Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

Donna J. Jodhan
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Podcasts By Donna Jodhan feature a variety of audio podcasts that focus on the future of children, particularly those with disabilities. As a blind advocate and entrepreneur, Donna shares her insights, life experiences, and advocacy efforts, aiming to inspire and inform her listeners. Her podcasts cover issues such as accessibility, inclusivity, and breaking down barriers in technology and everyday life, encouraging collective efforts to create a better and more equitable future for all children.

  1. Jun 25

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #96: Interview with Gail Sinclair, Retired Lawyer, Department of Justice, Government of Canada

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #96: Interview with Gail Sinclair, Retired Lawyer, Department of Justice, Government of Canada https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-06-25-2026/ In this illuminating episode of Remarkable World Commentary, host Donna Jodhan sits down with Gail Sinclair, a lawyer who recently retired after more than three decades with the Department of Justice, and who years earlier was lead counsel for the Government of Canada on the opposite side of Donna's landmark accessibility case. Gail traces her path into law (a large, rule-bound family; a degree in both civil and common law, in both French and English) and her career representing the public interest on constitutional questions, from the same-sex marriage reference to electoral and democratic rights. The heart of the conversation is Jodhan v. Canada, the case that forced the federal government to make its websites accessible, told from her vantage as opposing counsel: Justice Kelen's Federal Court ruling, the 15-month suspended declaration, the appeal written by Justice Nadon, and the harder constitutional question the case ultimately turned on (whether a trial judge may keep supervisory jurisdiction over a Charter remedy once it is under appeal, a point on which Canada prevailed, echoing Doucet-Boudreau). They also revisit Donna's later ArriveCAN human-rights complaint, the role of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, memorable courtroom moments and expert witnesses (Cynthia Waddell and Jutta Treviranus), and the line Gail draws from Donna's case to the Accessible Canada Act. She closes with advice for anyone weighing whether to stand up for their rights: be brave, get educated, and prevail. TRANSCRIPT Podcast Commentator: Greetings. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, and MBA, invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills, and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna Jodhan: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary. I am Donna J. Jodhan, a lifelong disability advocate, and one who sees the world mainly through sound, touch, and stubborn optimism. I am a law graduate, an accessibility consultant, an author, and a lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be blind. You may know me from a few headline moments. In November 2010, I won the landmark Charter case that forced the Canadian government to make its websites accessible to every Canadian, not just [sighted?] ones. In July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act, with more than two dozen disability groups, to turn equal access into federal law. And most recently, on June the 3rd, 2022, I was greatly humbled by Her Late Majesty's Platinum Jubilee Award for tireless commitment to removing barriers. When I'm not in a courtroom, a committee room, or a pottery studio, you will find me coaching kids with vision loss, producing audio mysteries, or helping to teach companies to make their gadgets talk back in plain language. Everything I do circles one goal: to turn accessibility from an afterthought into everyday practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench, where policy meets lived experience, and lived experiences sparks fresh ideas. Now, before we jump into today's conversation, let me shine a spotlight on today's guest — a change maker whose work is every bit as remarkable as the world that we are trying to build. I am pleased, and I am privileged, and I am honored to welcome Gail Sinclair to our podcast. Welcome, Gail. Gail Sinclair: Thank you, Donna. Donna Jodhan: So we are going to discuss your remarkable journey. And we're going to start. Gail, welcome to our World Commentary. Before we get to the case that first brought us together, I want our listeners to know you. You retired this past December after more than three decades with the Department of Justice. What first drew you to the law? Gail Sinclair: Good question, Donna. I grew up in a large, boisterous family where there were a lot of rules. My dad was a hero, but he'd drop bombs on Germany in World War Two, so there tended to be very firmly enforced rules. And as a middle child, as a girl, I wasn't always convinced that the rules were applied fairly or evenly. And so I wanted to go to law school to learn about rules and how they should be applied. Donna Jodhan: My goodness, I can understand that, because I too wanted to be a lawyer when I was growing up. But Dad thought that the courtroom was only for [men?], and so I did not belong there. But this being said, let's go to our next question. You earned a law degree in both civil law and common law, and you worked in both English and French. You even began in French language and literature. How did this bilingual, two-legal-traditions foundation shape the lawyer that you became? Gail Sinclair: I think learning the traditions of Canada's two legal systems and our two official languages taught me that there are more than one way to solve a problem, and they're all viable and worth exploring. And we have a fascinating country made up of different traditions, and it behooves us to know them and to apply them. Donna Jodhan: Well, that is quite a feat in both languages. Oh my goodness, I didn't know this about you until now. Gail Sinclair: Well, I remember doing my civil law degree at Université de Montréal, which came after my common law degree. They said to me, 'Well, you can write your exams in English.' And I thought, how silly is that? You study exclusively in the French language. In French, [it] is not a mortgage in English; it's a different legal system. So to say to us that, for exams, you could write in English — I thought that was a misapprehension. The journey that you take, you are completely immersed in one world from another, and then you get to have this continual conversation with yourself, and with some professors who are interested in comparative law: 'Oh, that's so interesting that civil law does it this way, and common law does it this way.' Donna Jodhan: Oh my goodness. Now, you spent a career representing the public interest on some of the hardest constitutional questions that this country has faced. What did that work mean to you? Gail Sinclair: It was a tremendous honor. It was fascinating. It schooled me in what I refer to as the quintessential Canadian compromise. Canada is an extraordinary country, and still an extraordinary possibility. But we have so many people within, and we have our two legal traditions, our official languages, and then we have our Indigenous languages. We have people from all around the world. And to blend that in terms of the public interest was a tremendous honor. I think in a different life, I might have wanted to run as a member of Parliament. A lot of my work was about section three, the right to vote, and to be involved in these fundamental democracy issues in the first 30 years of the Charter was just fascinating — probing work about representation and democracy. And as we all know, democracy is more at risk in the Western world than it has been in many a year. And so it was just a fascinating journey, and an honor to represent the Attorney General of Canada — which is to represent, for the courts, that balance between individual rights and what section one demands of us, which is effectively bringing to bear the interest other than the individual who is challenging the law or a policy. Donna Jodhan: I think it's so very interesting for me personally to hear you talk about this, because you don't really have the opportunity to ask too many lawyers these questions. So I do want to thank you for this, and I think it's great. Gail Sinclair: I'll just add one of the cases that I was involved in, from literally the Friday afternoon when it came in the door — I was acting as a manager at the time — was the litigation challenging the opposite-sex nature of marriage. And so I was involved in that case probably, I'm guessing, seven years, until the Ontario Court of Appeal — the second appellate court, third appellate court — rendered a decision saying opposite-sex marriage is unconstitutional. It's judge-made law, and so we change it now. And a same-sex marriage was conducted on the lawn of Osgoode Hall that afternoon. The government went through a fascinating process of deciding how to respond to this. The B.C. Court of Appeal had rendered its judgment but suspended the declaration, and I think Quebec had done so, or shortly thereafter. The Ontario Court of Appeal spoke, and the government decided that they wanted to accept these judgments of three of Canada's appellate courts. They were concerned about whether they could enact legislation to change the definition of marriage and get it through the Parliament of Canada. And so they took a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada. And that journey was an absolutely fascinating journey. I, with my colleague Michael Moore, have written an article about the history of the reference — a good publication paying tribute to Peter Hogg, because he was our ultimate lead counsel. And it was just a fascinating journey. I saw some of my colleagues who I worked with, who were visible minorities, who had immigrated to Canada and were in same-sex relationships. And it was only when Canada opened up marriage to same-sex couples that their parents accepted them in their love relationships. And that was very moving to

