The Hidden Workforce

We have a myth-busting show for you on Episode 211 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Tammy Braddock! Tammy shares with us 6 myths people often believe about people with disabilities and her personal experience with disability. An exciting fact behind this episode is one of our show’s listeners and fans brought us the suggestion to feature Tammy on our show. They are a colleague of Tammy’s, and when...

We have a HAPPY and inclusive feature for you with our first show of 2026 on Episode 210 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Jan Pride, Executive Director of Happy Hands Education Center! Happy Hands Education Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is a Christian, non-profit, accredited school for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, serving infants as young as six weeks through kindergarten. They al...

We’re excited to bring you The Hidden Workforce’s “A Year in Review 2025” for Episode 209! We’re counting down our top 6 most listened to, best shows of 2025! Our number 1 most listened to episode of 2025 was: Pathways Adult Learning Center! Followed by: No. 2 Speller Jake Wright on his segment about Spelling to Communicate and how it changed his life. No. 3 Elizabeth Vosseller, founder of Spellin...

🎄We have a special Holiday Edition on Episode 208 of The Hidden Workforce, “A Hidden Workforce Christmas!” 🎄 In this episode, co-host Maggie interviews members of The Hidden Workforce Community as they share their experiences and memories from Christmases throughout their lives and why this season means so much to them. Self-Advocate, Tyler Bond, also gives us insights on how we can make our cel...

We are continuing our series of interviews highlighting some of our Oklahoma State Legislators and the work, advocacy, policy collaboration, and/or learning they are doing for Oklahomans with disabilities! This week, we welcome current 2026 Gubernatorial Candidate and soon to be former District 85 Oklahoma House Representative, Cyndi Munson! Cyndi joins us to share her journey of running for Gover...

We are continuing our series of interviews highlighting some of our Oklahoma State Legislators and the work, advocacy, policy collaboration, and/or learning they are doing for Oklahomans with disabilities! This week, we welcome (newly former Representative) Forrest Bennett! Forrest Bennett represented Oklahoma State House District 92 for 9 years. He was intentional about bridging relationships and...

We are continuing our series of interviews highlighting some of our Oklahoma State Legislators and the work, advocacy, policy collaboration, and/or learning they are doing for Oklahomans with disabilities. This week, we welcome Representative Ellyn Hefner! Representative Hefner represents Oklahoma State House District 87. Her name may sound very familiar and that is because she was featured in the...

We are continuing our series of interviews highlighting some of our Oklahoma State Legislators and the work, advocacy, policy collaboration, and/or learning they are doing for Oklahomans with disabilities! This week, we welcome Representative Jacob Rosecrants! Representative Rosecrants represents Oklahoma State House District 46. He is intentional about fostering relationships and working across t...

We are continuing our series of interviews highlighting some of our Oklahoma State Legislators and the work, advocacy, policy collaboration, and/or learning they are doing for Oklahomans with disabilities. This week, we welcome Senator Julia Kirt! Senator Kirt represents Oklahoma State Senate District 30. She is a fierce advocate for people who live with disabilities, inclusive/special education,...

This week, we are kicking off a series of interviews highlighting some of our Oklahoma State Legislators and the work, advocacy, policy collaboration, and/or learning they are doing for Oklahomans with disabilities. First up, we welcome Representative Melissa Provenzano! Rep. Provenzano represents Oklahoma State House District 79. She is a fierce advocate for education, women’s preventative health...

We have an inclusive, historic, story-telling filled show for you this week on Episode 201 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Dennis Delemar, Founder and Director of the Greenwood Film Festival! Dennis shares with us the journey of starting the Greenwood Film Festival, the power of inclusive and representative storytelling, and how they are opening doors for new filmmakers to direct and produce film...

We are celebrating a very special 200th episode on this week’s show of The Hidden Workforce! Host, Lisa and Co-Host, Maggie come together to share their excitement for this milestone in our show’s history and to celebrate, have chosen some special episodes that continue to have a substantial impact with our listeners as well as sharing important messages of inclusion! We’ll feature excerpts from t...

Like we have shared before- Spelling to Communicate (S2C) has taken the world by storm! We’ve heard from a guest who is a speller, a mother’s perspective on how life-changing S2C has been for her son and their family, and NOW we have the woman who started it ALL on this week’s Episode 199 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Speech-Language Pathologist, Executive Director of I-ASC and Founder of Spell...

