Media Resources

Inclusion Solutions is Available as a Resource

If you're working on a story about inclusion of people with disabilities, you've come to the right place. Inclusion Solutions is dedicated to finding affordable, common-sense ways for people with disabilities to gain access to restaurants, businesses, shopping areas, polling places and more. Our team includes people with deep experience and commitment to these issues.

Patrick Hughes, Jr., Founder

Prior to Inclusion Solutions, Pat Hughes previously founded the non-profit "Natural Ties" and served as its executive director. "Natural Ties" was dedicated to fostering relationships and friendships between people with disabilities and those without. Under his leadership the organization grew to include 14 chapters around the country.

"When I first joined Inclusion Solutions in 2005, Pat Hughes was concerned about how we would communicate with people outside the company since I am deaf/hard of hearing. I had a video phone installed and Pat even learned out to use it.

He gives me every opportunity to interact with potential customers, CEOs and business owners and to represent the company at tradeshows and meetings. Pat has a passion for the disability community and works to make the world accommodate us. "
-Carey Siegal, Inclusion Solutions, Chicago, Illinois

Hughes' work on promoting social inclusion led him to realize that not only psychological barriers existed for the disabled but that real physical barriers impeded interaction—going out to a restaurant, shopping, or visiting an office. He began talking to business owners in his home town of Evanston, Illinois, and learned that some were aware of the access issues and some were not. Most were willing to make changes but had only been presented solutions that were beyond the economic means. He founded Inclusion Solutions in 2000 (see more in About).

Pat Hughes is known for his dedication and enthusiasm for connecting people who struggle with access issues with the businesses and facilities that can make a difference—and even a profit!—with affordable and effective solutions. With connections throughout the disabled and business communities, Hughes can also connect journalists, writers and reporters with experts, advocates and regular citizens who can provide personal stories or quantitative analysis on disability and senior access issues.

Hollister Bundy

Hollister Bundy currently serves as Vice President of Inclusion Solutions, a Chicago-based accessibility provider offering election officials and businesses reasonable solutions to open doors to people with disabilities. Bundy is an expert in disabled access, specifically Titles II and III of the Americans With Disabilities Act and is also an adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School.

Bundy authored an article for the Election Law Journal on disability access to polling places and was invited by North Carolina State Director of Elections Gary Bartlett to join the National Task Force on Election Accessibility. He also led the company’s development of Ballot Call, a solution to help solve physical access issues at polling places. He is a frequent speaker on issues related to access, compliance and disability rights, and is also the author of Inclusion Solutions' ADA Reference Guide, a simplified guide to ADA law for use by business owners.

Before joining Inclusion Solutions, Bundy worked for the Illinois Attorney General's Office in the Consumer Protection Division where his practice included service as Illinois' lead attorney in the antitrust case of People v. Microsoft. Bundy has also worked in private practice, representing corporations, start-up companies and other clients. Bundy graduated from Northwestern University and Duke Law School.

Liz Tannebaum

Liz Tannebaum is an Emmy Award-winning actress whose work is recognized the world over. Liz has taught deaf acting technique in Milan and continues to speak at schools around America, encouraging children to consider careers in film and stage. Most recently, Liz was in What Women Want with Mel Gibson. Liz is also the Festival Director of the Festival of Cinema for the Deaf in Chicago.

"I have been deaf since birth and I am also an actress. Besides my acting, I do some moviation speaking at schools to talk with the students about my deafness. They are always curious about what it's like to be a deaf person in general and how people with disabilities can thrive in the arts. I am honored to work with Patrick Hughes at Inclusion Solutions to help promote accessilibity issues of the deaf and hard-of-hearing, especially with their new drive-thru restaurant system."

To arrange an interview or for more information, call us toll-free at 1.866.232.5487 or click here to email.

Video Clips

• Natural Ties Channel 9 WCPO Cincinnati News 1994
• Natural Ties, short film (1991)

Print Media

• All About Access: For drivers with disabilities, pump accessibility equals loyalty, CPS Independent, The Magazine for the Independent Convenience Retailer

  "What we're talking about here is the law," says Hughes, referring to the ADA legislation of 1990 through which public businesses are required to meet certain accessibility standards. "But it's also a customer-service issue. It's good business. If you can serve the disabled and senior population, you can serve any population."
  

• Life Changing Technology: How may I take your order, Hearing Health

  "The solution is simple, dignified and effective," Hughes said. "We see all the time that parties want things that work: the disabled community wants to be a customer and businesses like fast-food restaurants want the chance to gain the loyalty of an important segment of the U.S. population."

• Making good food fast, accessible: Romeoville Culver's operators Ron and Debbie Dalrymple stand beside their store's drive-through and their new accessible OrderAssist program, The Herald News

  "Survey after survey indicates that a store that provides good service, including accessibility, gains incredible shopping loyalty from customers who know that the store will do the simple things that make a shopping experience dignified and easy. It's a very sizable market," said Patrick Hughes, Jr., president of Inclusion Solutions.

• Opening Doors: An entrepreneur finds an inexpensive way to make small firms accessible, Fortune Small Business (CNNMoney.com)

  "The BigBell was also a hit during last year's elections. 'More than 65% of polling places in America are inaccessible, preventing about five million voters from exercising their civil rights,' says Hughes. So he sold Inclusion Solutions' Voting Access Kit, which includes a BigBell and signs saying that a polling place is accessible, to more than 1,000 local and state election authorities."

Research Results

• Drive-Thru Survey: The State of Drive-Thru Dining Access and Assistance for Customers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

See more clips in our News/Video section.