The Hidden Workforce

On Episode 161 of The Hidden Workforce we’re keeping the theme of reaching and achieving goals in the New Year with a neurodivergent life coach! We are excited to welcome Patty Laushman, ACRE and IBCCES-Certified Neurodivergent life coach and certified autism specialist. She is the founder of Thrive Autism Coaching, a coaching company that helps people who live on the autism spectrum as well as pa...

We have a new view on vision in the first episode of 2025 for Episode 160 of The Hidden Workforce! We’re kicking off our season with featuring A New View Oklahoma! They’re a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose primary focus is serving people who are blind and live with low vision in multiple facets- from infants to grandparents- they serve all age demographics and vision loss recipients circumstances. First,...

We’re excited to bring you The Hidden Workforce’s “A Year in Review 2024” for Episode 159! We’ll go through some of our’s and our audience’s favorite episodes from this year! First, we have a portion from “Triplets on the Spectrum” parts 1 and 2 (Episode 142) Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2S8HR32mT8Ar6m4aElHJ4f?si=oEKxhaKoSeWnV4XErsOO7w Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4itxxUUSU...

🎄We have a special Holiday Edition on Episode 158 of The Hidden Workforce, “A Christmas Like No Other!” 🎄 In this episode, Maggie and remote reporter Alex Weddington interview a group of adults who live on the Autism Spectrum and Williams Syndrome as they share their experiences and memories from Christmases throughout their lives. They give us important insight on the world of people with diffe...

This week we have an innovative and insightful segment for episode 157 of The Hidden Workforce! Rick DeRennaux with Tech-Now, Inc. joins us to share about their nonprofit organization and the amazing programs they implement in schools and for students throughout Oklahoma! Tech-Now is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping students with different abilities learn and grow in a fun and innovative way through...

We have a special interview for episode 156 of The Hidden Workforce! On this week’s segment we welcome Dr. Swarna Singhal, PhD. Dr. Singhal has 4 masters degrees and her doctorate in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. She is truly a fountain of wisdom as she shares her multitude of experiences during her career as a special education teacher, psychologist, and in working with people who live w...

You do not want to miss Episode 155 of The Hidden Workforce! First, we meet Emma Hiatt, a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor. She beautifully and intentionally takes us through her story of the accident that led to her TBI, her journey of recovery, her Aphasia recovery, the journey from schooling to getting a job and so much more! Her heartfelt perspective and wisdoms can parallel into many things we...

We have a very special feature on episode 154 of The Hidden Workforce. We went on-site to Pathways Adult Learning Center to learn all about their amazing programs that serve adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Pathways is making a massive difference and impact on the Tulsa community! Amongst going through academic and fitness classes, their members also train for Special Olymp...

We have a very special theme for episode 153 of The Hidden Workforce! First, we have Dr. Alan Weintraub, MD. Dr. Weintraub is a leading expert in the field of Neuro Trauma. He led the Brain Injury Program at Craig Hospital for many years of his career and is now the President of the International Brain Injury Association just to name a few of many of his accomplishments. Beyond Dr. Weintraub’s stu...

We are back this week with a new episode for episode 152 of The Hidden Workforce! First, Lisa was on the scene and brought us coverage from Oklahoma’s 2024 Governors Disability Employment Awards! Every year, the Governor of the State of Oklahoma honors people with disabilities working in our state as well as the inclusive employers who employ them. Nominations pour in from all over as to who the s...

We have a unique and insightful segment coming to you for episode 151 of The Hidden Workforce! Lisa re-connects with her long-time real estate contact and friend, Carolyn Thompson, founder and owner of  Nassau Ridge Realty  to give us the inside scoop and hidden workforce of inclusion for people with different abilities in the real estate market. Carolyn runs 6 successful real-estate oriented comp...

Prepare yourself, because episode 150 of The Hidden Workforce will inspire you, empower you, and you might shed a tear or two from the joy this segment will bring you. Our Host, Lisa Toth, took the whole team to The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges for an amazing onsight interview. We got to chat with the Executive Director, Wendi Fralick, the rehabilitative personal trainer and yog...

We have a special episode this week for episode 149 of The Hidden Workforce! First, Lisa and Maggie wrap up their deep dive on the DSP shortage in Oklahoma and the unique perspectives they bring from its impact. You may hear some facts you didn’t know and different ways of looking at this conversation in this segment- you don’t want to miss it! Then we dive in to another part of the hidden workfor...

