Latest / Podcasts By Donna Jodhan / Remarkable World Commentary Episode #66: Interview with Carol Trapani, Founder, ConnectAlt

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Remarkable World Commentary Episode #66: Interview with Carol Trapani, Founder, ConnectAlt · Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

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Podcast Commentator: Greetings. Donna J Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to
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her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary.
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Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts,
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insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners.
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Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids,
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especially kids with disabilities.
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Donna is a blind advocate, author, site loss coach,
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dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur,
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law graduate, and podcast commentator.
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She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge,
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skills, and expertise in access technology and information as someone who has been
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internationally recognized for her work and roles,
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she just wants to make things better than possible.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary.
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I'm Donna Johnson, a lifelong disability advocate and one who sees the world mainly
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through sound, touch and stubborn optimism.
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I am a law graduate, accessibility consultant,
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author, lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be blind.
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You may know me from a few headline moments, as in November 2010,
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I won the Landmark Charter case that forced the Canadian government to make its websites
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accessible to every Canadian, not just to sighted ones.
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And in July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act with more than two dozen
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disability groups to return equal access into federal law.
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And most recently, on June 3rd, 2022, I was greatly humbled.
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Humbled by Her Late Majesty's Platinum Jubilee Award for tireless commitment to
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removing barriers. When I'm not in a courtroom or in a committee room or a pottery
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studio, you'll find me coaching kids with vision loss,
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producing audio mysteries, or helping tech companies make their gadgets
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talk back in plain language.
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Everything I do circles one goal to turn accessibility from afterthought into daily
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practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench where policy meets
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live. Sorry, where policy policy meets lived experience and lived experience sparks fresh
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ideas. Now, before we jump into today's conversation,
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let me shine a spotlight on today's guest, a change maker whose work is every bit as
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remarkable as the world that we are trying to build.
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And I am very, very pleased to welcome Carol Trapani.
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I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly.
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Carol Trapani: Yes you are.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. Welcome, Carol.
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Carol Trapani: Thank you. Thank you so much, Donna.
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I'm really happy to be here.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: So, Carol, let's kick things off.
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And I'd love to start with your first spell.
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Why? Okay. When did you first razaleigh's.
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When did you first realize, sorry, that the blind and low vision
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community needed a single, accessible place to find events,
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programs, and resources?
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And what moment turned that realization into connect all.
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Carol Trapani: Okay, so I'm the mother of a blind daughter.
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My daughter Lucy was born blind.
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She's had several, many corneal transplantation surgeries,
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and right now has just a little bit of vision in one eye.
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Not really functional vision, but but she's not all in the dark,
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just a little bit in her her left eye.
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And as Lucy is, she wanted, wants to do everything.
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And so she she said, mom, I want to be an actress and I want to be a
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writer. And so as a mother, you know, as, as you are aware,
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like teaching someone who's blind and with all of your amazing degrees that you have.
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Donna, it's Wow. It's amazing.
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And kudos. I'm inspired every day when I meet people like you that have walked this earth
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without vision and have just been so successful,
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and Lucy was one of those very determined and driven.
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So I sought out to find blind acting for her.
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And it took a while to find a person who is also blind that teaches acting for the blind.
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She and I sought her out through the internet and then through another connection,
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and I finally reached her.
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And and so I also as trying to find different other things for Lucy that are more practical
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for her computer skills or things of that nature.
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I found it was very hard to go to.
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There's so many available resources and so many wonderful organizations,
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particularly in the US.
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There's, I think 2500 in US and Canada that support the blind,
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but everyone has stuff on their site and a calendar.
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And so it was very difficult for a sighted person to navigate and to find things for
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Lucy if she was available that day, where it was,
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if it was in person, if it was virtual.
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And so this was a problem that I addressed as a mom.
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But Lucy's really the brainchild of this.
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She had in a book she wrote and published, she wanted to create a social network for the
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blind and low vision in the book.
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And so she sought after that.
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She's very social. But at an entrepreneurial program for San Diego State,
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she submitted the idea.
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We went through this interviewing process of over 100 people in the space or that are
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blind with low vision, and really what came out was what the mom was
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struggling with me, which was really being connected to resources,
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events and programs. And through our journey of this,
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we found so many amazing things that are available for people who are blind that you
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wouldn't think a blind person could surf or rock,
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climb or ski.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right?
