Post Date: Jun 10, 2026
“Let’s Get to Work:” A Podcast from the Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) – Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.
Dr. Purvi Sevak, Senior Director of Mathematica’s Disability Practice, joins the DEP RRTC’s Let’s Get to Work podcast hosted by Dr. Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and Principal Investigator of the DEP RRTC.
Dr. Sevak discusses her path from an undergraduate student studying health policy to her work at Mathematica, the evolution and importance of disability employment policy, and her research with the DEP RRTC examining how local infrastructure affects employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Drawing on both professional and personal experiences, Dr. Sevak highlights the importance of disability employment policy to the broader economy. “Making sure that everyone who wants to work can work and contribute is important,” she states. “If people with disabilities are employed and earning more than they could be making on SSI, they’re going to be spending more money and just contributing to the local economy, buying more things, renting apartments.”
We invite our community to listen, read the transcript, and explore the series.
- Listen: Let’s Get to Work: Disability Employment Policy and Economic Opportunity: A Conversation with Dr. Purvi Sevak
- Transcript: Let’s Get to Work: Disability Employment Policy and Economic Opportunity: A Conversation with Dr. Purvi Sevak [PDF file]
- Episode page: Let’s Get to Work: Disability Employment Policy and Economic Opportunity: A Conversation with Dr. Purvi Sevak
About the Let’s Get to Work Podcast
The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and Mathematica, invites you to listen to our podcast series: “Let’s Get to Work: Reimagining Disability Employment Policy”. “Let’s Get to Work” features guests with unique knowledge and experience who share their perspective on disability employment policy as part of the work of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-funded Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. Join us and Let’s Get to Work!
Meet the Let’s Get To Work! Sponsors
The Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC)
The Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR, grant #90RTEM0016) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and Mathematica are partnering to design and implement a series of studies that produce new data and evidence on disability employment policy to enhance employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.
Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University (BBI)
The Burton Blatt Institute reaches around the globe to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities through innovative research that informs policy, programs, and practice development. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in Syracuse, New York and Lexington, Kentucky.
Southeast ADA Center
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Southeast ADA Center (SEADA) is one of ten regional ADA Centers in the ADA National Network. ADA Centers provide information, training, and guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). SEADA is a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. The Center is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration on Community Living (ACL), National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).