A Conversation with Kathy Martinez – Resources

Guest: Kathy Martinez, Disability and accessibility strategy consultant
Host: Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Chairman, Burton Blatt Institute, University Professor, Syracuse University
Recording Date: June 2, 2022
Archive: A Conversation with Kathy Martinez

Contents

About the 504@50 Podcast Series

504@50 is a special interview series created in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In the series, we speak with leaders of the disability rights movement who advance the cause of equal rights through their tireless work.

The 504@50 Series is produced by the Southeast ADA Center, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and in collaboration with the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. Check out the Section 504@50 website at section504at50.org

About This Episode

In this episode, Dr. Peter Blanck speaks with Kathy Martinez, President and CEO of the organization Disability Rights Advocates and former Head of Disability and Accessibility Strategy for Wells Fargo Bank. They discuss the evolution of the disability rights movement from her perspective as a blind Latina woman. She describes the challenges of her personal experiences with two marginalized and intersecting identities and how they fit into the larger picture of the past, present, and future of the intersection of race, disability, and other identities.

Ms. Martinez explains that the current disability rights movement is more inclusive, and today’s activists understand that disability access is more complex than a wheelchair ramp. But she points out that more must be done, given that the population is aging and there are millions of people who are experiencing “Long COVID” and other disabilities that they never expected or that did not exist before the pandemic.

Learn about Kathy Martinez

Note: After this “504@50” interview was recorded in June 2022, Ms. Martinez began working for Expedia Group.

  • ODEP at 20: Leading Voices – Kathy Martinez
    This year [2021] marks 20 years since the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy was created. In honor of this milestone, ODEP Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer Sheehy talked to Kathy Martinez, who served as ODEP’s assistant secretary from 2009 to 2015.
    Source: U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) (September 13, 2021)
    Link: blog.dol.gov/2021/09/13/odep-at-20-leading-voices-kathy-martinez
  • Podcast: Going Beyond Accommodations with Kathy Martinez | Transcript [PDF].
    Source: Being Heumann Podcast Series (September 1, 2021) [Audio file: 46 minutes, 13 seconds]
    Podcast: judithheumann.com/kathy-martinez/
    Transcript [PDF]: icloud.com/iclouddrive/0XYsyo9ny745DDdlFZKSFqwNA#Kathy_Martinez_Transcript
  • Interview with Wells Fargo SVP Kathy Martinez
    Ms. Martinez was Head of Disability and Accessibility Strategy for Wells Fargo Bank from 2015 to 2021.
    Source: Medium (December 23, 2018)
    Link: medium.com/authority-magazine/wells-fargo-svp-kathy-martinez-we-we-all-use-accommodations-at-work-the-more-people-with-6720ccf865c4
  • Biography: AFB 100 Women in Leadership
    Source: American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
    Link: afb.org/afb100/women-leadership/kathy-martinez-bio
  • Becoming the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For: A Story of Work, Community, and Change
    An article written by Ms. Martinez. An audio file of this article is also available.
    Source: University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration (2008)
    Link: publications.ici.umn.edu/impact/21-1/becoming-the-ones-weve-been-waiting-for-a-story-of-work-community-and-change

About Topics from This Episode

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Visit the Section 504@50 website at: section504at50.org
The 504@50 Series is produced by the Southeast ADA Center, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, and in collaboration with the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.