Alumni Impact
Janice Lintz, BS '84, vividly remembers the moment her
daughter was diagnosed with hearing loss at 2 1/2 years old.
"Don't worry," the doctor said, delivering the news. "There
are special schools for her." Lintz couldn't believe it: Not know-
ing anything else about her, the doctor had instantly margin-
alized her child—and Lintz set out to ensure nothing would
stop her from achieving her full potential.
Initially, Lintz started advocating for hearing access at
places her family visited near their New York City home.
"There were all these artificial barriers in place prevent-
ing us from going to theaters or museums," she says. "A lot of
it was entrenched ignorance—people weren't trained prop-
erly, equipment was broken and nobody seemed to care. My
job was to make people care."
Eventually, Lintz thought bigger. She convinced Delta
Airlines and the Taxi and Limousine Commission to add induc-
tion loops—which transmit sound directly to an individual's
hearing aid or cochlear implant—to airport terminals and
thousands of New York City taxis, respectively. Lintz helped the
National Park Service write its accessibility guidelines, testi-
fied before Congress, filmed a video for the United Nations
and was twice appointed to the Federal Communications
Commission's Consumer Advisory Panel.
Along the way, Lintz also began advising organizations
on improving hearing access and launched her company,
Hearing Access & Innovations, in 2014.
"I oen tell people that the 'D' in 'diversity' is for 'disabil-
ity,'" Lintz says. "Doing good and doing well are not mutually
exclusive, but too many businesses view disability access as
charity. When everyone cannot access your services, you're
losing potential customers."
One in four Americans has a disability, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ranging from
observable mobility impairments to invisible disabilities of
vision, hearing or cognition.
Meanwhile, 44,000 School of Management alumni live
and work across the globe—and like Lintz, many are making
a positive impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities
through their careers and advocacy. Here are three more of
their stories.
By Matthew Biddle
THE
IN
DIVERSITY
How four alumnae are making an impact
in the lives of individuals with disabilities
'
D
'
Lintz
24 Buffalo Business Spring 2021