We have an important conversation coming to you this weekend on episode 148 of The Hidden Workforce! Host, Lisa Toth and Co-Host Maggie Bond dive into an important discussion about the shortage of Direct Support Professionals (DSP) in the state of Oklahoma. You’ll hear about Oklahoma’s Called to Care initiative, age gaps in the workforce, insights into the impact of the shortage, and so much more....

This week on Episode 147 we have a very insightful segment that sparks an important conversation mixed with a very fun segment that showcases a special local event right in the heart of Tulsa! First, Lisa shares a difficult to hear but important podcast segment posted by the Ruderman Family Foundation on their podcast’s new White Papers Segment. One of their goals is to accurately and informativel...

We have a VERY special feature on episode 146 of The Hidden Workforce. This is a topic near and dear to us. We’ve talked about it quite a bit on The Hidden Workforce and now we’re seeing this accessibility and inclusion in action- we’re talking Adult Changing Spaces and accessible restroom access at events all over the United States with Momentum Refresh!! We were fortunate enough to get the insid...

Episode 145 is an episode PACKED with Art, and it is conducted by none other than our remote reporter Alex Weddington! First, we hear from Lucas Howard, a local audio engineer with an emphasis on working with EDM who has worked with several groups/bands and is furthering his skills at UCO. We’ll hear about his favorite music, EDM, the projects he is working on now, how furthering his skills and ed...

Catch this dynamic work team on episode 144 of The Hidden Workforce! This week we have Stefanie Pitt and Doug Halvē from SystemOne! SystemOne is a specialized job recruiting firm and at their Oklahoma location, they focus recruiting in finance and accounting, engineering, IT fields, energy, and more! Stefanie and Doug join us giving us insight into their Hidden Workforce world of recruiting as wel...

Welcome Listeners! Join Lisa Toth as we venture through The Hidden Workforce, a show about the positive impact people who live with different abilities bring to the workforce and our world. This week- we have a very special guest on Episode 143… 🥁 We are honored and excited to have in studio Michelle Hardesty, Executive Director of the Hardesty Family Foundation, as this week’s guest! Michelle’s...

Bonus Episode for this weekend! We have Triplets on the Autism Spectrum Pt. 2! The Howell family joins us from Tuttle, Oklahoma to chat with us all about their journey of navigating life with TRIPLETS living on the autism spectrum. In this episode you'll hear about: -Little sister stepping into a Big sister role for her brothers. -Keegan, Harrison, and Jacob's perspectives on the therapies...

You won’t believe your eyes or ears on this weekend’s episode. Join us for episode 142 with… Triplets on the Autism Spectrum! That’s right. We have the Howell family from Tuttle, Oklahoma joining us talking all about their journey of navigating life with TRIPLETS living on the autism spectrum. You'll hear about: -How mom and dad responded to the news they were having triplets! -Keegan, Harriso...

Check out Episode 141 of The Hidden Workforce as we sit with Kodey Toney, founder and Executive Director of The Pervasive Parenting Center in Eastern Oklahoma! We’ll hear all about: 🧩 Kodey’s story to founding CPRC 🧩 The journey of creating a resource from scratch to serve his son who lives on the autism spectrum as well as the multitude of rural, Eastern Oklahoma residents who live with disabil...

Tune in this weekend or anywhere you stream your podcasts for episode 140 of “The Hidden Workforce!” We have very special guest, Julia Cunningham, join us to chat about the movie, “Ezra” and how important inclusive representation is in film. If you know Julia and the extremely popular pop culture podcast and radio show, “The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham” on SiriusXM Radio Andy, then you k...

Welcome Listeners! Join Lisa Toth as we venture through The Hidden Workforce, a show about the positive impact people who live with different abilities bring to the workforce and our world. This week we have an empowering double feature! First, Kimberly Marsh kicks us off sharing her story! She worked with 5 different Tulsa Mayors during their terms and served as one of their journalist/media dire...

Welcome Listeners! Join Lisa Toth as we venture through The Hidden Workforce, a show about the positive impact people who live with different abilities bring to the workforce and our world. This week, we have an incredible guest who shares their life-altering story of survival, defying every medical odd imaginable, recovery, and now advocacy. Denise Dickerson joins us sharing her story and her wor...