Danny Combs on Buildable, TACT, and Expanding Trade-Based Careers for Autistic and Neurodivergent People
Host Tony Mantor welcomes Danny Combs to discuss progress since their last conversation on creating meaningful employment pathways for autistic and neurodivergent individuals.
Combs shares receiving a Congressional Mentor of Honor Society Citizen Honor Award and being appointed by Colorado’s governor to the new Colorado Disability Opportunity Office, funded through reissued historic license plates that generate sustainable revenue for disability-focused grants statewide with disabled-led oversight.
He introduces Buildable, a new Tennessee-based initiative launching workshops in Nashville in March with Belmont University, aiming to expand TACT’s trade-skills transition-to-employment model toward full-time programming in the fall, supported by corporate partners like Subaru.
They address challenges including staffing, costs, facilities, and job availability, discuss policy barriers and data gaps like autism prevalence needs assessments, emphasize nonprofit collaboration, employer education, ROI-focused messaging, and the urgent need for future supports as aging caregivers can no longer provide lifelong care.
00:00 Show Introduction
01:02 Meet Tony and Subscribe
01:21 Introducing Danny Combs
02:39 Colorado Disability Office
03:14 License Plate Funding
04:25 Grants and Inclusion
05:05 Buildable Comes to Nashville
06:00 Workshops and Timeline
07:09 Partners and Workforce Shift
08:04 Scaling Beyond Colorado
08:34 Consistency and Franchising
09:30 Startup Challenges Ahead
10:37 State Role and Policy
11:37 Legislation and Data Gaps
15:14 Nonprofits Need Unity
16:56 Nashville Hub Vision
18:52 Employer Perception and Language
21:39 Rethinking Education and Training
22:38 Five Year Future Vision
23:46 Parents and Long Term Care
26:32 Final Message and Wrap Up
27:22 Closing Credits

INTRO/OUTRO: T. Wild
Mantor Music BMI

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