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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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Courses & Products

Find high-quality courses and toolkits for managers, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers in the disability field.

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Our Impact

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YTI Experts at DREAM in Albany

At New York state’s annual DREAM symposium, the Yang-Tan Institute (YTI) delivered over a dozen breakout sessions that reflected the broad expertise of the institute. The institute also assisted with developing and producing the event.
Yang-Tan Institute executive director Wendy Strobel Gower smiles while chatting with a DREAM attendee. Strobel Gower is professionally dressed in chunky jewelry, black dress and tan wrap; the attendee is wearing a blue scarf over a gray top and a backpack with a floral design.
YTI Experts at DREAM in Albany

What the Proposed Rule to End Subminimum Wage Means for Workers with Disabilities

On December 3rd, 2024, the United States Department of Labor proposed a new rule to end the 14c waiver program for people with disabilities. The Yang-Tan Institute's Ellice Switzer responds to a Q&A on the new proposed rule.
Photo of a hand selecting one person figure out of a line of figures, with a dollar sign over its head.
What the Proposed Rule to End Subminimum Wage Means for Workers with Disabilities

Neurodiversity and Employment: Podcast Features Bruyère

Neurodiversity in the workplace is the topic of a Cornell Keynotes podcast episode with Susanne Bruyère from the Yang-Tan Institute.
Software developer wearing a headset to filter out unwanted noise
Neurodiversity and Employment: Podcast Features Bruyère

Counselors Benefit from Disability-Related Training

What do you get when you combine experts in the disability field at the Yang-Tan Institute with vocational rehabilitation counselors in New York state?
Student participating in a small-group online class
Counselors Benefit from Disability-Related Training

Bruyère Educates Saudi Officials on Disability Rights

Susanne Bruyère, a disability rights activist who has spent her career researching and advocating for policy change around inclusive hiring, recently assisted Saudi Arabia’s efforts to promote disability rights.
Susanne Bruyère give a presentation in Saudi Arabia.
Bruyère Educates Saudi Officials on Disability Rights

Predicting Success for Students with Autism

Researchers at the Yang-Tan Institute have identified “predictors of success” for high schoolers with autism. These experiences correlate with success in postsecondary education, employment and independent living.
A high school classroom with students sitting at their desks while listening to a lecture. A student in the center of the image has raised a hand and is smiling while waiting to be called on.
Predicting Success for Students with Autism

Our Events

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Working Together: Advancing Disability Inclusion in NYS Workplaces

In-person, day-long conference for disability service providers, transition educators, policymakers, businesses, and self-advocates.
In-person conference, called Working Together: Advancing Disability Inclusion in NYS Workplaces
Working Together: Advancing Disability Inclusion in NYS Workplaces

What Is a Disability?

Free webinar examines how disability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act
overhead view of crowd standing in shape of International Symbol of Access
What Is a Disability?

Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the ADA, Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Free online webinar explores the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act
President Bush Signs into Law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 on the South Lawn of the White House
Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the ADA, Looking Back and Looking Ahead

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

Contact YTI

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

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