Video Transcript

Eric
Hello everyone. My name is Eric Harris and I'm your host of the game plan with Disability Rights California. I just got finished interviewing Vance Taylor and let me make sure I get his title right. The chief of the Office of Access and Functional Needs for the California Office of Emergency Services. It was a great interview. We talked about his role, and making sure that all Californians are safe.

Eric
We also got to talk a little bit about his family and his background as a leader in the disability space. And then, we also finished up with, finding out his game plan, for the next 12 months. I'm really excited about it. I think you all are really going to enjoy it. It is a jam packed show, and, I hope you all appreciate it.

Announcer
The game plan is a production of Disability Rights California, a space to strategize, organize, and posterize for the future of the disability rights movement. For more information on our work, please visit us at Disability Rights CA Board.

Eric
Hello everyone! My name is Eric Harris and I am the host of the Game Plan with Disability Rights California. We're really excited because we have a very special guest, with us today, for this interview. And we're going to get right into it. Vance, it's wonderful to have you, and, really appreciate you being here.

Vance
Great. Thanks for having me.

Eric
Absolutely. So we're going to get right into it and, give you an opportunity, to tell everybody, a little bit about your role and what you do. Because it's funny, I was, joking with some of our communications team. It's a really big job. Seems very, very complicated. A lot of moving parts.

Eric
But if you could talk a little bit about, your role, that'd be great.

Vance
Yeah. No, it's funny, I've never had one of those jobs. It's, like, straightforward, right? Okay. I'm a lawyer, and people know what that is, right? The elevator speech version of how I summarize it is basically that I'm here to make sure that California's emergency management system works for everybody, right? So whether you're an older adult, for somebody at the disability, if you're anybody with access to our functional consideration, we just want to make sure that the way you plan, prepare, respond, recover is going to be applicable.

Vance
And it's going to work for you, too.

Eric
That's right. Well, how do you get into a job like that? I mean, I feel like I feel like we all recognize its importance. And we recognize that California has a lot going on. But how do you get into that space?

Vance
So fornia is really unique. The community recognized that there's this disproportionate impact that people with disabilities experience before, during and after surgery. They talked to the governor. They were to together. And eventually he created this Office of Access and Functional lead within his Office of Emergency Services and praised that it's had a government attorney appointed. It's we're going to really be the tip of the spear for that mission of making emergency management inclusive.

Vance
So the fact that California even has this is super unique. Other states have what they call access means coordinators, but it's always like mid-level, right? So you're never in the room when we're discussing staffing, when decisions are being made. California is very different in that regard. So it's not a lot of these jobs that are out there, right?

Vance
California, sort of one of 51 and one. My personal background, but, I'm a native Californian. We can talk about disability and all that stuff, but just for America, that sort of a education professional background. I've got, a bachelor's and master's homeland security. I lived in DC for 13 years. I worked for two members of Congress.

Vance
I was all in on homeland security issues, and that led to emergency management issues. It's interesting because as I delved more and more into those areas, it became really clear, especially after Hurricane Katrina, that there was a problem here. Right? And it's not that you've got people that are trying to exclude, it's that you've got well-intentioned people that just don't have the perspective.

Vance
I lived experience, so I did all that for a number of years. An opening came in California Corporation developer, my predecessor, retired and then passed away. And the governor asked, hey, will you go 3000 miles with your family? Yeah, I'll take this role. And I said, yes.

Eric
Well that's awesome. And, you know, I mentioned California has a lot going on, and I'm also a, native Californian. Grew up in Sacramento, actually.

Vance
Giants fan. Right? Never not.

Eric
Never. No, no, I, an ace fan and, begrudgingly at this point, fortunately.

Vance
So your favorite teams in Vegas is Britney. What's happened?

Eric
It's a it's a it's a difficult subject. I it's it's way too difficult to talk about.

Vance
I like that they're here now though.