    54 min

  2. Jun 2

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #95: Ask Advocate Donna

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #95: Ask Advocate Donna | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-06-02-2026/ In this instructive episode of Remarkable World Commentary, Donna J. Jodhan presents her recurring "Ask Advocate Donna" segment, opening with two reflective word-game pairings she invites listeners to ponder: defensive versus offensive, and sympathy versus empathy. She resists treating either as an either-or choice, arguing that a seasoned advocate must learn when each posture or response is appropriate rather than committing to one. She frames the whole episode with her guiding ethos, borrowed in spirit from a "let's make it better than possible" sentiment, that advocacy means refusing to settle for merely acceptable outcomes. The heart of the episode is three listener-submitted scenarios, each dissected through the same four-part lens of what advocacy is, who gets involved, why it is necessary, and how to begin. A woman using a wheelchair, Lucy, is turned away from a concert hall officials claim cannot accommodate her; a boy, Hamid, is denied entry to his condo pool because a lifeguard fears being unable to communicate with him in English; and a blind woman is told a call-center job was "just filled," then bluntly informed she could not be hired because of her vision impairment, which Donna labels outright discrimination. For each, she models how the affected person and their allies can challenge the gatekeepers, question officials, and enlist support from advocacy organizations. She closes by inviting listener feedback at donnajodhan@gmail.com. TRANSCRIPT Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills, and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Greetings, everybody. And I'm Donna J. Jordan, your host for the Remarkable World Commentary, my second podcast for June. My goodness, we are up to June. So this podcast is titled Ask Advocate Donna. It's for the month of June. And what do we have in our bag of tricks for this month for you? I want to start off with this. My favorite quote is this. Speak in such a way that others would want to listen to you and listen in such a way that others would want to speak to you. I truly believe in this quotation. I also have something new to add for you. And it is this. Let's make it better than possible. Let's not just sit there and say it's possible. We got to make it better than possible. And I got this term from former prime minister, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who started his term in office in 2015 with that quote. Let's make it better than possible. So let me start with my favorite word game for your consideration and for your pondering. And it is this defensive or offensive. So many times in an advocate's career or in an advocate's journey, they're faced with these two terms, they are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Okay. Defensive or offensive? Which is it going to be? For me, it is a mixture of both. Learning when to be defensive, learning when to be offensive. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I don't think one can go either way or, you know, be always being defensive or always being offensive. Now there are some advocates who thrive on being offensive, other advocates who feel that it is necessary to be defensive. For me, I think it's a mixture of both knowing when to be defensive, knowing when to be offensive. Okay. Here's another pair of terms for your Consideration, sympathy or empathy. Most people really appreciate when empathy is shown, but in many cases, sympathy is often necessary. Both terms are close in proximity to each other. I believe in both. I believe in showing sympathy as a long time advocate, and I also believe that empathy is necessary as well. Sympathy versus empathy. Which is it going to be? And I think you have to choose the circumstance where you believe that either one is applicable. All right. I'd love to hear your thoughts. So write to me at Donna jordan@gmail.com. That's GODHAN at g mail.com. Let me know what your thoughts are. I would be really interested to know. Okay. All right. Each month I provide you with stories that I have gathered over the years, or people or listeners and readers send it to me and I share these with you. Here's the title to the first story. There was a lady in a wheelchair who was denied entry to a concert. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Lucy had gotten had gotten sorry, dressed up for this concert. She really wanted to go. And when she and her friends got to the hall to hand in their tickets for this anticipated concert, Lucy was told that she could not enter the concert area. When she asked why was she being denied entry to the concert, she was told it was because she was in a wheelchair. Just imagine when her friends started to ask questions. The group was told by officials that the hall could not accommodate anyone in a wheelchair. Just imagine. What would you advise Lucy and her friends to do? I know what I would, but I want to know what you would. Okay, so Lucy is being denied entry to a hall. Concert hall? Because she's in a wheelchair. When her friends ask why, they are told That because the concert hall is not accessible for a person in a wheelchair in these modern days, this is not acceptable in these modern days. This is horrible in these modern days. This is a sad, sad statement for anyone to make. Okay, so what are the points here? The major points. What is advocacy? Advocacy is when something is not right and something needs to be done. And in this case, Lucy being denied entry to the concert hall because it is not set up for a person in a wheelchair and who gets involved in advocacy, Lucy to start with, and then her friends, which is what they did, they started to question the persons at the desk. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: The customer reps. The customer agents. Okay. And why is it necessary? Because something is not right to tell a person that you cannot enter a concert hall because it is not set up for a wheelchair or a person in a wheelchair is not right. And how does one get involved in advocacy in this case? Simply look at what Lucy and her friends did. Her friends started to ask questions and challenged, you know, the concert folks, the concert hall officials. That is what advocacy is. That's how you get involved in advocacy. And when do you do that again? When something is not kosher All right. Okay. Let me go to the second story of the month shared with me by another listener. All right. A boy was denied entry to a swimming pool because he did not speak English. This is Canada, remember? And we have always thrived on the reputation that Canada is an open country to any and everyone entering it or living in it. And Hamid was looking forward to swimming in the pool in his condo complex. And when he got to the swimming pool on this very hot summer's day, he was told by the lifeguard that he could not go swimming. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, Hamid's elder brother, Ali, had told the lifeguard that Hamid could not speak English. What would you advise Hamid and Ali to do? You have a younger brother? Hamid doesn't speak English. His older brother Ali telling the lifeguard just that. And now there is trouble brewing ahead. Okay. What Ali did, I think is the right thing. Ali then took his brother back to their condo and told the parents what was going on. Okay. At first the parents said, well, maybe the lifeguard is correct in that, you know, Hamid doesn't speak English and there might be a barrier or a communications problem if Hamid were to get into difficulty while swimming. But his brother Ali was there who spoke perfect English. So this is a very tough call. Is a lifeguard correct? In saying that, Hamid would be denied entry because he didn't speak English? Because they were afraid for their own I wouldn't say their own jobs, but they were afraid that if Hamid got into trouble, they wouldn't know how to communicate with him. And they'd have to depend on Ali to help Hamid. What do you think? Okay. So who gets involved in advocacy if this is pushed? Ali and his parents, because Hamid probably knows what is going on, but cannot advocate on his own for himself because he doesn't speak English. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And why is it necessary? Well, it is necessary if you want to push the case that Hamid is entitled to go swimming, despite the fact that he cannot speak English. So it's going to be a very interesting discussion between Hamid and Ali and their family, their parents and the lifeguard and his supervisors. Because on the one hand, Hamid should be entitled to go swimming. But on the other hand, because he doesn't speak English, as you know, how is the lifeguard or how can the lifeguard communicate with him if something is wrong or they need to tell him something? He would need, he would have second hand a second hand opinion from the lifeguard because they'd have to go through Ali. So it's all a second hand relay to honey from the guards. And is this correct? We don't know. Only fruitful discussion will determine how to get around this. Right. How do you get involved in this type of advocacy? It's really the parents who have to start it with Ali's account. And then they go step by step from there. Really. And when do you get involved in ad

