Interacting with Empathy: Clearcover's Disability Pride Month Panel
Written by Team Clearcover | August 11th, 2022
Days after Chicago's 2022 Disability Pride Parade took place just blocks from our headquarters, Clearcover's Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Council (EIDC) hosted their first Disability Pride Month panel. The panel continued the EIDC's mission to frame initiatives that recognize and celebrate all types of individuals. By increasing everyone's knowledge about communities outside of their own, the EIDC aims to create a workplace where everyone feels comfortable to show up and contribute as their true selves.
During the panel, moderated by Jen Kemp, Controller and CAO, Clearcover-ers Michelle Fischgrund, Eleni Haloftis, Thomesha Walters, and Jonathan Parker shared stories about living with their disabilities. They spoke about the histories of their diagnoses, how they manage their disabilities in their day-to-day lives and how Clearcover's remote-first workplace and people-first culture enable them to thrive in their careers.
Michelle Fischgrund, Human Resources Business Partner at Clearcover, has learned to manage both her ADHD and Auditory Processing Disorder since being diagnosed when she was in elementary school. As an adult, Michelle finds that she often moves ahead in conversations before the person she is speaking to is ready. In Clearcover's start-up environment, Michelle thrives on the fast pace of her work. Her ability to quickly pivot from one idea to the next allows her to transition seamlessly from one task to another while she supports two separate departments.
When Eleni Haloftis was in her early 20's, she began to suddenly experience symptoms of intense thirst, extreme weight loss, and lethargy that did not match with the healthy active lifestyle she had been leading. Her doctors initially advised her to make food and exercise changes she had already been practicing, suspecting she was pre-diabetic for Type II Diabetes. This did not line up with her lifestyle and other results in her bloodwork. After diligently researching her symptoms and continuing to advocate for herself, she correctly self-diagnosed Type I Diabetes, which blood work soon confirmed. While managing her diabetes, Eleni has struggled with the inflated cost of insulin and other life-saving medical equipment, well as coordinating her care with insurance, doctors, and pharmacies. Since starting with Clearcover as a UX Research Intern this summer, Eleni has found working remotely from her home in San Diego to be empowering for managing her condition, especially during the pandemic. She has been able to break into the User Experience field and meet people from all around the country as she continues to learn.
Thomesha Walters's first flare up of Multiple Sclerosis left her completely paralyzed and required a year and a half of therapy for her to re-learn how to walk, speak, and resume her daily life. She knows that flare ups can happen again at any time, and she relies on her support system which includes her family, counselor, and life coach to navigate the emotional highs and lows of living with her diagnosis. Thomesha recently joined Clearcover as a Customer Advocate and has found that working from home allows her to be comfortable and free from worrying about having a flare-up while commuting to an office.
Insurance Product Manager Jonathan Parker was born with significant hearing loss in both ears. He communicates via spoken language and relies heavily on technology for his day-to-day work. For Jonathan, access and equity are essential for his daily life. Having the tools to access language and communication allows him to participate in the workplace. While working remotely from his home in Boston, technology like the auto-generated transcripts on Zoom calls enables him to fully engage with his team during meetings.
Clearcover's status as a remote-first company has allowed Michelle, Eleni, Thomesha and Jonathan to thrive in their work environments. Beyond the benefits of working from home, all four panelists spoke about the support they have found in Clearcover's people-first culture. For Jonathan, his fellow Clearcover-ers feel like a real family. His team is accommodating and, if Zoom transcripts are not working, they will leave a call and open a new one so he can participate. Thomesha has also found an understanding lead at Clearcover who gives her space when she doesn't feel well and has to step back. And Eleni is grateful for the encouraging Clearcover-ers across the country who are teaching her about her field. As an added bonus, Thomesha and Jonathan also expressed appreciation for their monthly delivery from SnackMagic, another benefit of working remotely at Clearcover!
As the discussion concluded, Jen suggested that the panel had one main take-away: we all need to interact with one another with empathy. As she pointed out, we don't know everything about each other outside of our Zoom screens. Jonathan agreed with Jen's observation and, as a member of the EIDC, he hopes to create more company-wide opportunities for interactions like the panel. He shared that his Slack is always open to anyone who would like to talk or needs support. He also reminded everyone that the EIDC has initiated company-wide Employee Resource Groups which empower employees to create communities with others who have similar interests in order to foster a sense of belonging. Currently, groups exist for parents, the LGBTQ+ community, and Women in Insurance and Technology.
Following the informative panels during Pride, World Autism, and Black History months this year, the Disability Pride Month panel provided Clearcover-ers another opportunity to listen with empathy and learn more about our fellow team members. Whether you have an idea for the EIDC's next panel discussion or you're ready to make a move to a company that values amplifying the voices of all communities represented among its employees, we invite you to apply for one of our over 40 open positions today.
