LAURA MATZ
Chairperson
Laura Matz has had a successful career in marketing and sales leadership for both for-profit and non-profit companies. She spent 8 years at Perkins School for the Blind as the Director of International Marketing and Sales for Assistive Technology which included working with blindness organizations and governments in developing countries all over the world. She also worked to grow an organization which focused on providing assistive technology to blind people in Africa, including Uganda. Thus her passion for and experience working with people with disabilities in Africa was developed by her years at Perkins and her partnership with local organizations there.
Why I Support Embrace Kulture:
Embrace Kulture employs local experts in the disability field and assists them with financing, access to new technologies and leadership development. I believe completely in the concept of enabling local organizations to run their own programs rather than having a foreign ‘expert’ run them instead. Christa Preston, the founder of the program and Executive Director, believes that local leaders can implement programs by understanding the culture, partnering with local advocates, and building awareness of how to support people with disabilities more effectively than outside leaders.
What Program I'm Passionate About:
I love how Embrace Kulture is working to educate parents, teachers, local leaders and others that a disability is not a curse, it is a different way of living and that people with disabilities can live wonderful, valuable, loving lives. The awareness building events which change attitudes toward people with disabilities, assist parents with home care and guidance for children with disabilities, and provide resources for teachers so that they can include students with disabilities in their schools is changing the world.