Turning a Life Changing Event into a Passion for Inclusion: Ben Trockman

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month and this episode celebrates the journey of one man from a life-changing event to his position today as a leading disability and inclusion professional in a national company. 

While employers struggle to find talent, Ben Trockman has found the solution in the significant population of talented, problem-solving people with disabilities sitting on the on the sidelines. People with disabilities make up  the world’s largest minority but simply aren't being tapped. Ben Trockman's personal and professional goal is to build awareness, tackle assumptions and rethink the way we work to build more inclusion.

Ben is the Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Specialist with Old National Bank, based in Indiana and with offices throughout the Midwest. He is focused on helping  Old National to become a leader in disability employment in part by enhancing recruiting efforts and restructuring  hiring processes. Ben also manages the Achieve Ability professional mentoring program at Old National Bank.

On a personal level, Ben  is active within the disability advocacy community, working with legislators in Washington DC and Indianapolis  to improve employment opportunities, airline accessibility and healthcare options for people with disabilities. 

Old National Mentorship program: 

https://www.oldnational.com/ONB/insights-detail/insights/2021/03/17/achieve-ability

To contact Ben:  Ben.Trockman@oldnational.com 

Thank You to Old National Bank
This podcast episode has been brought to you by Old National Bank - a Leading Disability Employer.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to the arc experience, featuring the stories of self advocates with disabilities and their families from around Wisconsin. Be inspired. Take action. And now for today's episode,

Speaker 2: 0:23

Hello and welcome to the arc experience podcast. I'm your host Lisa pew with the arc Wisconsin. And today we're talking with Ben TrackMan. Uh, Ben's personal journey with disability began when he was 17 and experienced a spinal cord injury, but he's been on a mission ever since fighting for the inclusion of the world's largest minority in our workforce and across all our communities as the diversity and inclusion outreach specialist with the old national bank based in Indiana, he is focused on helping the corporation to become a leader in disability, employment and inclusion through education and awareness enhancing recruitment efforts and rethinking the entire hiring process. Ben also manages the unique achieveability professional mentoring program that we're going to learn a lot more about today. His message about reaching an untapped workforce is more important now than ever. So we're really excited to talk to you, Ben,

Speaker 3: 1:25

What a nice intro, Lisa, glad to be with you today.

Speaker 2: 1:29

Well, then let's get right into it. I'm really curious about, uh, if you could tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you really kind of became this leader for disability employment and inclusion.

Speaker 3: 1:43

Sure. Well, uh, my personal story, uh, is that, uh, about 15 years ago when I was 17 years old, uh, I was involved in a dirt bike accident, um, or biking was a family thing. We really enjoyed it, uh, always went out and had had a great time, but, uh, you know, one thing led to another and all of a sudden I was thrusted to a life of living with a disability. You know, disability was not something that my, my family and I, it was not in our language every day was not something that we understood or really, uh, could comprehend. Um, and so, you know, being going from a very independent person, someone that, again, not knowing anything about it to living it every single day, uh, it became something, uh, very prevalent, uh, in our life. Uh, so fast forward to, you know, I was able to graduate high school on time. I, I think that's due to my friend saving most of their hallmark, but don't tell, uh, but uh, spent some time and, uh, therapy. Uh, then I moved on to, to college. Uh, but during my college years, I had the opportunity to serve as a national ambassador for, uh, Easter seals. Uh, you know, one of the larger, uh, not for profits, uh, just like arc that serves individuals with disabilities. During my time as a national ambassador, I had the chance to travel all across the country country, did, uh, conferences and, uh, Chicago and new Orleans and San Diego and Washington DC. And did, uh, advocacy work for people with disabilities. I've learned about families, uh, the challenges that they face, the opportunities that they have learned about the way that many different people, uh, function, uh, many different people succeed. And at sometimes I'll many people struggle. And so it really opened my eyes that experience at national ambassador really opened my eyes to what advocacy can do and what, um, you know, being a, a disability inclusion advocate, if you will means to me. And so through, uh, to your question, your personal experience and a little bit of travel, um, and a little bit of opportunity, um, it became a part of who I am and a big part of my heart and my, my drive for the future,