    19 min

  3. Jun 1

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #94: Who is Being Left Behind?

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #94: Who is Being Left Behind? | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-06-01-2026/ In this impassioned episode of Remarkable World Commentary, Donna J. Jodhan turns her attention to a question that recurs throughout the world of advocacy: who is being left behind? She identifies three groups bearing the brunt of rapid technological change, seniors who often cannot afford up-to-date devices or keep pace with shifting tools, persons with disabilities who are shut out by apps and websites built without accessibility features, and the technically challenged who never grew up with technology and now struggle to keep up. Donna argues that inaccessible apps and websites are not a neutral inconvenience but an active form of exclusion, and she presses companies to actually sit down with these communities to understand why they feel left out, reminding her audience that seniors in particular are bread-and-butter consumers too easily ignored. She closes with her monthly highlight of a stressful life circumstance, this month focusing on the experience of losing one's home, whether through financial hardship or conflict with family or friends. Calling a home a person's dynasty, the place where one resides, thinks, feels, and lives, Donna frames its loss as among the most distressing circumstances anyone can face. She invites listeners to share their own perspectives and feedback at donnajodhan@gmail.com. TRANSCRIPT Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills, and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everyone and greetings from me. I'm Donna Jordan, your remarkable world commentary person for the month of June. This is my first biweekly podcast for June and I hope that everybody is doing fine. And I'm just so happy that June is finally here so that we could enjoy some wonderful, wonderful weather. So what's on my mind for this month? What am I most interested in talking about or sharing with you? For the month of June. And it's all about this. Who is being left behind. And I really do not think that this is a topic that is new or that is strange to anyone who is in the land of advocacy. I don't. I think it's a topic that we continue to talk about. It's a topic or a subject that we continue to mull over, and we're constantly trying to find solutions to these challenges and these problems. So who's being left behind? In my opinion, seniors. Let's look at why seniors have often been left behind, especially so when technology comes into play. And, you know, most companies, most entities honestly believe that they are using technology to forge ahead to increase their customer base, to increase their revenues because they feel that this is the right thing to do. What they fail to realize, and I apologize if someone thinks that this is a facetious statement to make is that seniors are not always ready, able and willing to grapple with rapidly changing technology. A lot of them can't even afford to have the technical pieces needed, i.e. devices, computers with up to date software. So they are being left behind, and it is becoming more and more of a fight to get companies to understand this. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: After all, seniors are our bread and butter consumers. But a lot of people don't realize this or fail to understand or simply ignore. Okay? Or avoid the whole subject altogether. Persons with disabilities is yet another group. How many times have I personally advocated for companies to really sit down with persons with disabilities to understand why. Why they feel that they are being left behind or being left out. Because a lot of the apps that are being developed these days do not contain accessibility features, and persons with disabilities still need to depend on a sighted person or a person with more expertise to help them out. That means that they are being left out and being left behind. Okay, but technically, challenge is yet another group. And who are the technically challenged? The technically challenged are those who did not grow up with technology, who are still struggling to use technology to be able to keep up. Inaccessible apps really play a part in both seniors and technically disabled and persons with disabilities. Not being able to keep up. They're being left behind. They're there being left out. And I know that apps are becoming more and more the way of the world to interact, to purchase, to, to seek information, to do all kinds of things. And it's great, but these groups are being left out. Okay. When inaccessible websites exist and if there's not a good enough reason, and I don't think there is a good enough reason for an inaccessible website, it means, again, that seniors, persons with disabilities and the technically challenged are being left out and are being left behind. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: That is my rant for today. Okay. This is what I truly believe, and I hope that someone listening is going to give me some feedback. Write to me at Donna jordan@gmail.com. That's donnajodhan@gmail.com. Okay, I look forward to hearing from you. Now, I always promise myself that every month I'll do my best to highlight a story that becomes very stressful for anyone who gets into such a circumstance. And for this month, we're going to talk about when someone loses a home. Okay, it's very stressful for someone to lose her home, whether it's through financial circumstances or an in-fight with the family, or an in-fight with friends or an in-fight with somebody. Losing a home is not an easy thing. It is one of the most stressful circumstances that anyone could ever hope not to get into. Your home is your dynasty. Your home is where you reside. Your home is where you think, where you do, where you feel. And when you lose that home after whether it's just a few years or many years of living there, it is very stressful. So this is one of the stories I just wanted to highlight for this month. Losing a home. I'm Donna J. Jordan, and I do thank you for listening to me for the month of June. My first episode. All right. Being left out. And you have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon. Bye for now. Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at donnajodhan@gmail.com. Until next time.

