Local Exec Understands How to Fix a Problem, Change a Life, Improve a Company … with One Decision

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Image via the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mike Mitchell, vice chairman of the Graham Company insurance brokerage, is honoring his four siblings who were institutionalized at the Pennhurst State School and Hospital with a summit of regional business leaders, writes Ronnie Polaneczky for Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mitchell’s brothers and sisters were unable to speak or walk on their own. Three of them died at the now-shuttered Pennhurst before reaching their teens. Now, Mitchell plans to urge business leaders to change the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) by hiring them.

“Men, women, and children were kept in these cages, just existing,” he said.

Things have significantly changed since then, as today, the term IDD is used for an umbrella term that encompasses many levels of function. However, more than 85 percent of the IDD population is still unemployed, even though most with a job are praised for their dedication and dependability.

Mitchell is hoping to change this with the “Leaders Embrace Neurodiverse Talent” program on April 30.

“This is about a real need — and a way to fix a problem, change a life, and change a company for the better,” he said.

Read more about the issue at Philadelphia Inquirer here.

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