We have a show that will make you laugh, hopefully not cry (unless it’s tears from being moved by an amazing story!), but it will definitely empower you on Episode 198 of The Hidden Workforce!  Welcome Indie Film Producer, Comedian, and Actress- Sydney Alison! Sydney is famous for her “Sit Down” comedy sets and she currently works with Kirkpatrick Kinslow Productions on projects of all types from...

We have an enabling, innovative, and empowering show for you on Episode 197 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Miranda Hutchison to The Hidden Workforce! Miranda is the Programs Administrator of Innovation and Training for a program offered through DDS (Developmental Disability Services)- Oklahoma Enabling Technology! Oklahoma Able Tech’s website describes their programs’ mission as, “to improve the...

We have an incredibly resourceful show for you on Episode 196 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Sibling Support Coordinator, Samantha Basave and Bilingual Family Support Coordinator, Michelle Rico from Sooner Success! In this episode, we learn all about the programs, services, and supports Sooner Success provides for people who live with disabilities and their families all throughout the state of O...

We have an advocacy driven show for you on Episode 195 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome multi-faceted leader, state-wide disability advocate, powerhouse mom, and Assistant Director of the University of Oklahoma Center for Learning and Leadership, Wanda Felty! In this episode, we learn all about Wanda’s moving and personal journey into advocacy, navigating being a mom through adoption and having a...

We have a show full of inclusive summer fun for you on Episode 194 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Brenda Brandt, the Camp Director of Camp Barnabas to the show! Brenda chats with us about her journey through Camp Barnabas- from her brother attending as a camper, her volunteering as a high schooler- then college student- then Camp Barnabas evolving into her career up to this point! We also learn...

We have a resourceful and Oklahoma state-wide impactful show for you on Episode 193 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Jen Randle, the Executive Director of The Developmental Disability Council of Oklahoma! The DD Council states on their website that, “the mission of the Developmental Disabilities Council of Oklahoma is to advance communities where everyone has the opportunity to live, learn, work,...

We have a special workforce themed show for you on Episode 192 of The Hidden Workforce! Join our Host, Lisa Toth along with Jael Leon and Laurie Winiecke! This week, Lisa is taking us through Jael and Laurie’s journeys to employment! Both ladies have secured jobs in fields they love and it’s thanks to their hard work, Lisa’s hard work, and the willingness of each employer to give them a chance to...

We have a deeply inSIGHTful episode for you to HEAR on this weekend’s show in episode 191 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Cassandra Oakes, Founder and President of the nonprofit SHEP (Sight Hearing Encouragement Program). Also welcome her VP, Alethea Grigsby who is translating the interview, as well as one of Cassandra’s interpreters who empowers and assists her to communicate with us. Join us as...

Spelling to Communicate (S2C) has taken the world by storm! We’ve heard from a guest who is a speller, now we are hearing from a mother’s perspective on how life-changing S2C has been for her son and their family as a whole in Episode 190 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Lori Rogers, mom to speller- Craig Rogers to our show! We’ll hear from Lori on how S2C has changed Craig’s life and opened his w...

This week we have a show full of connection in episode 189 of The Hidden Workforce! Last month- Rise Staffing, The Hidden Workforce, and Open Ears Open Opportunities, Inc. hosted our first, but certainly not last Spectrum Speed Dating event! Welcome Adam Wulf and Dr. Swarna Singhal as they share with us about the event! The energy and excitement fueled the evening with meaningful connections and c...

This week, we have a roaring good show for episode 188 of The Hidden Workforce! We are featuring members from The Lions Club! In particular, their OKC West Side Chapter! Welcome Little White Dove, Richard Schiver, Johnny Bennett, Kathy Whaley, and Oliver Anyabolu to the show! Each of these members share the amazing work their chapter as well as all Lions Clubs are doing in our communities and worl...

This week, we are featuring a crucial resource on Episode 187 of The Hidden Workforce! Welcome Monica Maple, Attorney and founder of Maple Law! Monica shares with us her journey of becoming an attorney, what led her to this specialty, and the crucial importance of planning what happens to your children/loved ones and assets when you’re gone- especially if you have a loved one who lives with a disa...