    9 min

  4. May 21

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #93: Interview with Dr. Alan Chase, Director, EyeRetreat.org

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #93: Interview with Dr. Alan Chase, Director, EyeRetreat.org | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-05-21-2026/ In this forward-looking episode of Remarkable World Commentary, Donna welcomes back Dr. Alan Chase, founder of the EYE Retreat, a one-week intensive summer program now in its 19th year, hosted at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in North Carolina, for an update on what's cooking for the 2026 cohort. Alan walks listeners through how a weekend gathering of about 15 students has grown into a packed week-and-a-half program serving roughly 40 students this summer with a waiting list, staffed entirely by volunteers and funded principally by the Lions Club and the Delta Gamma Foundation. He breaks down the camp's two parallel tracks, a college track that takes students from choosing a school, picking a major, and learning self-advocacy through navigating course catalogs, accommodations, and campus resources, to a final personal-roadmap presentation; and an entrepreneurship track that walks students from generating a business idea, through fine-tuning, business-plan development, and a Shark-Tank-style investor pitch by the end of the week, alongside the dorm-suite living arrangement of four students sharing two rooms and one bathroom that doubles as a real-world classroom in communication, scheduling, and social problem-solving. What gives this conversation its larger weight, however, is the through-line of capacity-building. Alan returns repeatedly to the camp's mission of growing the next generation, bringing students back as mentors, then as coordinators responsible for recreation, dorms, and entire tracks, so that leadership skills are forged alongside academic and entrepreneurial ones. Together Donna and Alan name the still-unsolved barriers in the field: the social side of education that academic accommodations alone don't address; the roughly seventy-one-percent unemployment rate among visually impaired adults that Donna cites; the irony that some countries' low official unemployment numbers come from government-set-aside jobs that strip away self-determination; and the rising population of young people with multiple disabilities whose lives are now being saved by medical advances and who deserve every path to independence. Alan closes with his wish that the educational system embrace the whole child, including the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum researchers have identified as essential to independent life, and Donna closes with the news that she will attend the EYE Retreat in person at the end of July for the first time, after participating virtually since 2024. TRANSCRIPT Advertisement: This podcast brought to you by Pneuma Solutions. Advertisement: I can't see it. Advertisement: ADA Title II has a real compliance deadline. April 2026. Public entities are required to make their digital content accessible, including websites, PDFs, reports, applications, and public records. If a document cannot be read with a screen reader, it is not compliant and if it is not compliant, blind people are still being denied equal access. For a clear explanation of what the rule requires, visit www.title2.info. It's one of the leading resources explaining what agencies must do and when. This message is brought to you by Pneuma Solutions, we have remediated hundreds of thousands of pages in days, not months or years, aligned with WCAG 2 AA guidelines at a fraction of traditional costs. Accessibility isn't a privilege, it's a right. Now that you know, ask your agencies a simple question, are your documents actually accessible? Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary. I'm Donna J. Jodhan, a lifelong disability advocate and one who sees the world mainly through sound, touch and stubborn optimism. I am a law graduate and accessibility consultant, author, lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be blind. You may know me from a few headline moments, as in November 2010, I won the landmark charter case that forced the Canadian government to make its website accessible to every Canadian, not just to cited ones. And in July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act with more than two dozen disability groups to turn equal access into federal law, and most recently, on June 3rd, 2023, I was tremendously humbled by Her Late Majesty. S Platinum Jubilee Award for tireless commitment to removing barriers. And when I'm not in a courtroom or a committee room or a pottery studio, you'll find me coaching kids with vision loss, producing audio mysteries, or helping tech companies to make their gadgets talk back in plain language. Everything I do circles one goal to turn accessibility from an afterthought into everyday practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench, where policy meets lived experience and lived experience sparks fresh ideas. Now, before we jump into today's conversation, let me shine a spotlight on today's guest, a changemaker whose work is every bit as remarkable as the world that we are trying to build. I am pleased to welcome back Doctor Allen Chase, who was with us last June. Welcome, Doctor Allen. And how are you doing today? Dr. Alan Chase: Well thank you Donna. I am doing I am doing great and thank you for having me back. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh it's my pleasure. I'm dying to know what's cooking in your world. What are you up to? And tell us about what's going on with the camp in July. What are you planning? Dr. Alan Chase: Yeah, well, you know, I think the first and foremost, the the world of disability advocacy is, is ever changing. It's it's never quiet. It's never static. It ebbs. It ebbs and flows. Yes. And that's sort of where I live. I live right in, in the, in the mix of that, where it all intersects. And I think one thing that has always been very, very intriguing to me is how do we build capacity among, you know, our, our students, our young adults. So then they can be the these change makers because eventually people like you and I, you know, we're, we're going to go do other things. We're going to we're going to retire and we're going to enjoy life and. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. Dr. Alan Chase: We have to build the next generation. And so that's, that's one thing that, that I, I really set out to do. And so you mentioned, and we talked about this last year and, and you, you asked, well, how's the camp coming this year? Well, so, you know, the, the I retreat this is our 19th year. Wow. Yeah. And, you know, I would never have thought 19 years ago when this idea popped into my head. I would never have thought that we would be where, where we are today, where remarkably, we as, as it stands now, the, the demand has been so great. We have a waitlist this year. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: No way. Dr. Alan Chase: We do. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. Okay. Yeah. Tell us more. Dr. Alan Chase: Yeah, well, we just, we don't have, you know, so we are very, very lucky that, you know, we work collaboratively with the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in North Carolina, and there's only so much space. You know, we the I would love for, for it to be endless opportunity. But you know, the reality is, is that you're, you're only as big as, as your space, you know, allows. So we I think right now we have, we're somewhere in the 40s, we have around 40 or so that are coming and oh yes. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh my lord. Alright. Dr. Alan Chase: Yeah. So and, you know, we, we, we always try to change things up. So we have a, a very robust schedule for the coming year to expose people to you know, how to, and, you know, we have the, we have the two, the two tracks. So there's one track for us going to college and learning how to be a college student. And then there's another one for being an entrepreneur because, you know, one thing that we've learned over the years is that, you know, you might have a lot of, you know, academic credentials, you may have a lot of good experience, but there's still a barrier with employability. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: So yeah. Dr. Alan Chase: Yeah. So sometimes you have to make your own, your own path in life. And that path might be starting your own business. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, indeed. Dr. Alan Chase: Yep. So I think our last year, the last couple of years our entrepreneurship track has been a little larger than our college track. This, this year it's, it's about 5050. Dr. Alan Chase: And, you know, as I mentioned, we're we're looking at some creative ways to, to get people out there to, to show them, you know, different, different job opportunities that they, that they might find useful, beneficial, you know obviously accessibility work is, is one of those areas because that's a natural skill. It's something that you live and you breathe every day because you're, you're a user, you're a user of assistive technology. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right? Dr. Alan Chase: So, so that's one area. But then, you know, we also recognize that some, some folks may have other aspirations. They mayb

