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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

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Our Areas of Focus

Benefits planning

School-to-work transition

Disability inclusion at work

Systems-based work & collaboration

Emerging work & innovation

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YTIOnline Learning

Learn from YTI’s experts to improve your knowledge and gain practical skills in benefits planning and employment services for people with disabilities. Earn professional credentials and certificates though a wide variety of courses and classes, both in-person and virtually.

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Our Impact

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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

Our News & Events

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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

When the Employer Requests Documentation of Disability

Free webinar about employer requests for medical documentation to verify disability
An office worker reviews a sheet of paper while seated at a table.
When the Employer Requests Documentation of Disability

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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