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Carol Trapani: Right. But anyway, we're learning a lot, and we've I think the turning point for me,
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Donna of Wow was we did a soft launch of the site,
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which Lucy and her best friend Ella created at the San Diego State Launch Pad,
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the Entrepreneur program.
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It's completely accessible.
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We've been working with all the organizations for the blind to and getting their input as
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we put it together, but we launched at the National Federation of the blind conference
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in New Orleans in July, and that just one on one conversations we had
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with we signed up over 350 people that there are only a thousand people attended the
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event. It was everyone.
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Please encouraged us. Please keep this up.
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We really need this. It's so great.
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And one gal came up to us the next day who had was from a small town in Nebraska,
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and she said, I don't have any resources close to me.
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But last night I signed up for a yoga class at The Lighthouse,
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San Francisco on virtual, and I met three people.
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She was so thrilled. Wow.
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It was. It really saw the whole thing in motion.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You know, the name Lucy, I think suits your daughter,
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Lucy. And I hope to God that one day I get to meet this young lady.
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But how was her name chosen?
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Carol Trapani: Well you know, nothing's nothing's a coincidence.
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I believe in this world, but my grandmother was named Lucy.
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And so I have a son who's Luke.
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And my son. Lucy's brother is three years older than her,
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and he sought out to become an ophthalmologist.
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And he's graduated from medical school, and he's become an eye doctor for his because
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of his sister. And I wanted to name her Lucy,
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but my husband, Lucy's dad was like, oh, Luke and Lucy.
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That's too cutesy. So anyway, when Lucy was born,
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he looked at her and he said, She's Lucy.
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And we found out she was blind and Saint Lucy,
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I don't know if you were aware, but Saint Lucy is the patron saint for
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vision. And so it was just all really meant to be.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay, now, as a blind host who often has to hunt across dozens of sites for
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information, I feel the fragmentation every single week in plain language.
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How does connect all reduce that friction for someone like me?
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Searching for opportunities by topic, date, location,
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or online and in person?
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Yes.
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Carol Trapani: So when you go on connect all you can search by all of those categories.
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So if you are interested in sports soccer, it would show where we're at.
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Adding more to the site every day as we're meeting with individuals on zooms that have
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these organizations that support the blind, and then people are introducing us.
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It's just been really wonderful. But we've you can you can search by date.
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So this past Saturday, Lucy and I had a booth at Wayfinders
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Christmas Carnival, and it was really beautiful.
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Stevie Wonder's foundation gave away a scholarship to a young girl who's also a go
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getter like you and Lucy.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh.
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Carol Trapani: And we At the event, I was able to show everyone out today.
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Today's the carnival, and there's a soccer soccer program,
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blind soccer program in Los Angeles.
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And that night, there was a tech group that was meeting online.
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So there were a few folks there that had signed up for the tech online thing.
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There were a couple of techie blind techie people there that had interest in meeting
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other people. So anyway, it does, it does.
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That's the goal is really to hopefully have as much as possible where someone can say,
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oh, I'm free, I'd like to do yoga, or I'd like to try to work on my fitness,
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or I'd like to work on a my professional resume.
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And then you can connect with the blind professional organization.
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Or you can connect with Braille Institute does resumes and they have different topics
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that they do throughout the year for job finding and job preparation,
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if you will. So that's really the goal is to make it really easy for,
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for the parents as well.
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But as a person with low vision or blind to be able to get on the site and connect with
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their community.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And I think it would benefit those, especially who live in remote areas.
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Right? Yes. Yeah.
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Carol Trapani: Yes.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Clip. Alt is a family powered venture with Lucy and Ella.
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Okay, yes. From my seat.
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Lived experience often sharpens products decisions.
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And how does Lucy's perspective and Ella's media stop's skills shape
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the platform's voice, feature priorities and community standards?
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Carol Trapani: So I would say that this is a wonderful question because I think Lucy,
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Ella and I really do have three different perspectives.
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So Ella is my godchild, and she and Lucy have known each other since
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Ella was born. Lucy's a few months older than Ella and Ella's perspective,
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and I've heard her share this.
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Is that she doesn't know anyone else who's blind but Lucy,
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that she has introduced Lucy to so many of her friends and acquaintances,
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and she gets a perspective of how intimidated maybe someone is that has never met someone
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who's blind. And and how they act or react in their connecting with Lucy.