    49 min

  5. May 19

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #92: Interview with Paul Gareau

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #92: Interview with Paul Gareau | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-05-19-2026/ In this deeply nostalgic episode of Remarkable World Commentary, Donna welcomes Paul Gareau, retired Executive Director of the Montreal Association for the Blind (MAB) and architect of the 2006 MAB-Mackay merger that became today's Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre, for a conversation tracing his thirty-year journey from Loyola sociology graduate, to University of Toronto Master of Social Work scholarship student, to the lone social worker for 1,800 students at a Sherbrooke high school, and on into the leadership rooms of one of Canada's most beloved disability-services institutions. Paul walks listeners through residential life at the Penfield Reception Centre, his Concordia Diploma in Institutional Administration earned in night classes while running MAB full-time, and the remarkable breadth of services under his stewardship, from the low-vision clinic, talking-book library, and Gilman Residence to the Philip E. Layton School, the technical-aids boutique, the Employment Integration Program, the Braille production unit, and a service of more than 300 volunteers. What makes this conversation unforgettable is that it is also a reunion. Paul was once Donna's own social worker and the person who recommended the surgeon Dr. Joel Rosen for her first corneal transplant; Donna herself lived at Penfield for a year and a half at the start of her Montreal journey. Together they recall the late Dr. John Simms, who appeared at her hospital bedside after her 1981 accident; the formidable Irene Lambert, whose voice helped keep right-turn-on-red out of Montreal; lifelong best friend Charlene; and volunteer reader Jill Bond, with whom Donna still travels Europe. The episode closes with Paul's post-retirement strategic-planning consulting and board work with the Pillars Trust Fund, including pandemic-era funding so parishes could stream masses during COVID, and his three enduring lessons: keep your eye on the mission, adjust quickly to changing circumstances, and remember that every challenge carries an opportunity inside it. TRANSCRIPT Advertisement: This podcast brought to you by Pneuma Solutions. Advertisement: I can't see it. Advertisement: ADA Title II has a real compliance deadline. April 2026. Public entities are required to make their digital content accessible, including websites, PDFs, reports, applications, and public records. If a document cannot be read with a screen reader, it is not compliant and if it is not compliant, blind people are still being denied equal access. For a clear explanation of what the rule requires, visit www.title2.info. It's one of the leading resources explaining what agencies must do and when. This message is brought to you by Pneuma Solutions, we have remediated hundreds of thousands of pages in days, not months or years, aligned with WCAG 2 AA guidelines at a fraction of traditional costs. Accessibility isn't a privilege, it's a right. Now that you know, ask your agencies a simple question, are your documents actually accessible? Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary. I am Donna J. Jodhan, a lifelong disability advocate and one who sees the world mainly through sound, touch and stubborn optimism. I am a law graduate, an accessibility consultant, author, lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be blind. You may know me from a few headline moments, as in November 2010, I won the landmark charter case that forced the Canadian government to make its websites accessible to every Canadian, not just to sighted ones. And in July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act with more than two dozen disability groups to turn equal access into federal law. And most recently, on June the 3rd, 2022, I was greatly humbled by Her Late Majesty Platinum Jubilee Award for her tireless work with with tireless work and commitment to removing barriers. When I'm not in a courtroom or a committee room or a pottery studio, you will find me coaching kids with vision loss, producing audio mysteries, or helping tech companies to make their gadgets talk back in plain language. Everything I do circles one goal to turn accessibility from an afterthought into everyday practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench, where policy meets lived experience and lived experience sparks fresh ideas. Now, before we jump into today's conversation, let me shine a spotlight on today's guest, a change maker whose work is every bit as remarkable as the world that we are trying to build. I am honored and I am pleased and privileged to welcome Paul Garrow. Paul and I go back a very long time, and I will share with my listeners that Paul is responsible for the doctor who gave me my first corneal transplant, doctor, Joel Rosen. Paul, welcome to our podcast. Paul Gareau: Thank you so much, Donna. It's a real pleasure to be with you and touch base with you again. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, indeed. So, Paul, after Loyola, you went on to earn your Master of Social work at the University of Toronto on a full academic scholarship. And then you came back to Quebec to work with the Polyvalent secondary school population at the centre de service socio the last three in Sherbrooke. What pulled you toward direct on this ground? Social work with young people in those very first years of your career. Paul Gareau: The interesting question. Thanks, Donna. I, I, I went to Loyola High School, as you mentioned, and then I went to Loyola College to get a B.A. in sociology, and I found it fascinating to study societal problems. But I thought, you know, I wouldn't mind trying to do something about them. So I investigated social work. I had taken an introduction to social work course in my undergraduate studies, and the prof was was a practitioner and he brought in different community group representatives. And I just thought it was fascinating. So I applied to U of T and got into their Master of Social work program. And I had a number of different placements. And it was at that time that I realized that I was really drawn to working with youth. So I had the opportunity to do so at, as you mentioned, at the Saint Silvester in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and I was hired to work at a high school to be the social worker there. And I was very anxious to start. When I got there, there were 1800 kids and there was one social worker. So I had a lot to learn. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh, Whoa! Paul Gareau: Yeah, but I was I was drawn to it because young people can go through difficult times. And it was my feeling that if they could make it through those challenges at that at that young age, it can really make a difference to their life then and in the years going forward. So it was it was fascinating to work. I had, as I said, I had much to learn as a young neophyte social worker, but it was a it was a fascinating experience and one I treasured. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, in 1976, you joined the Montreal Association for the blind as a social worker. The start of what became a 30 year journey. Looking back, what was it about the MLB and the visually impaired community in Montreal that captured your heart and made you decide to stay? Paul Gareau: Yeah. I remember coming to the Montreal Association for the blind, for my for my job interview. And when I walked into the place, it was just so welcoming. I'm sure that you and your listeners have had that same experience. You walked into an organization and it just felt good. It felt welcoming, and it felt like a place you'd want to be. Right. The people, as you know, because you were you're a part of the family. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, I was. Paul Gareau: People were so warm. They were friendly. They were professional. It felt like a good place to be. And I also, during that day that I was doing the interview, I had the opportunity to meet with blind and visually impaired staff and clients. And I realized in speaking with them and spending some time that I could, I could really have a lot that I could learn from them. So I was fortunate I got the job. And as you say, it was the beginning of what ended up being a 30 year career at the Mab. I was and I was just really fortunate to have been a part of the Mabee family for, for all those years. It was was a great place to work. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: It sure was. And I will always remember the first day I walked in there, I was just a kid. I was a teenager. And it was so welcoming, you know, like people were great people, you know, reached out, want to help you out and everything. I remember the day you became our social worker and, you know, it was quite something else. You know. Paul Gareau: We won't say how many years ago that. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: No, no, no, we don't, we won't, we won't know. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Gosh, now, many of our listeners may not realize that the Penfield's reception Center, which you directed from 1979 to 1985, was formally opened to the Mab in 1973 by the legendary neurosurgeon, Docto

