Driving Toyota’s Disability Hiring Initiative
Toyota executive Ted Brown’s commitment to disability inclusion is both personal and professional.
Brown is Vice President of Administration at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (TMMI). Inspired by his son Zach, who was born with spina bifida, Brown worked with TMMI colleagues in 2014 to develop an inclusive hiring initiative geared toward people with disabilities.
Today, TMMI’s disabilities hiring programs are much more than Brown’s initial idea. The site has added a transitional training program and an apprenticeship program and has adapted its hiring process to ensure all applicants are able to show their best skills.
Brown and his wife, Michelle, always dreamed of their son flourishing in society. Thanks to Brown’s commitment to his son and to the families of children with disabilities, that dream came true when Zach landed a position at the TMMI plant.
“Mobility for all doesn’t just mean putting individuals into a car. It’s how we move people and, to me, this program moves individuals differently.”
