Demystifying Neurodiversity

What this episode covers

Despite living in a neurodiverse world, traditional hiring processes don’t support building neurodiverse teams. On this episode of Human Inclusive, Christopher and Lia flew to Colorado to meet the people behind a mission to help companies be intentionally inclusive for more neurodiverse teams. We’ll meet Lauren Burgess, serial entrepreneur, CEO and Founder of Dirt Coffee and its apprenticeship program, and Cody Hemmen, General Manager and visionary behind piloting the internship with the flagship DSW Shoe Warehouse in Park Meadow, CO. The internship at Dirt Coffee was originally created by Emily Wallace, Co-founder and Director of Employment. In a time when unemployment hovers under 4%, why are we seeing 80% of adults with autism unemployed? Specifically in this story, in Colorado, a state that enjoys a lower unemployment rate than the national average, currently sitting under 3% sees a higher than national average of adults with autism, unemployed at a rate of 90%. In this episode, hear about the impact of the partnership between Dirt Coffee and DSW from three individuals -- Andy and Rachel who are DSW apprentices, and Robby who is a Manager at Dirt coffee who participated in the apprenticeship program. We’ll learn more about motivation for these two organizations to work together to move the needle on hiring neurodivergent folks and building neurodiverse teams inclusive of all cognitive functioning.

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