    50 min

  6. May 12

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #89: Interview with Ben Akuoko, MSW, Advocate of Diversity & Inclusion, Public Speaker, Consultant, Entertainer, Community Connector

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #89: Interview with Ben Akuoko, MSW, Advocate of Diversity & Inclusion, Public Speaker, Consultant, Entertainer, Community Connector | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-05-12-2026/ In this candid and deeply motivating episode of Remarkable World Commentary: Donna sits down with Bernard "Ben" Akuoko, social worker, disability advocate, and founder of The Brightside Scope, to trace his journey from a two-year-old diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa to one of Canada's most thoughtful voices at the intersection of race, culture, and disability. Ben opens up about the moment in grade three when he realized the other kids could see the board and he could not, the years he spent pretending to read books just to earn classroom stars, and the disorienting friction of growing up in a Ghanaian household where disability was tied to religion and curses, while his school was already teaching him Braille and a white cane that his parents told him to put away the moment he came home. He shares the loneliness of his teenage and twenty-something years, the racial profiling and false theft accusations he has weathered as a Black man with low vision, and the cognitive-behavioral counseling that finally helped him stop hiding his disability, even from friends who had known him for ten years and still did not know what was going on with his eyes. In the second half, Donna and Ben walk through his improbable academic climb from a D-grade elementary student who was almost held back, through first-year university academic probation, to a Bachelor of Social Work at Laurentian University, where he was the only Black male in his graduating class, and finally to a Master of Social Work at Renison University College at the University of Waterloo. They close on the work Ben is doing now through The Brightside Scope, his platform for showing what race, culture, and disability look like when they are finally talked about together, on his life as a boxing-training, marathon-running, Ghana-colors-on-his-cane advocate who refuses to victimize himself, and on the book he has already begun drafting, one Donna has promised to be among the first to read. TRANSCRIPT Advertisement: This podcast brought to you by Pneuma Solutions. Advertisement: I can't see it. Advertisement: ADA Title II has a real compliance deadline. April 2026. Public entities are required to make their digital content accessible, including websites, PDFs, reports, applications, and public records. If a document cannot be read with a screen reader, it is not compliant and if it is not compliant, blind people are still being denied equal access. For a clear explanation of what the rule requires, visit www.title2.info. It's one of the leading resources explaining what agencies must do and when. This message is brought to you by Pneuma Solutions, we have remediated hundreds of thousands of pages in days, not months or years, aligned with WCAG 2 AA guidelines at a fraction of traditional costs. Accessibility isn't a privilege, it's a right. Now that you know, ask your agencies a simple question, are your documents actually accessible? Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary. I'm Donna J. Jodhan, a lifelong disability advocate and one who sees the world mainly through sound, touch and stubborn optimism. I am a law graduate, accessibility consultant, author, lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be, who also happens to be blind. You may know me from a few headline moments, as in November 2010, I won the landmark charter case that forced the Canadian government to make its websites accessible to every Canadian, not just his sighted ones. And in July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act with more than two dozen disability groups to turn equal access into federal law. And most recently, on June the 3rd, 2022, I was very humbled by Her Late Majesty's Platinum Jubilee Award for tireless commitment to removing barriers. When I'm not in a courtroom or in a committee room or in a pottery studio, you'll find me coaching kids with vision loss, producing audio mysteries, or helping tech companies to make their gadgets talk back in real time. Everything I do circles one goal to turn accessibility from an afterthought into everyday practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench, where a policy meets lived experience and lived experience sparks fresh ideas. Now, before we jump into today's conversation, let me shine a spotlight on today's guest, a change maker whose work is every bit as remarkable as the world that we are trying to build. Ben Akuoko, welcome to my podcast and it is a pleasure to have you. Ben Akuoko: Absolutely. Thank you so much. And it is an honor just hearing all those credentials and the lived experience that you have experienced. It is an absolute honor being here. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Thank you very much. So, Ben, if I may call you Ben? Ben Akuoko: Yeah. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Welcome to the remarkable world of commentary. I would love to begin where so many of our listeners begin. And this is at the very beginning. And when you were diagnosed with retina. Retinitis pigmentosa at the age of two. Can you take us back to those early years and tell us how that diagnosis shaped the way that you understood yourself, your family, and the world around you? Ben Akuoko: Wonderful. Very good question. Absolutely. And I liked how you brought in the sector of family, because when it comes to any disability, being diagnosed to someone when they're young, family is a huge part, so it does affect the family as much as it affects the person, especially when it's the parents. So even with that said, as you may mentioned, with retinitis pigmentosa, I was diagnosed at two years old and even growing up as a young person because the eye condition, although you have it when you're earlier in the years of having the eye condition, you could pass as a person who sighted. So I didn't fully understand that I was a person who had low vision. Ben Akuoko: So with that said, I thought all the other kids saw like me, right. So I would still use regular prints, but I would have to have lights. And then also I would play basketball and football and play sports and video games. Just I would sit closer to the TV when I'm playing video games and with sports, I, I was a little bit more clumsier, but I totally never knew I had any form of a disability. A visual disability at all. So with that, it was years of finally understanding. So I remember when I was in grade three, which I believe you're seven years old. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right? Ben Akuoko: And I noticed that like all the kids are looking on the board and taking notes. And then there was me who was like, I can't see the board. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Like, oh, dear. Yes. Ben Akuoko: So it's like, what is what's going on in my little mind? Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes. Wow. Ben Akuoko: Yeah. Like what's going on? And then it was times, and I told this story before. It was times where we'd get to pick out a book during reading time. And I remember I'd pick out a book and I'd pretend to read a book because you used to get stars for all the books you read, right? But I couldn't even see the book. So there was probably times I had it like, upside down. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh gosh. Yes. Ben Akuoko: And then here I am pretending to read the book. So I think as I got older, I was like, okay, I am different. And yeah, I remember when I was only in grade three, they taught me they were starting to teach me Braille. Ben Akuoko: And using a cane. And it was so confusing, like I found through elementary school, it was very confusing because I'm like, what is going on? I, I can see fine. Like, I don't get why you're teaching me and you're teaching me cane skills and I'm going to camp with other kids with blindness, low vision. But even with that said, it was the fact that with retinitis pigmentosa, you eventually lose your vision. And as you get older, it gradually gets worse. So pretty much they were preparing me for for the future. So I am very grateful. Although I still have some usable vision, I am very grateful that I learned cane skills because I'm a full time cane user, and then also Braille like I do use Braille moderately. So pretty much with if I didn't learn Braille, I'd be trapped in a lot of elevators. Ben Akuoko: That's what I gotta say for sure. So yeah, just even in the journey, I feel like as I got older, I started to understand my vision loss and how vision loss is a spectrum. And then I know probably the hardest times with vision loss was when I was a teenager. And then when I was my in my 20s. Right? Because you're in that phase where it's like, why me? Like I'm being punished and I can't get a license like all my other friends. And also, oh my gosh, I'm left off of the sports teams and you're just finding yourself and it's like, oh my gosh, I'm different. I'm different. I'm the butt of everybody's jokes. Being a person who's, who's blind. And with that time, it was very dif

