The Ability to Succeed

This post is a part of a series showcasing Silicon Valley organizations that champion positive change in our community.

Help this organization win an Xbox package by clicking the ‘like’ button!

For disabled individuals, the keys to amazing personal and professional success are – simply – the basics. A high school diploma, business skills and other foundational necessities for competing in today’s job market are often out-of-reach for the 20% of Americans who are disabled. Enter, TransAccess, a Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to providing people with all types of disabilities access to educational programs, adaptive technology and career transition services to enhance their quality of life.

In this inspiring video clip about the nonprofit, you can see that where there’s a will, there’s a way – and that Executive Director Maria Nicolacoudis is equal parts "will" and "way." She explains that TransAccess’ fundamental mission is to ensure that people with disabilities have choices. According to Nicolacoudis, it’s all about making the opportunities that come easily to the majority, happen for the disabled.

TransAccess does this through a variety of free training and workforce preparedness programs, for which Microsoft proudly supports core technology elements. In addition to computer training funding, we’ve helped TransAccess’ clients learn and compete on a level playing field in the marketplace through computer-assisted technology. This software or hardware augments computers for easier accessibility and really speaks to Nicolacoudis’ dream to see the Valley’s disabled population “working side-by-side with everyone else.”

Like Nicolacoudis, we also understand that providing opportunities to succeed for each member of our community makes us all stronger. For upholding this belief and offering the disabled the ability to meaningfully integrate into the job market, we applaud TransAccess and other Bay Area nonprofits creating opportunities for our community.

Inspired by this video clip? “Like” it and encourage members of your social network to also “like” it to increase TransAccess’ chance at winning the Microsoft Video Challenge.