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And then the biggest thing for Ella is the surprise when they hear that Lucy is a
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published author and she's a scriptwriter, and she created a website and she's traveled
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around. And so Ella has shared the joy that she gets by being able to introduce other
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people, sighted individuals on to introduce them to someone like Lucy and introduce them
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to what? And I believe my perspective of being Lucy's mother as well is I'm always
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trying to challenge her. I don't want her to be limited by her sight.
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I don't want her to be limited at all.
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And so you know, I, I, I tend to, you know, try to stretch your
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boundaries a bit. Although she's stretching them further than I.
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But I can tell you to Donna, when I close my eyes and try to,
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to do something, I go oh.
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Why was I so, so tough on Lucy about being messy?
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I think I just missed my mouth, so.
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Oh, lovely. So I think our goal as we we've been it's been so wonderful to be able to
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connect with CEOs of organizations that support the blind.
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Troy with AIA. Ira has been so generous with his time and his organization and helping us.
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And so we are able, I think, to in just grassroots and speaking to
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community members as well as people who support the community,
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really understand kind of what the priorities should be,
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and really trying to create a site that takes away a lot of the angst that someone may
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have, you know, trying to sign up for an event or find an event or find find their
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their people, if you will, that have, you know,
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an interest in something that they may have or a goal.
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And so I think our job really is these one on one zooms we're doing with organizations.
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And we would encourage anyone who's listening to your program to please email us any thing
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that they think we should have on our site, or please send the site out to users that
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they think may benefit.
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But, you know, I think this is a community platform.
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So we certainly want to keep enriching the site with great content and then great
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individuals to engage.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I think this is a marvelous, marvelous initiative.
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And, you know, like I wish somebody had thought about this long before,
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but nothing before. It's time, you know.
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Right, right. I really I really think it is.
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Carol Trapani: Right. It's it's a bit of a labor of love.
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I can share that because it is pretty, you know,
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pretty time intense in getting the content.
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Yeah. The girls did a really good site, and we're doing a lot of grassroot exposure.
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So, like, Lucy and I were at the Wayfinder event this weekend,
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and it's very joyful because we get to talk to to people and parents and because it won
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the this founder of Be My Eyes said something to me,
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Donna, that it had not occurred to me, which is silly based on I'm the mother of a
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blind child. But he said blindness is a family affair,
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and it certainly is. The whole family gets involved in helping support,
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you know, if you're if you're fortunate to have family support,
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not everybody in the world is whether or not.
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But but to have that family interaction for a blind individual is,
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is an important thing.
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And, and so we were able to speak to families at this event this weekend.
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And anyway, I felt very we felt very fortunate to be invited and,
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and we did pick up some information of people that were struggling with certain things that
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were going to try to help solve.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Lovely. You exhibited at the National Federation of the Blind convention in New
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Orleans. What did you learn at NFB 2025 about needs,
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about language and trust that change or validated connect alts roadmap?
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Carol Trapani: Well, I can tell you that at that event, I mean,
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I, I was just blown away by the individuals that I met,
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the inspiring stories that we heard we were validated by everyone that came up to our
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table and signed there, signed up.
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But I can share a story.
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There was a gentleman that we were about to shut everything down.
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We had because I'm from New Orleans, so I live in we live in California,
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but I have a big my whole family is there. So I had a lot of support there.
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And we had a snowball machine and we had beignets in the morning.
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So we were meeting people through food like you do in New Orleans.
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And we're about to wrap up.
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It was the last day, and this gentleman wheels up to our table and his name was
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Shaquille. And he says that I said, your dad must have named you that name.
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And he said, yes, because Shaquille O'Neal was his,
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his favorite basketball player or whatever.
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And he wheeled up to the chair and table and he said,
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my name is Shaquille. No sight, no legs, no problem.
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No, God put. Me here to inspire people.
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And he was a motivational speaker and he said this,
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your site is something that is going to allow.
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He lived in Alaska, so he flew to New Orleans alone,
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with no legs, in a wheelchair and blind.
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Wow. And he's a motivational speaker.
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And he he I mean, I was in tears hearing his story,
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but he turned that around, and he said, this is something that I need.
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I'm in Alaska, so if I can sign up for something virtual that I wasn't even aware of
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and then I can connect with people and even help improve his own craft.
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Of speaking he he took a bunch of our little NFC tags with him that connect to the site,
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and he ended the event for us in a big way.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Wow. That must have been really, really moving.
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I think I would be in tears myself.
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Carol Trapani: I was Donna.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah, yeah. Now, many platforms say that they are accessible.