    44 min

  7. May 2

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #91: Ask Advocate Donna

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #91: Ask Advocate Donna | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-05-02-2026/ In this warm and instructive solo episode of Remarkable World Commentary, Donna returns for her second installment of the month with the May edition of Ask Advocate Donna, opening with one of her favorite mantras, "Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you; listen in such a way that others love to speak to you", and a word-game segment in which she walks listeners through two advocacy-relevant pairs: polite versus impolite, and proactive versus inactive. She makes the case that the polite route keeps an advocate in others' minds in a positive way, and that being proactive, leading by example, taking the bull by the horns, comes with heartache and high cost but also brings joy and fulfillment that the inactive route, by definition, never delivers. She then shares three listener-style advocacy stories, walking each one through her familiar what / how / when / why framework. In the first, a woman named Emma is misled by a cell phone store agent who sells her a phone that suits the store rather than her disability-related needs; Emma fights back by going to head office, threatening to take her case to Facebook and other social media, and enlisting her husband, her children, and their friends in an action plan, while her husband documents the store and the agent with photos. In the second, a mother named Beth confronts a bakery that refused to serve her autistic son Brent despite the written shopping list and cash he had been sent in with, and Beth wins the bakery's admission of wrongdoing by calmly drawing other customers into her side of the story and refusing to back down for an hour or two. In the third, a first-time babysitter refuses to put a blind three-year-old to bed while willingly tending to his two sighted siblings, ages ten and eight, and the older siblings become advocates in their own right by calling their parents home, leading to a calm sit-down between both sets of parents that resolves the incident, with the babysitter sent home unpaid and later corrected by her own parents. Donna closes by inviting listeners to send their own advocacy stories to her for future episodes. TRANSCRIPT Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills, and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello, I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your host for my solo solo podcast of Ask Donna or Ask Advocate Donna. For the month of May. This is my second solo podcast for this month. Ask advocate Donna, and I'm happy to be here with you and want to start off with one of my favorite quotes. Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you. This is really one of my favorite quotes. I Want to start off with my word game. I want to thank those of you who have commented on my word game and on my Ask Advocate Donna, monthly episodes or monthly podcasts. Thank you very much. And don't forget to contact me at Donna jordan@gmail.com. That's bonnajodhan@gmail.com. Okay, so let's start off with our word game. And most of the time, or a lot of the time, advocates are faced with these two alternatives to be polite or to be impolite. What does this all mean? Well, most of the time I choose the polite alternative. But sometimes I'm awfully tempted to use the impolite alternative, and I will tell you that this does not, most of the time, does not bring you brownie points for light is when you know that something is right or something may not be right, but on the. On the whole, for light could be. When something is not absolutely correct when being spoken by someone else, but you're too polite to say this to them. Instead, you choose the polite route. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Sometimes when someone says something to you, you can't help yourself because you know how wrong it is, or incorrect or inappropriate it is. So what you do is you become impolite. And I would say, let's choose the polite route as opposed to the impolite route, because very often the polite route keeps you in the minds of those around you. The impolite route. Sure, it does the same, but for where is the polite route? Keeps you in the mind of others in a positive manner. The impolite route does not. My next pair of words for your consideration today is proactive versus inactive. And very often in the field of advocacy, we need to consider if we want to be proactive and that means take the bull by the horns and run with it. Become the one who leads by example. An inactive means that you do nothing. You just depend on others to push you along, or you depend on others to develop the solutions or to develop the suggestions. And all you do is just to follow. So proactive means to lead. Inactive means to follow. And in the world of an advocate, we need to decide which best suits us. Becoming a leader has its heartaches, becoming its leader. A leader has its joys and it has its fulfillment. But it doesn't come easy. It comes at a very high cost because you put yourself out there. So, you know, whenever criticisms are made or whenever the going gets tough, the tough get going. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Inactive means and it's not always viewed as being negative, but most times I think it is because you're not taking the initiative, you're simply sitting back and allowing others to do the work. But it's our choice. Always proactive or inactive. Okay, now I want to share my stories with you for this month. I have three stories to share with you and the title to the first story. And it all has to do with advocacy. It has to do with a cell phone store that robbed a lady with a disability. Okay, what happened here is that the lady went into the cell phone store in order to purchase a new cell phone. The customer rep or customer agent dealing with her, know darn well that she was a person with a disability. But instead of advising this lady to choose the best cell phone that suited her needs slash requirements, they deliberately took the path to mislead this lady. Okay. So this was lady. Her name was Emma. Emma went into a cell phone store in her neighborhood. She wanted to buy the most recent or most recognized cell phone. The most modern, but the most. Oh, gosh. I'm using losing my words here. But she wanted to buy the latest cell phone, and so she approached the agent at the desk, told them her story, told them what she was looking for, And he took her information, pretended to be nice to her, smiled with her, told her that he would, you know, choose the best cell phone for her. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: But what he did, in essence, was chose the best cell phone that the store had to offer, never really paying attention to what Emma wanted. So what did Emma do? Well, Emma went off when she went home, and her husband told her that she. He felt that she had been misled. Emma went straight to the head office of this cell phone store and lost her complaint. At first she was listened to, but then it appeared that the head office was not really going to do anything. So Emma decided to be a bit bold and she went off. Before she did this, she told them that she would be going to Facebook and pleading her case, and she would be going to other social media outlets and reporting the incident. Her husband went back and took photos of the store and of the same agent that was in the store that had dealt with Emma. Okay, so what does this all mean? What is advocacy all about? Advocacy is when one really believes that one has to advocate for something that has not been dealt with appropriately and properly. And this is what Emma did. How to get involved with advocacy. You get involved with advocacy by enlisting the help and support of other people, and Emma enlisted the support of her husband, and later on, she enlisted the support of her children and their friends, and they all put together an action plan for Emma first to go to the head office and then to put this thing on social media. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: When does one get involved in advocacy? One gets involved in advocacy. When again, if there is a need. And why does one get involved in advocacy? It's all about trying to right a wrong, or bringing what has happened to the notice of a wider circle of readers and listeners? Okay, let's go to my second story of the day. All right. This is all about a bakery that refused to serve an autistic kid. And this was submitted to us by a very distraught mother. Her name was Beth, and her son's name was Brent. She had sent Brent with the with a list of what she wanted from the bakery. And with the appropriate cash that was needed to purchase what she wanted. Because Beth had been a regular customer at this bakery. So Brent came into the bakery. They knew who he was because he often, you know, went to the bakery with his mom. But because today he was on his own, they refused, downright refused to serve him, saying that, you know, they didn't want to serve him because he didn't know what he was saying or doing. Despite written instructions given to him by his mum. And he had shown it to the cashier and to the attendants for a better word at the bakery counter. But they refused, downright refused. But first, poor Bre

