not business as usual. It’s time to flip the script—before the last station fades to static.