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But the some details matter.
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Carol Trapani: Yes they do.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Could you walk me through specific choice like skip link,
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keyboard flow headings and screen reader cues that you have implemented and what you still
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want to test or audit against wcaG?
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Carol Trapani: Yes. So Ella, Ella and Lucy really worked with the team at San Diego State in the lab
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to work on the site, creating the site with a lot of help.
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Lucy had, I would say she's not as tech savvy.
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Lucy isn't. She's more of a social person, but she had a half a dozen friends who are
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very tech savvy. In fact, a couple were teachers.
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When she attended the California School for the blind, there was a few of us.
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One was a blind person who was the tech, person at the school.
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And so and then the Braille Institute was very helpful as well in reviewing our site
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and making recommendations.
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So Lucy's team they would put the site together,
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they'd get feedback, they'd go back to the drawing board and they'd continue to try to
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improve it. The, the one thing that we have tried,
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and we had to take it off the site because it wasn't working.
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But it is a goal. And I think we're going to get there is we we worked with the brilliant
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folks at Infosearch and they and they put together AI on our site,
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but it wasn't drawing from our site.
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So if you went if you asked AI on our site for yoga class in your area,
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for example, it would pull, you know, yoga classes all over the place.
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It wasn't specific to the stuff that was on the site that was tailored for someone with
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low vision, So they tried a few attempts and took it down,
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and they're still kind of working on that. So what we really what we really did change was
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we were able to, from our site, add to the calendar someone's personal
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calendar. Right. The event so that they didn't have to sign up,
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then go to the calendar. So we're trying to streamline. That was one of the things that
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we did here. And then the other was that if we could create this where it was a voice AI
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to say, sign me up for a, you know, a tech class or surfing or whatever
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in San Diego, wherever the case is for blind surfing.
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And then can you also put on my calendar to call the Waymo,
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you know, 30 minutes before and can you so that that it could be everything on this,
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it could make it as smooth transition as possible to get out the door and to go attend
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the event. Wow. We're not there yet, Donna, but we're working on that.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You're getting there? Yes.
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I mean, even that is innovative.
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I am really impressed, I really am.
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Carol Trapani: Thank you. Thank you.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, I know that early stage teens agonize over sustainability.
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Carol Trapani: Yes.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: What business model options are you exploring that keep the platform free for end users
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while getting organizations valuable tools with all without compromising editorial
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integrity?
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Carol Trapani: Yes. So this is something that we have been working on and continue to work on.
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So at the program that we got into at San Diego State for the idea that is all part of
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it. It's like, how will you be able to make this sustainable for the,
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for the users. And. And create some sort of a monetization package.
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So and we've we've been fortunate, like I said,
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to meet with many people in this space from the commercial side.
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So like the IRAs of the world that have been like,
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I can't even say enough how wonderful they've been the whole team.
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And so this is where we think we are that we want to keep it free for the user.
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And I think that is probably, you know, a consistent theme in In the Blind
23:44
Space is, you know, trying to provide these resources and services at no cost to the
23:48
user. So that leaves sort of two areas.
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One are the organizations that support the blind,
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mostly non-profits. There's, like I said, just the wayfinders and the
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lighthouses of the of the US.
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They're all separate. But and those folks have the great content.
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They have great delivery of, of resources.
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But they're non-profits and they also have a user base that they can connect us with.
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So we kind of see that as our partnership with them is getting their content,
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making sure it's accurate on our site, providing outreach for them,
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but also them providing outreach to us.
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So we we really see a model to be more of a sponsorship type of model.
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One of the big things, as you know, is not to have a bunch of
24:33
advertising on the site with photos or anything, because that's a big distraction
24:36
for for the blind user.
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You know, we want to keep that.
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So our thought would be, is that based on the number of users there,
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there are models out there, like a monthly sponsorship model for
24:48
companies that would want to, you know, promote on our site.
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And so our thought would be is we could highlight a sponsor of the day and just have
24:58
a little blurb about that, but have a whole sponsorship page where
25:01
people could connect in to those organizations as you know,
25:05
as they see fit or as, as a need.
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And that model is probably the the one at this point that we would we have not signed
25:13
up any sponsors yet. We're trying to increase our base.
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We're our goal is to try to get to 1000 users by the end of the year.
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So we're getting close.
