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Our Story

For over 60 years, the Yang-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

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Areas of Focus

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Our Impact

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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.
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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?
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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

Matt Saleh Asks Questions, Spurs Impact

Matt is fascinated by the law and its relationship to disability and criminal justice. He is an energetic teacher and researcher in Cornell University’s ILR School, and he has taken on roles involving equity in employment.
Matt Saleh smiles thoughtfully while looking directly at the camera and sitting on a couch in front of a window.
Matt Saleh Asks Questions, Spurs Impact

Best Paper Award Won by Yang-Tan Researchers

Jennifer D. Brooks and Sarah von Schrader investigated how access to remote work for people with disabilities has been affected since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jennifer Brooks sits in her office while viewing the title page of her award-winning paper on her computer screen.
Best Paper Award Won by Yang-Tan Researchers

Our Events

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Partnering for Disability Employment: Drafting Effective Interagency Agreements

An in-person workshop about interagency agreements related to youth with disabilities and employment
LaWanda Cook Speaking at the DREAM Conference
Partnering for Disability Employment: Drafting Effective Interagency Agreements

Elevating Neurodivergent Talent: Inclusion and Support in the Workplace

Panel discussion aims to inspire positive change.
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Elevating Neurodivergent Talent: Inclusion and Support in the Workplace

Launching the new DisabilityStatistics.org: Get the latest ACS disability estimates with new tools

Join us for the launch of the new and improved DisabilityStatistics.org website.
Logo for DisabilityStatistics.org laid over a photo of a jogger with an artificial leg, stretching in an appealing ourdoor setting
Launching the new DisabilityStatistics.org: Get the latest ACS disability estimates with new tools

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