Alec Frazier, Tari Hartman Squire, & Jd Michaels
We are proud to induct Alec Frazier, Tari Hartman Squire, & Jd Michaels into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame as our first-ever mentoring circle.
Alec Frazier
“My Mentoring Circle means the world to me. It is the highlight of many years of professional development. It shows that one can grow and adapt, and that one can influence and be influenced by other great minds around them. This world is a rich, vibrant community, and the best way to grow is to learn from those around us. I am privileged and honored to have Jd Michael’s and Tari Hartman Squire in my Mentoring Circle. I have learned so very much about business and professionalism from Jd, and a great deal about disability history and leadership from Tari. I wish nothing but the best from the brilliant future of our professional network!”
Alec Frazier is an autistic 32-year-old resident of Takoma Park, Maryland. A disability rights advocate since he was eight years old, Alec is the Director of his own firm, Autistic Reality, and is the copyrighted author of two books, Without Fear: The First Autistic Superhero and Veni! Vidi! Autism!. For his work at Autistic Reality, Alec does public speaking, lobbying, peer advocacy, and publicity, as well as many other forms of advocacy. Amongst other things, Alec has spoken on Capitol Hill, has mentored for the AAPD summer internship class, has gotten major legislation passed, has appeared and spoken at multiple conferences and conventions, and regularly meets with leaders in the federal government and private sector.
Alec has a bachelor’s in political science, and a master’s in disability studies, both from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Alec’s Twitter handle is @autisticreality. You can find his work on Facebook at Autistic Reality and Veni Vidi Autism. He is on Blogger as Ithacan, and his blog is called Always Intrepid. His website is www.nothingaboutuswithoutus.net. He is on Flickr as Autistic Reality. He is also the host of the Autistic Reality Podcast.
Tari Hartman Squire
“Our mentoring circle is uniquely dynamic and has taken on a life of its own. It all starts with Alec Frazier’s creativity, focus and drive percolating in BBDO’s Creative Residency and Stories About Us initiative led by Jd Michaels, and bakes in multi-directional mentoring, thus forming an unbeatable – and delicious team. Lights! Camera! Access! 2.0 Career Exploration Summit is a spark to activate connections and ignite creativity across media delivery platforms. Alec and Jd have redefined the traditional mentor-mentee relationship and re-affirmed the “true north” power that creatives with disabilities MUST own the Disability Narrative Imperative. Our weekly calls are a transformative incubator for ideas and career mapping, and are now launching a new generation of storytellers with the successful publishing and book tour of Alec’s Veni! Vidi! Autism! As Alec transitions from author to editor, he widens this mentoring circle to empower new creations, and nurture the imagination and publishing of fellow authors with disabilities through his company Autistic Reality.”
Tari Hartman Squire’s EIN SOF Communications is a strategic marketing and employment consultation company, specializing in disability-inclusive diversity and public policy in collaboration with disability leaders. Squire produces Lights! Camera! Access! 2.0 to increase disability employment; improve portrayals across delivery platforms (TV, movies/documentaries, advertising, news, interactive, and theatre); and insure accessible media with audio descriptions and captions.
With former Nielsen EVP, Joseph Craig, EIN SOF developed the Disability Community Market Research Initiative to harvest authentic disability feedback from key influencers to build the $490 billion disability business case for Apple (Accessibility Toolkit for its 500+ retail stores worldwide); AT&T, Bank of America and Motorola (accessible products/services), and Oath (The Disability Collection with Getty Images and National Disability Leadership Alliance). Projects include DisBeat (ADA Legacy Project); Ruderman TV Challenge; Mattel’s Becky (Barbie friend who uses a wheelchair); Push Girls; The Sessions; Ray; Macy’s; John Callahan’s Pelswick; Sue Thomas F.B.Eye; AP Stylebook; DOL/ODEP Sector Summits and Add Us In; Media Access Office; Honey Maid; UCLA Anderson Leadership Institute for Managers with Disabilities; Making News; ADA National Network’s Hospitality Initiative; and My Left Foot (launched disability strategic marketing).
Jd Michaels
“Tari Hartman Squire introduced me to Alec Frazier at the White House, where she was holding a branch of her disability in arts and media networking event, Lights! Camera! Access! 2.0. I was there to speak about diversity and the arts, and how BBDO New York, my home company, has changed our definition of diversity to one focused on the personality and identity of each individual – their choices, experiences, and passion. In that light, Alec’s lifetime of advocacy and Tari’s complete and absolute dedication to the creative spirit and talent of the disability community speak volumes to their character, and in working with them both I am able to better see what makes my own spirit strong. Our communication, our workflow and our focus create something unique that could not exist without each one of us, where the impossible melts away to reveal that which can be achieved together. I am a stronger and more aware person now, and with the enhancement of our individual strengths our combined potential blooms. My Mentoring Circle is a dynamic and organic human harmony that can move mountains.”
Jd Michaels serves a dual role at BBDO New York; as EVP Director of Creative Engineering, he extends BBDO’s creative ideas with new technologies, traditional craft, and partnerships with innovators in science, art, and theatre. As EVP Director of Diversity, Jd works with his partner Karla Mayers to embolden agency identity, engage in community outreach, and service client priorities regarding culture and inclusion. BBDO sees diversity and inclusion from the dignity of each individual; Jd has created initiatives, classes, events and installations enabling agency members to better appreciate the wide range of passions, choices, and experiences each BBDO New York employee represents. He thanks Tari Hartman Squire and Alec Frazier for their patient advice and incredible focus, and his wife and partner Zoe (and daughter Hera) for theirs as well.