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But, you know, I think I think Donna and I don't know,
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there's so many different numbers about how many folks that are blind and low vision,
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but I think the number that I there's like 8 million tech savvy blind people in the,
25:36
in North America, I don't know how accurate that number is. That was from I think the
25:40
World Health Organization or one of those.
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So it's not a big percentage of folks that we need to sign up that we're trying to sign up
25:46
as users. But the more the more users, the more engagement we get,
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the better information we have on the site.
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And then I think the the better it is all the way around.
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We can support it. We can sustain it.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: How many members make up your team?
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Carol Trapani: So right now we have Ella and Lucy and I are the founders.
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And then we have three interns currently.
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So we were able to we've connected with the National Association of Blind Students again.
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Makes me feel very embarrassed about how I'm not as accomplished as these people.
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These young people. That have multiple degrees.
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And don't be embarrassed.
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I'm joking a bit, but again, you know, the gal that is working with us,
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she's she has her masters, she's getting a teaching degree.
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And so she's a national association of blind students.
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She is interning for us.
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And then we, San Diego and San Diego State, we have an intern.
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And then we have another unpaid intern.
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So we have three unpaid interns, Ella, Lucy and I.
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So there's just five of us right now.
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Wow.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Good start.
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Carol Trapani: Yes. A lot of work.
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Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And do you sleep at night?
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Carol Trapani: Well, it's a good. It's a good reason to have bags under my eyes.
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And so any of your listeners, if anyone again,
27:19
if they have any, any organizations or anything they'd like us to add,
27:24
please do. And if, if anyone be would be interested in being a free intern,
27:29
we would love that for you.
27:31
We would help someone with their resume building or anything of that nature.
27:35
Because again, it is a community site.
27:38
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You know, as I sit listening to you, my mom said to me the other day,
27:42
she was born too early for technology.
27:46
You know, it's true.
27:48
Carol Trapani: Yeah. That's true. Yeah.
27:49
Yeah it's true.
27:52
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. Listings quality is everything.
27:57
Carol Trapani: Yes.
27:57
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. How do you vet organizations and events?
28:04
Prevent outdated information and handle moderation so that a parent,
28:12
student, or professional can trust what they find on Connect alt.
28:20
Carol Trapani: So right in the in our initial phase, we've had we've paid very close attention to
28:28
making sure that what we put on the site is, is,
28:32
is accurate, up to date.
28:34
And so we had a couple of little glitches along the way.
28:39
That and it's, and it was because we didn't have a direct conversation with the provider.
28:44
What happened was there's the blind athletic.
28:48
Oh, gosh, I'm at Northwest Blind Athletic Association.
28:50
They have amazing classes that they do virtual for fitness.
28:56
And so we we were connected to them through someone else.
29:00
We went on their site and we put their information on the site,
29:04
and the poor gal that runs the organization, called me and said,
29:07
we're overwhelmed with the number of people who have signed up on our classes.
29:12
And so we we kind of we had to go back and put limit to 20.
29:17
And so we learned from there.
29:19
Wait, we need to have real direct communication,
29:22
not just an internet search.
29:24
And then this was actually forwarded to us by someone who who had attended a lot of their
29:29
fitness classes. So and, but but we didn't call and set the zoom up
29:34
first. So that was a little bit trial by error.
29:38
We learned that we have to have a direct conversation with all of the folks,
29:43
which is why it's taken us a little bit more time to get everything up on the site.
29:47
But we're making great progress there.
29:50
So what we do, Donna, is we'll we'll reach out to the organization,
29:53
we'll set up a zoom, we'll share with them what we're doing.
29:57
I have not had one group say that this is a bad idea.
30:00
Every every one of the organizations. Oh, this is so needed. I can't believe that no
30:04
one's been able to do this yet. I know it's a it's a big lift,
30:07
and we're here to help.
30:08
And we'll make sure that we update this so they'll share with us,
30:12
like wayfinder or I think maybe Braille Institute does their events or their
30:18
programs. They update every quarter.
30:20
So we have we call them once a quarter.
30:23
We go through this with the events that they want us to post or that,
30:27
you know, because some may not be ones that they may be already maxed out.
30:31
So we want to make sure we get that out. So no one's getting frustrated.
30:35
So and then some posts there's annually some do it monthly.
30:38
So Ella and Lucy have a pretty big calendar going.
30:42
And when they they reach out via email, they send us their calendar and we update it
30:45
accordingly. So I think it's that kind of communication that's,
30:49
that's trying to keep us as accurate as possible.
30:53
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: That's a lot of work, isn't it?