Speaker 2: 4:32

You know, and, and obviously old national, which is a pretty large corporation. I know you're talking to us from Indiana and there's a presence for old national here in Wisconsin as well. You know, they must have seen that passion in you. And when they offered you this position, I'm wondering how, w how did you approach that role when you became employed at old national? What kind of goals did you have in the beginning for what you'd like to see for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace?

Speaker 3: 5:11

You know, Lisa as a, a 24 year old, uh, joining a community bank, uh, in the Midwest with no experience in the banking world and a degree in PR and advertising, I had no clue what I was doing. Uh, we looked around, um, and learned and listened to a lot of other organizations and what they were doing. And quite frankly, uh, when I joined, uh, old national, uh, 2014, that was very early on in the disability inclusion movement among corporations. You know, that's something that see pretty prevalently. Now, if you're scrolling through LinkedIn or follow the headline disability inclusion, it's something that we see a lot more, but in the very beginning, you know, there weren't as many examples. And so weren't quite sure, you know, what we're going to do, but what we did as a company is look inward, um, as to what we could do and what we could accomplish. And what we set out to do was become the most inclusive employer of people with disabilities in the Midwest, um, and trying to figure it out from there. And one of the things we'll talk more about that you, you mentioned is our mentoring program. Uh, but it's really, it's been the catalyst catalyst of many of the things that, uh, that we do, but something that, uh, we believe in very deeply at old national bank is mentoring, um, and is empowering young people, um, and all of our associates. Um, so we knew that, uh, empowerment and mentorship would be something that, uh, would play into what we do in the disability inclusion realm.

Speaker 2: 7:07

Yeah. You know, I think it is a really exciting time for disability inclusion. You're right on LinkedIn. And in many places, you're just hearing much more about, um, inclusive workplaces and every aspect of inclusion, but it's super exciting as a disability advocate, you know, you and I are both disability advocates, I think, to kind of see that we are going to talk more about that really cool mentoring program. Achievability right after a word from our sponsor.

Speaker 1: 7:37

This podcast episode has been brought to you by old national bank. Old national bank has been recognized by the national organization on disability as a leading disability employer, and one of the best places to work for disability, inclusion, old national fostering, a welcoming workplace where people of all abilities, backgrounds and skills can work together to accomplish great things. So,

Speaker 2: 8:01

Ben, I said, before the break, we were going to talk about achievability, let's let our listeners, so what is achievability? What, what is that program all about?

Speaker 3: 8:10

Well, this is, this is my, my heart and my soul of, uh, what I do and what we do at old national. Uh, so the idea of achievability is to, as we discussed prior as to empower individuals with disabilities, uh, so the idea of achievability is that I searched around and meet a bunch of wonderful young aspiring professionals with disabilities throughout our now six to eight, uh, footprints of all national, uh, and pair those individuals with leaders at old national for a 10 month mentoring relationship that empowers and builds the professional network of those mentees, but also teaches our leaders, um, about, uh, different disabilities. So to get into a little bit more explanation is that mostly I recruit from the college campuses, you know, each college has a, or most colleges have a disability services office. You know, for instance, I use the resources of a disability services office when I was, uh, in college. Um, so we recruit a lot of individual individuals from the college campus, uh, and also through, uh, service providers, not just like arc and Easter seals and all the above, um, from around our, our footprint. So we meet aspiring young professionals. Usually those who are about to go in to a career, um, are about to graduate from college, you know, really take taking the next steps in their career very seriously. And I get to know those people, I conduct an exploratory interview. I find out what their interests are, you know, whether it's gaming or whether it's sports or whether it's, uh, auto racing. Um, I learned about, you know, their major, whether it's accounting or whether it's, you know, something to do with not-for-profit social work. And I pair them with a leader at old national that I believe, um, would be a good fit for them. So you could call me a matchmaker and you wouldn't be wrong. Um, so I try and create relationships that, and parents that I know the individuals will enjoy for the next couple of months, the idea of the program is to create friendships that will hopefully last longer than the program. But our goal is to empower the mentee with a bit more confidence, a bit more of a professional network, uh, once they graduate in, uh, in a bit more idea of Al they will get to where they want to be. Uh, what we, what we see is these friendships really do. Uh, well, let me go back a little bit. What I know is that I would not be at old national, without a mentor that connected me with some of our executive leaders that at old national even talk about having a job, uh, the way that I got a job was, was networking. Um, and so what I want to do for these young people that are looking for a career that are looking to get connected is provide them with a mentor. Like I have, uh, when I was graduating college. And that's what we all need, whether you have a disability or not, you need a champion on your side, we just call them up a mentor. And that's what achievability does kind of in a nutshell.

