Joyce Bender continues as an international leader in the area of disability employment through her role as CEO at Bender Consulting Services. A person living with disabilities, epilepsy and a hearing loss, Joyce founded Bender Consulting Services, Inc. in 1995 after immersing herself in the disability community after a life-threatening accident due to a seizure. Prior to founding Bender Consulting Services, Joyce worked in the executive search industry where she ran her own search firm, Bender and Associates.
Joyce is the host of Disability Matters, the longest running podcast on Voice America. In 2018, Joyce founded Bender Leadership Academy, a nonprofit focused on preparing youth with disabilities to be successful in the workplace. She speaks across the United States and internationally representing the State Department on informational exchanges related to disability employment best practices. She has represented the State Department in programming with Panama, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan and Tunisia. Joyce is the current Vice Chair and Past Chair of the Board of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), is on the Board of Trustees for the Bazelon Center, and a current member of Disability Rights Pennsylvania and the Epilepsy Association of Western/Central Pennsylvania.
Current role