30:56
Carol Trapani: It is.
30:57
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: But listening to you, it gives me a headache.
31:01
Carol Trapani: You know what, Donna? I mean it.
31:03
My day job, my commercial real estate I've done for over 30 years.
31:08
And I love my job. Obviously, I've been my career this long,
31:12
but this has been just magical because everyone really wants to help and support
31:17
each other. And every time I get off of one of these zooms,
31:22
I learn something new and I connect with another beautiful soul.
31:26
So yeah.
31:29
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: No, from the SD, from the s d s you use zoom,
31:38
you sdsu's? Yes. Zip.
31:41
Carol Trapani: Launchpad. Yes.
31:43
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: To warm introductions in our community, mentorship and networks accelerate.
31:51
Impact. Which mentors or partners, formal or informal,
31:58
have been pivotal for Connect Alt and what doors did they open for you?
32:06
Carol Trapani: Oh, wow. So when we got accepted into the program,
32:10
there was our mentor who was given to us by San Diego State.
32:17
And these there's two gentlemen that they split up the the group,
32:22
and they divide them up based on, you know, the company that you're trying to
32:26
build and maybe their level of interest.
32:29
And that's how we got introduced to IRA, the CEO of IRA.
32:35
And so that wind up being just he was again, Troy put us on his calendar for a half hour,
32:44
and we, we you know, we talked about the idea.
32:46
He gave us some input and he said, you know,
32:49
when you're ready, reach back out.
32:51
Feel free to reach back out on my calendar.
32:53
And we were going down to San Diego. He's in San Diego,
32:56
and I asked if he'd meet for coffee instead, which we had a half hour and we wind up
33:01
meeting for over two hours.
33:03
And I just again, I can't say enough about how much these early mentors in these folks
33:11
that really first of all, they believed in the idea and they they want
33:15
to help, you know, the community for the blind.
33:17
So it's an added besides a business thing, it's an added,
33:19
you know, philanthropic value, I think for for a lot of people when,
33:23
when they really understand what we're trying to do. So it those,
33:27
those meetings were invaluable.
33:29
And then once we got past the first year and we built the site we were given another
33:35
mentor who is, you know, a business consultant,
33:40
and she's kind of once a month, we have a call with her and tell her what
33:45
we're doing, and they kind of encourage us on,
33:47
on taking new steps. So the zip launchpad at San Diego State was invaluable.
33:56
Wow.
33:58
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now you've built a high stakes career at CBRE,
34:03
navigating complex transactions and long term client relationships.
34:10
Which skills from commercial real estate, prospecting and negotiating the execution
34:20
discipline translate most directly to building a national access platform?
34:29
Carol Trapani: Okay, so. I it's a great question.
34:32
I would say that Being tenacious if you are.
34:39
Is probably one of the ones that, you know, that kind of drive of what you have
34:44
to do in a, when you're a self-starter in commercial real estate.
34:48
Yeah. And I would also say just one of the things I love the most and maybe my daughter
34:54
takes this gets this from me is the relationship building piece.
34:59
And getting to meet so many people like I've shared with you,
35:02
like you, Donna, that have just done so much for the blind community and selfless
35:08
selflessly have been putting yourself out there to help.
35:13
And I think that that has been like the creating,
35:18
developing relationships that I hope create long lasting ones,
35:23
I think would be the most valuable from my commercial real estate experience to connect.
35:27
All because it's about people.
35:30
Really.
35:30
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, yes it is. My clock is starting to wind down,
35:34
but I have two important questions for you.
35:37
And the first one is have you ever been to Canada?
35:40
Carol Trapani: Yes, Claire. I've been to Vancouver and I've been dying to go to Toronto because I heard
35:48
Toronto is the food capital, one of the food capitals of the world.
35:52
And I like. Food.
35:53
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: So how long ago was this?
35:57
Carol Trapani: So I was in Vancouver for a wedding.
36:01
It was. You know, everything now is pre Covid post Covid.
36:04
So it was pre Covid. So I gosh I guess 7 or 8 years ago.
36:09
It's been a while.
36:11
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Don't you think it's time for another visit.
36:14
Carol Trapani: Yes I'm coming Donna. I'm coming.
36:18
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You're coming. I'm very, very serious.
36:20
I'd love to meet you and Ella and Lucy.
36:23
Carol Trapani: Great. Donna, where are you?
36:25
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Toronto.
