Each year the Center on Disabilities recognizes a leader who has made a major impact in education and research. This year we are pleased to honor a tireless advocate of people with disabilities, Tari Hartman Squire. Her passion and dedication to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace, marketplace and media, demonstrates that she is truly a worthy recipient of the 2020 Strache Leadership Award.

As CEO of EIN SOF Communications, a disability-inclusive diversity strategic marketing firm, Squire leads disability-focused branding, employment consultation and The Disability Market Research Initiative for public, corporate and non-profits. Recent clients and partners include AT&T, Apple, BBDO, CBS, Facebook, Spectrum, Verizon Media and the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center.

Her signature project, Lights! Camera! Access!, connects media companies with aspiring tech and media professionals, filmmakers and storytellers with disabilities to increase employment in front of and behind the camera, to improve disability portrayals and access to media with captions and audio descriptions — Squire’s focus for decades since founding the Media Access Office as liaison between the disability community and entertainment industry.

As a result of casting discrimination during a temporary disability, Tari and other disabled actors spearheaded the Screen Actors Guild Performers with Disabilities Committee, and advocated for disability inclusion, 10 years before the ADA. She received the Media Access Visionary Award for her leadership in creating disability awareness within the entertainment industry and Leadership Awards from Women’s e-News, New Mobility Magazine and the Disability Community Resource Center.

The Strache Leadership Award was presented to CSUN alum Tari Hartman Squire at the Keynote Address on Tuesday evening, March 10, 2020.