Workforce development guru Nicholas Wyman joins us today to talk about how his company IWSI America build apprenticeships, especially around the disability community. He will also discuss his new book, Attract, Retain,, Develop: Shaping a Skilled Workforce for the Future.

NICHOLAS WYMAN BIO

Nicholas “Nick” Wyman began his career as an award-winning chef before becoming a globally recognized leader in workforce innovation. As founder and CEO of IWSI America, he has pioneered national apprenticeship initiatives — from the first registered U.S. forestry apprenticeship in 35 years to groundbreaking healthcare programs for people with disabilities.

Nick is the author of Job U: How to Find Wealth and Success by Developing the Skills Companies Need (Penguin) and Attract, Retain, Develop: Shaping a Skilled Workforce for the Future (Fast Company Press, 2025). He contributes to Forbes, Fast Company, CNBC, and the MIT Press Journal, and is known for translating global best practices into practical solutions that reshape careers and communities. His latest work explores the intersection of wellness and work — how personal health, resilience, and performance fuel not only individual success but also the future of organizations.

WEBSITES

https://www.iwsiamerica.org/

https://www.readywillingable.us/who-we-are

https://www.nicholaswyman.com/

LINK TO AMAZON for Nick's New Book

If anyone is interested in a complimentary copy of Attract, Retain, Develop: Shaping a Skilled Workforce for the Future, please contact info@foxgiving.org. Audio books are also available. Thank you, Nick!

CO-PRODUCED BY

Alexandra Rush

HOST & PRODUCER

Akira Nakano

www.innovatinginclusion.org

Katie and Steven sit down with CEO Lauren Branch, as she talks about building NewView Oklahoma into the largest employer of people who are blind in the state.

BIO

LAUREN BRANCH has been with NewView Oklahoma, formerly the Oklahoma League for the Blind, since 1997. A native of Houston, Texas, Lauren received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from Texas A&M University in 1986. She is also a certified public accountant.

Under Lauren’s leadership, NewView Oklahoma has undergone unprecedented growth, employing more than 150 individuals, most of whom are blind or low vision and serving thousands of Oklahomans with vision loss. NewView is now the largest employer of people who are blind in the state and has been recognized both locally and nationally as one of the premier organizations in the country providing comprehensive low vision services for people losing their vision. Over the years, NewView has received numerous awards and recognitions including National Industries for the Blind Employment Growth Award, Oklahoma ABLE Tech Partner of the Year, Oklahoma Attorney General Keith Boyd Employer of the Year Award, American Optometric Association Apollo Award, DHS Aging Services Achievement in Aging Program of the Year, Blue Cross Blue Shield Dr. Rodney L. Huey Memorial Champions of Oklahoma Health Award, Oklahoma State Use Program Organization of the Year Award, and Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits “One Award” Finalist in Self-Sufficiency.

Lauren is very active in her community, having served in various capacities over the years in the non-profit and business sectors. She currently serves on the board of National Industries for the Blind and is the current chairperson of VisionServe Alliance, a national organization dedicated to improving the quality of life to and for people with vision loss. Lauren is also a member of Leadership Oklahoma City, Class XXVIII and Leadership Oklahoma Class XXVII . She is a member of Rotary Club 29 in Oklahoma City and has been since 2004.

WEBSITE

nvoklahoma.org

HOSTS

Steven McCoy

Katie Corbett

www.innovatinginclusion.org

Today we speak to West Covina City Councilman Ollie Cantos as we recognize National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and White Cane Day.

Blind since birth and born in Los Angeles to Filipino immigrants, Ollie as a native son of West Covina was raised here since age 4. He defied conventional wisdom of what was then considered possible or practical in light of the relatively limited expectations about persons with disabilities during his formative years. The product of West Covina values — proud, strong, and determined-- he has spent his life, breaking new ground and paving the way for others to follow.

Ollie is the first blind person and individual with a visible disability ever to be elected to the City Council since West Covina's founding in February 1923.

Early leadership roles include Student Body Vice President at Hollencrest Junior High in Eighth Grade; Junior Class President and Student Body President at Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente; and Student Senator, Speaker of the Senate, Vice President of Student Services, and Executive Vice President and Chairperson of the Student Senate at Loyola Marymount University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. The year he graduated, he received the Stanley Chan Award, the highest honor to be given by the University's Political Science Department.

After earning his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles and becoming an attorney, he served as Staff Attorney and Director of Outreach and Education at the Disability Rights Legal Center, General Counsel and Director of Programs for the then 70,000-member American Association of People with Disabilities, Special Assistant and later Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House under President George W. Bush, and now Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. He has also received presidential appointments from two different Presidents of the United States. His work at the Federal Government level has spanned across both Republican and Democratic administrations since 2004.

In addition to his ongoing Federal Government responsibilities, Ollie is Attorney Mentor with the American Bar Association's Commission on Disability Rights, Member of the Kiwanis Club of West Covina, and Chairman of the Board at RespectAbility, a multi-million-dollar national nonpartisan non-profit cross-disability organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities on behalf of this nation's more than 61 million Americans with disabilities.

Prior leadership posts include Member and Vice Chair of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Legal Officer for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Vice President of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Member of the Board of Directors of the Loyola Marymount University National Alumni Association, and Member of the Board of Governors of the Loyola Law School Alumni Association. Among others, he was also on the boards of the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia and Community Lodgings.

But Ollie is most grateful for his adoption of three blind triplet boys – Leo, Nick, and Steven. Their compelling story has been told by National Public Radio, PEOPLE Magazine, The Washingtonian Magazine, USA Today, and videos that went viral on

www.innovatinginclusion.org