36:26
Carol Trapani: Oh, you're in Toronto. Oh, well, we should definitely plan on coming.
36:29
And then perhaps we can meet with some of the organizations to for the blind that are
36:33
there. And while we're there and and meet, of course,
36:37
come to meet you and then also, you know, meet other organizations while
36:40
we're there would be helpful for us to continue to add on to the site.
36:45
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Definitely. So that is one of the initiatives we will plan for sometime next year.
36:51
Carol Trapani: I would love. That. Great.
36:53
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: So my final question to you is what is your call to action for parents,
36:58
for students, for organizations?
37:02
And you know, I'm most interested to know, especially for those who have,
37:08
you know, were born with a vision impairment.
37:12
I'll just let you know. I've had several cornea transplants myself.
37:15
So I do share something with Lucy.
37:18
Carol Trapani: Yeah, she. Said 20 plus.
37:21
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: No, I only had five.
37:23
Carol Trapani: That's five is five is a lot.
37:26
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: It's very, very stressful.
37:28
And on the other day surgeon asked me, would you,
37:33
would you like to regain your sight?
37:34
And I said, no. You know why?
37:36
It's too stressful. Yeah, it's too stressful.
37:39
And you know, my mom has walked the walk with me,
37:42
and she's still with us.
37:44
But, you know, I it's not.
37:46
It's not the same.
37:48
Carol Trapani: Yeah. No, I understand.
37:50
Lucy. Lucy, you should definitely share those feelings with each other as well.
37:55
I think it would be. It would be helpful for Lucy to hear what you've said to me as well.
38:00
So, you know, I, I would say that Gosh, I got lost in our question.
38:07
I was just thinking about what you said, Donna. And so if you could repeat the
38:11
question again. So I make sure I'm answering everything that.
38:15
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: What is your call to action?
38:17
Yes. Parents for students, for organizations of and for persons with
38:24
disabilities, especially for those with, with sight impairments.
38:28
So your call to action.
38:30
Carol Trapani: So our call to action is from the community based.
38:34
The individuals that can get the most out of this site is to sign up on the site,
38:40
because the more users we have and the more engagement we have,
38:43
then we can make this sustainable and continue to grow the platform internationally
38:48
and within, you know, within the communities at large.
38:53
For the organizations that support the blind to send us your content,
38:58
you know, connect us with your members so that,
39:01
again, we can provide outreach for them and outreach for the events that they would like
39:06
to, to showcase in and for the community to be able to actually participate in.
39:14
And so, again, in the organizations that or maybe on the commercial side,
39:19
the, the for profit organizations, the folks that do the great technology,
39:23
etc., would be to support our site.
39:26
And, you know, I believe that with organizations like Waymo and Google and the
39:32
world is thinking of blindness in a different way than they did in the past.
39:37
And you know, I do believe as a sighted person,
39:44
very often we're blinded by our sight.
39:46
So it goes both ways. You know, sometimes the lack of vision of someone with
39:51
sight overtakes them. Whereas my daughter Lucy,
39:56
not seeing something, has much greater insight to share with the
40:01
world. And I think being able to connect and connect alt by improving someone's life
40:11
either through entertainment or through education,
40:15
but primarily through other other individuals who have walked the same journey or walking
40:21
the same journey would be a gift.
40:24
It would be. It would be a gift.
40:25
And so the call to action is for us to all connect on,
40:29
connect alt and make it a better sight for everyone that's using it and for everyone who
40:34
can benefit from it.
40:37
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: It has been a pleasure having you in my interview on my podcast.
40:42
I really, really appreciated, Carl.
40:45
And if there's anything I could do, you know,
40:47
in the future, I'd love to stay in touch.
40:49
I'd love to collaborate with you in any way, shape or form.
40:52
And hopefully we get to see you in Toronto.
40:55
Carol Trapani: And yes, we will. We will definitely make a plan.
40:57
Well, offline, I'll, I'll email and we'll get some.
41:00
We'll try to get a date for 2026 that, you know,
41:03
maybe works in your schedule and, and everyone that's listening.
41:06
It's our website is WW connect.
41:11
So connect.
41:12
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Com thank you very much and have a great rest of the day.
41:16
And hello to Lucy.
41:18
Carol Trapani: Thank you Donna.
41:19
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. Bye bye bye. Bye now.
41:22
Carol Trapani: Bye bye.
41:23
Donna Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Bye.
41:26
Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at Donna at gmail.com.
41:32
Until next time.