Media & Events
AutismBC Talks with ICBC
Check out this recent interview by AutismBC with one of our clients: ICBC
How to Neurodiversify in IT – Sept. 17 2018
Free Workshop 
Kwaku Yeboah, Director of Employment Initiatives, BC, of Ready, Willing, and Able at Inclusion BC will provide the business case for diversifying and the changing social and political landscape in Canada and BC.
Amr Shokry, Consultant, HR at ICBC will present ICBC’s experience when they neurodiversified in their IT department.
Carol Simpson, CEO of Focus, an IT consulting and placement agency that actively engages individuals on the autism spectrum (ASD) will present the emerging best practices of employing and retaining ASD talent.
Carol is a professional in the IT field with over 30 years of experience. She has managed large IT departments and project portfolios of over $50M. She has worked in the private and public sectors in senior and executive management levels, has run her own development shop, and taught at the University of Toronto. She strongly believes in equal rights, acceptance, and inclusion of ASD individuals in society’s constructs of community, education, governance, and employment.Lastly, she has two adult sons on the autism spectrum. From all […]
Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Podcast Interview
The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction recently invited Carol Simpson to present the Focus business model which describes how they hire autistics into IT roles. Several other panel guests discuss topics related to diversification. Carol’s presentation starts at 56:32 into the podcast.
Autism 30 Podcast Interview
Our very own Carol Simpson was recently interviewed on the Autism 30 Podcast! See and listen to the details below:
Who is Carol Simpson? The history of Focus Professional Services Inc. Why she created the company. The Company manifesto. What they do. Neurodiversity consulting. Why language is so important. Their business model. Different levels explained. How the companies benefit. Focus on strengths. Ableism explained and how they are working to combat it. Why our community can excel. Preconceived ideas eradicated “myths”. Manual software testing. Data Cleansing and Migration. Automated testing, etc. Where is the focus for business? Neurodiversity in the workplace and training. Transition of knowledge. Support offered. How to apply and prerequisites needed. The interview process and testing. Employment readiness. Biggest challenges. Her success stories. The continuum of being a human being. Gratitude, grace and Advocacy. Autism in her own words.
Vancouver Entrepreneur podcast interview
Carol Simpson has worked in the IT field for over 30 years, managing departments with 60+ IT professionals and project budgets of $50M. Her career began in Vancouver as a programmer at IBM Canada and moved on to operate her own software development shop. She now runs Focus Professional Services and is one of a handful of individuals in Canada who has successfully placed and hired individuals with autism into full-time careers that afford them solid, middle-class lifestyles.
Global News: Vancouver IT company champions hiring people with autism
The founder of a Vancouver IT company has tapped into an unknown source of high-quality consultants, all performing at the top of their game, all with autism. Catherine Urquhart explains.