    22 min

  8. May 1

    Remarkable World Commentary Episode #90: When Piggybacking Occurs

    🎙️ Remarkable World Commentary Episode #90: When Piggybacking Occurs | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA https://donnajodhan.com/rwc-05-01-2026/ In this pointed and unflinching solo episode of Remarkable World Commentary, Donna opens the month of May with a warning to her listeners about what she calls the "piggybacking problem", companies that walk into the blind, vision-impaired, and broader disability community posing as saviors and accessibility experts while, in her words, being "wolves in sheep's clothing." She argues that these outfits arrive claiming the expertise needed to make services, websites, and information accessible, and claiming to understand what people with disabilities actually need, when in reality they have never walked a mile in the community's shoes, have no real grasp of which software works and which does not, and are simply piggybacking on the community's vulnerability to fill their own pockets. Donna names one company in particular, Innosearch, and accuses it of doing exactly that under the banner of helping the community shop and travel more independently, only to leave the community "high and dry" once its own pockets were full. She makes clear that this is her opinion, acknowledges that Innosearch is far from the only company guilty of the pattern, and signs off with a wish for a great day and a promise to return shortly with her second episode of the month. TRANSCRIPT Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary. Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts, insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners. Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids, especially kids with disabilities. Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach, dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur, law graduate, and podcast commentator. She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge, skills, and expertise in access, technology and information. As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles, she just wants to make things better than possible. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello there. And I'm Donna J. Jodhan. It's a beautiful month of May, and I'm happy to start it off with my very first podcast for this month. I always enjoy the month of May and I hope everybody is doing just fine. Okay, so what I'd like to start off with my first solo podcast for this month is all about the piggybacking problem. Okay. Now I, I'm very sure that most of you know what piggybacking is all about, but here is my take on what happens when piggybacking occurs. Okay. We have here wolves in sheep's clothing. And what do I mean by this? It's all about those who pose as sheep. And what I mean is that they come to communities made up of vulnerable persons. Persons who are blind and visually impaired or vision impaired, as I like to say, or those with other types of disabilities. They come in posing as saviors, posing as sheep. But yeah, in wolf's clothing. And they say that, you know, they are here for the well-being of our community. They're here to ensure that we have an equal chance at not just generating income, but also competing on the stage, be it on the world stage or the state stage or the province stage. All well and good. They pretended to have the expertise that is needed to make services, websites and info all accessible to everyone, especially to those of us with a disability. And they also pretend to know how to help persons with disabilities with regard to their needs and requirements. And in essence, they have no clue as to what software works okay. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And what software does not work when it comes to accessibility. That's what it is. They have never, ever walked a mile in our shoes. But what it is or what is happening here is that they think and they truly believe, that they could just waltz in and become our saviors. They could just wash sin in sheep's clothing and become the ones that will help us to better our lives. And I tell you that this is not the case. One company that I'm going to call out is Infosearch. Innosearch. This is a company that has Walston and has said that, you know, they would help us to become better able to conduct our shopping, conduct, our travel needs, and more. Sure, they've done it, but they did it for a reason. They did not do it for the welfare of our community. They did it to fill their pockets. They piggybacked on us. They used our needs and our requirements and our vulnerability and our weaknesses to fill their pockets. And when they've done. Filling their pockets, they have left us high and dry. They're not the only company. There are many, many other companies who have done this, but I just wanted to voice my opinion with regard to the problem with piggy backing, those with so-called expertise, those with so-called goodwill. But in essence, they're just sheep or wolves in sheep's clothing. Wolves in sheep's clothing. And Donna Jodhan, wishing you a great day. And look for me with my second episode for the month of May shortly. Bye for now. Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at donnajodhan@gmail.com. Until next time.

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About

Podcasts By Donna Jodhan feature a variety of audio podcasts that focus on the future of children, particularly those with disabilities. As a blind advocate and entrepreneur, Donna shares her insights, life experiences, and advocacy efforts, aiming to inspire and inform her listeners. Her podcasts cover issues such as accessibility, inclusivity, and breaking down barriers in technology and everyday life, encouraging collective efforts to create a better and more equitable future for all children.

Information

  • Creator
    Donna J. Jodhan
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    290
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Podcasts By Donna Jodhan