Disability Employment Policy and Economic Opportunity: A Conversation with Dr. Purvi Sevak
“Let’s Get to Work:” A Podcast from the Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) – Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.
Dr. Purvi Sevak, Senior Director of Mathematica’s Disability Practice, joins the DEP RRTC’s Let’s Get to Work podcast hosted by Dr. Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and Principal Investigator of the DEP RRTC.
Dr. Sevak discusses her path from an undergraduate student studying health policy to her work at Mathematica, the evolution and importance of disability employment policy, and her research with the DEP RRTC examining how local infrastructure affects employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Drawing on both professional and personal experiences, Dr. Sevak highlights the importance of disability employment policy to the broader economy. “Making sure that everyone who wants to work can work and contribute is important,” she states. “If people with disabilities are employed and earning more than they could be making on SSI, they’re going to be spending more money and just contributing to the local economy, buying more things, renting apartments.”
Senior Director, Business Development
Mathematica
University Professor at Syracuse University Chairman of Burton Blatt Institute
Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University
Director of Knowledge Translation & Utilization
Senior Director for Law and Policy