INCLUSION FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Promoting DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) in the workplace has garnered overwhelming support and attention as of late. But the conversation surrounding DEI continues to grow louder, encompassing an audience far beyond race or gender and impacting society as a whole and not just the corporate bottom line. Page has chosen to address the issue of inclusion for people with disabilities by using a 3-pronged approach:
ACCESSIBILITY
Despite the beauty and fashion industries pushing for more representation across skin tones, gender expressions, and body types, the visibility for people with disabilities remains
largely overlooked. Page created Beauty For All™, a seasonal subscription box filled with beauty, fashion, wellness and lifestyle products, to rectify the longstanding history of disability exclusion. Each box is curated with products to include adaptive makeup tools and products that cater to people of ALL ages, genders, skin tones and abilities. Page developed a partnership with Guide Beauty, the leading beauty brand for grip-able and hand-steadying products, easy-to-open packaging and other make-up application tools of universal design.
ADVOCACY
Since 2010, Page has collaborated with Best Buddies International. This year she took on the role of Co-Chair for the Best Buddies Friendship Walk in Pittsburgh, personally helping them raise over $452,000. The most money ever raised in walk history. As a leader, volunteer and friend to her buddy Ashlyn, Page has given hundreds of hours of time to one-on-one mentoring people with disabilities to address the mistreatment of those with disabilities worldwide.
Co-Chair of Best Buddies in Pittsburgh
Page took her message to the Nation's Capitol in Washington D.C. where she lobbied with the nation's Disability Policy Director Michael Gamel-McCormick. Together they built a partnership with the Agency of Aging and have forged a strong partnership with Senator Casey to shape policy in her state.
APPRECIATION
Page is an activist, working to establish a more inclusive society. People tend to empathize with those whose experience they can understand and relate to. As an award-winning broadcast journalist, Page created the ‘Profiles in Courage’ video series to share her personal story and the stories of other individuals who have overcome adversity. It is her intention that this video series will inspire people with and without disabilities to never give up on their dreams, promote empathy and appreciation for people’s differences in our society and prove to everyone who views it that with confidence and courage, all challenges can be conquered.
ENDING BULLYING THROUGH PREVENTION
Page suffered through the emotional and mental torment of unflattering photos posted online, hurtful words, and even death threats because of her Jewish heritage and Indigenous ancestry. Ethnically ambiguous, she was subjected to micro-aggressions and racism regularly. Today, despite being a successful woman those childhood wounds run deep. As we have seen happen across the country, hate can quickly turn to violence, and bullying has crossed from schoolyards to social media and has escalated from taunting to vehemence. In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides have drawn attention to the connection between bullying, self-harm, and suicide. In 2010, Page felt called to inspire those impacted by bullying through her 501c3 non-profit Confident Heart, Courageous Soul initiative. Every day she works to be a force for change, breaking down stereotypes to help touch and save lives.
SPOKESPERSON
Led Hundreds of Students to Take the Pledge
'Be An Upstander, Not A Bystander’