Speaker 2: 12:02

Yeah. You know, what an incredible program you just talked about, the impact on the mentee and your, your hopes for their development and success. I'm wondering on the flip side of that equation, when you look within, um, full national as a corporation, what kind of a culture shift do you think achievability, and some of your work has had on your colleagues that, who maybe hadn't had any exposure to people with disabilities prior to your work or achieveability?

Speaker 3: 12:35

Well, instead of perfectly, um, with mentioning that, you know, as I mentioned at the top of this program, I had no idea really about disability prior to my accident. Well, a lot of times some of our leaders have had no idea about disabilities, whether it's cerebral palsy, spinal cord, injury, visual impairment, or autism, all of which we've had individuals and achievability, um, our leaders may not have had an interaction with someone, uh, of all those different abilities. So, uh, for our leaders, uh, we're learning how to be better leaders. We're learning how to be more inclusive, how to be more thoughtful, how to be more empathetic. Um, that is, you know, my body with this program and really with inclusivity as a whole is one person at a time. That's how we make a difference. One moment, one interaction, one meeting, one discussion, one day, one conversation at a time. That's the way that we can make a difference. And so to your question, I can tell you that the leaders that have participated as mentors in achieveability, they will resoundingly an average founding. They told me that they have learned far more from their mentees and they have given to their men. Uh, and so they always come away with great lessons learned, um, at many times, um, are really both sides are very pleased with just the way that, uh, the mentees have helped transform the way that they think about, uh, disability or the way that they just think about, um, their own personal lives.

Speaker 2: 14:30

I love that. I think you're absolutely right. You know, one person at a time, one relationship at a time, that's how you get that culture shift. It might take you longer, but it really is more authentic that way, you know? And so achievability in some ways is kind of in its infancy, right? I mean, I'm wondering what you see in the future for old national bank, in terms of kind of overall your diversity and inclusion process. Um, what are your hopes and dreams for what it could and should be?

