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Our Story

For over 60 years, the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability in the Cornell University ILR School has conducted a unique combination of research and outreach. With a mission of advancing the inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities in the workplace and community, our research, training, and technical resources expand knowledge about disability inclusion, leading to meaningful change.

About the Institute

Our Work

Areas of Focus

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Our Impact

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YTI Asks, ‘Can Career Coaching Be Transformative?’

Researchers are evaluating an Oregon-based career program for people with disabilities that includes a coaching component.
An ICAP participant repairing an engine
YTI Asks, ‘Can Career Coaching Be Transformative?’

Improving Employment in New York

YTI’s recent efforts in our home state of New York have included improving opportunities for people with disabilities to obtain competitive, integrated employment and supporting New York’s efforts to become a model employer of people with disabilities.
New York State Capitol building, Albany, NY
Improving Employment in New York

YTI Awarded Field-Initiated Research Grants

News about three field-initiated research grants that YIT was recently awarded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research
Wendy Strobel Gower
YTI Awarded Field-Initiated Research Grants

Working Together Emphasized at YTI Conference

Hosted by the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, the conference Working Together: Advancing Disability Inclusion in NYS Workplaces brought together leaders, providers, educators, and self-advocates for presentations and conversations.
Susanne Bruyere, speaking at the Working Together conference
Working Together Emphasized at YTI Conference

DisabilityStatistics.org Offers Visualization and Local Data

For those who need data about disability, the revamped DisabilityStatistics.org website offers a wide range of information. A Feb. 26 webinar will introduce new data and features.
Screenshot of Disability Statistics Home page shows the tagline "Disability stats your way". It also shows an athlete doing a sqat. The athlete has a prosthetic leg.
DisabilityStatistics.org Offers Visualization and Local Data

Bill Erickson Has a Spreadsheet with 3.2 Million Rows

As lead researcher for the DisabilityStatistics.org website, Bill Erickson’s goal is to help people understand the numbers behind disability. In this Q&A, Bill shares how he does this and gives insight into his field.
Bill Erickson seated at a speaker’s table while giving a presentation. He is wearing a white button-up dress shirt with a red tie. He is seated in front of an American flag and behind a laptop, mic, and coffee cup.
Bill Erickson Has a Spreadsheet with 3.2 Million Rows

Our News & Events

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Disability Disclosure and the Interactive Process

Free webinar answers a variety of questions about disclosure in the workplace
Two people shake hands during a job interview
Disability Disclosure and the Interactive Process

Celebrating Value and Talent: Supporting Employees through Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work Programs

Free webinar about effective stay-at-work/return-to-work programs
Two workers wearing hard hats. One holds a tablet and is supervising the other.
Celebrating Value and Talent: Supporting Employees through Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work Programs

Disability Rights Employment Awareness Month (DREAM) Symposium

Free, in-person, two-day event in Albany, NY
DREAM 2025 logo, including text saying 2025 New York State DREAM (Disability Rights Employment Awareness Month) Symposium
Disability Rights Employment Awareness Month (DREAM) Symposium

YTI Newsletter - September 2025

Read our September 2025 newsletter online or subscribe to our monthly mailing list.

Read the September Edition

Our Team

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It’s not possible to determine what somebody can achieve based on some disability or diversity characteristic that they have. Everyone has a right to participate in society to the best of their ability.
– WENDY STROBEL GOWER, THOMAS P. GOLDEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Wendy Strobel Gower Outdoors

Get in Touch with YTI

Yang-Tan Institute
ILR School, Cornell University
201 Dolgen Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853 

Phone: 607-255-7727 
Email: ilr_yti@cornell.edu

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Areas of Focus

Benefits Planning

School-to-Work Transition

Disability Inclusion at Work

Systems-Based Work & Collaboration

Emerging Work & Innovation

Browse YTI Projects
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YTIOnline Training

Learn from YTI's experts to improve your knowledge and skills in benefits planning and employment services for people with disabilities. Earn credentials and certificates through a wide variety of classes and courses, both in-person and remote.

Visit YTIOnline