Speaker 3: 15:07

Uh, Lisa, it's funny that you say that, you know, when I, when I, uh, in the infancy stage and I've been with the company for seven years, and when I joined, uh, old national, I thought, oh man, we can knock this out in a year or so. And then I figured out, Hey, we're in six different states states, we have a multitude of departments. We have 3000 associates, oh, wait, this might take a little longer than, than we thought, which is great, uh, job security, right? Uh it's this is, uh, to be able to spread inclusion, um, and expand what we do does take time and does take intentional efforts. And I will say at what, what a mile to do, um, are to continue to spread these relationships in all of our communities where we are present, uh, to make better connections with colleges and not-for-profits and find different partnership opportunities, whether it's through achievability, whether it's recruiting folks for internships or whether it's supporting, uh, great work, just like what you're doing on, on this podcast. Uh, Lisa, this is the way that we make connections and, and spread inclusion. I'll tell you that. Let me give you a sneak peak on a project I'm working on, which maybe I shouldn't go, no, actually I have to do it. Uh, I know that's right, breaking that everyone, uh, my intention, uh, and hopes are to, to pair with what we do, uh, with achievability as to offer, um, for lack of better words, tools for financial empowerment, um, a seminar, uh, educational seminar that can be shared throughout our communities for parents, individuals, job coaches, uh, non profits, whomever, um, that can better understand, or to go back. I know that it took me about a year to figure out how much I was allowed to make financially, um, when I started my job. And I'll tell you that my father was an attorney for 16 years and had been a judge for 20 years and very connected in that the state. And we couldn't find the right people, uh, that have the answers to say, you know, how do you keep your Medicaid and continue to work? And so I know, and I serve on the ABL at the RD board here in Indiana. So I understand accounts and that's something that we'll talk more about next time. Uh, but, um, I think that what we can do as a financial institution, uh, is come to the plate with a little bit more information on not only, you know, offering job opportunities for mentorship, but also encouraging people and informing them that, Hey, you know, you can get out there and you can get a job because I think one of the biggest problems between getting someone off the couch, if you will, off the couch with a disability and enter the workforce is the fear of losing, uh, that safety net, the fear of losing social security or disability. Uh, but what we need to do is transform our society to know that there are options out there that it's okay, that you can survive, because there are a heck of a lot of really challenging people that are kind of stuck on the couch and fear. Um, and I was one of those people. Luckily I had a father who was a mother and we're not allowing me to stick around. I better figure this out, but that's all about having good mentors. That's why we need good mentors. And then we needed up to the actual institution, like old national bank partnering with local not-for-profits like arc and others to spread the word that say, you can do this. And here's how, and so I think to create a truly inclusive communities to create an educated, um, and community of people with disabilities and families, just to give them the information that they need and then the support that they need. So that's, that's a little bit of the plan, uh, at least for now. And that's, again, we set it here first. So now ask the app and it can't just be an idea roll out, like in the next couple of months, you

Speaker 2: 19:55

Are on the record, sir. Um, but what, uh, I, what a really cool vision, and I agree with you, the whole complicated benefits and earnings that people with disabilities have to navigate. There, there is such a need for support with that. And we do have to have you back for another podcast. I kind of noted how you kind of invited yourself already. So

Speaker 3: 20:24

Yeah, I picked up on that,

Speaker 2: 20:26

But I think our listeners would really appreciate hearing more from you. You do have a lot to say, and I think we have a lot to learn. So I guess before we say goodbye, I'd really like for, um, a lot of my listeners here in Wisconsin, to understand how folks can maybe get connected into, um, the achievability mentorship or just kind of learn more about what might be happening in Wisconsin. What do you recommend

Speaker 3: 20:52

Feel free to reach out to me at any time, Ben truckman@oldnashville.com. You can find me on Facebook. You can call me on my cell. Okay. I won't give out my cell phone. Now I got a little insecure, but feel free to email me. Um, you can search our, uh, the old national webpage too for, uh, chief stability. Uh, there's a connection form on there, but I I'd say, just reach out directly to maybe an email. I'd be having a phone call or a WebEx, or, uh, maybe we'll even do a podcast.

Speaker 2: 21:27

That sounds great. You know, I will put all this information and Ben's contact information in our show notes so that people can learn more. Then it's already gone by too quickly. Thank you so much for sharing all this great information. We will definitely hold you to your promise to come back and just really appreciate talking with you today. Okay. And thank you to our listeners for listening to the arc experience podcast, be sure to like share and subscribe and we'll talk to him in the next episode. Today's

Speaker 1: 22:00

Episode of the art experience was brought to you by the arc Wisconsin, the state's oldest advocacy organization for people with intellectual developmental disabilities and their families it's funded in part by the Wisconsin board for people with developmental disabilities. Our theme music called species is the property of[inaudible] and cannot be copied or distributed without permission. It was produced by Eleanor Cheetham, the composer and artist with autism.