Eric
That's that's exactly right. I have gone to more games this season because they're in Sacramento than I have, for a long time. And I'm glad that they're here as well. I mean, it's, it's a new energy in this area that this community deserves and I think relishes, but, you know, it's, and I, and I try not to think too, too far in advance or too far in the future about what they'll actually leave.

Eric
But I'll appreciate the time that they're here.

Vance
It's enjoy what I love.

Eric
That's right, that's right. But one of the things that we know, living in California and it's happened, of course, more and more lately because of climate change and all of the other, challenges. But just all the different emergency that happened in California. California. California's a huge state, 40 million people. And whether it's fires, of course, whether it's mudslides that are resulting of of fire damage, smoke as a result of the fires, earthquake preparation and kind of what folks need to do to prepare for that.

Eric
I guess what kind of in your role and thinking about accessibility and disability with all of these things happening, how can one person or one office take some of these things on?

Vance
Yeah, but there's always something going on and on. Any given day we've got, you know, I get these reports across my inbox and it's weird because it's like wildfires and red flag warning at the same time. Flash flood. Right. And it seems like how's that possible? But those days that you can drive 12 hours a day in the same state.

Vance
That's right. So yeah, it's pretty crazy on that front. How do we tackle it? I'll just tell you what my approach was. I put a lot of miles on that work, and I spent, I mean, countless hours going up and down the state with emergency managers because I needed them to understand what we were dealing with as a community.

Vance
I needed them to think about their jobs in a different way. I would ask them to picture, their mothers, their fathers or sons or daughters or their siblings, a neighbor, somebody they truly loved, who had a disability or an ancestral function need. And then I would ask, what would you do? How far would you go? To make sure that that person could be safe.

Vance
When there was an emergency that's missing right when disaster strikes. What did you do to ensure their safety? Well, their security and their independence and also their dignity. And when they think about it from that perspective, it's like, what wouldn't we do, right? We do anything and everything. I said, okay, so then let's adopt that approach in our day to day jobs, right?

Vance
So whether you're in logistics or response or recovery or mitigation or planning, you each have a role to play. And interesting to stretch so we can be more inclusive. And then I just started sharing real life stories with them. This Eric, I had to be the one that worked at the shelter, and we watched as people languished.

Vance
Right. Because we're integrated for their needs. I was the one that, you know, literally the little literally the little old lady would put my hand or tears in her eyes. Tell me about our watch. My own burned out, my wheelchair inside. Help me. What can I do? I'd be the one where people would say, you know, my son told disability to get out.

Vance
And you got to me. This is the most human thing we do. Right. Making sure that everyone can be safe. And so those experiences changed me as a person, and they changed the way I thought about our work. And I really felt it was for my part of my mission to help others in the field understand that, to feel it, even though they didn't live it, they could still feel it.

Vance
And so I knew that if we could get them to like flip that switch and think about it from that perspective, that they would forever do their jobs differently. And ten years later, there has been a cultural shift in the way emergency managers look at this issue. What's phenomenal to me is if you look at what California is doing, it's actually spreading nationwide.

Vance
It's sort of that adage when California sneezes, the rest of the nation gets cold.

Eric
That's right.

Vance
That's right. And so our go to these conferences, International Association of Emergency Managers and others, and get people from Florida and Texas and Pennsylvania and Virginia. And I'll say we completely reworked the way we do our sheltering operations based on the work that you guys put together. And it blows my mind. I do need to be really quick to say that we've been able to do this because of our partners.

Vance
Right. It's it's not just outstanding emergency managers. It's also outstanding, independently retirees. Right. It's you. And then disability rights California. It's being able to work in partnership as a whole community in order to benefit the whole community. We've been able to achieve what we have.

Eric
Right. Yeah. And I and I think, I mean, you're such a good example in your work of this, of making sure that disabled people are in the room when these decisions are happening and at the, at the forefront. I think we've all recognized all of us advocates here in the state. And really disabled folks all over the country recognize how much of a priority it has been for you to make sure that all types of disabled people with all different types of lived experience are a part of the processes.

Eric
So we're really grateful, for all that you've done in that role and continue to do. Especially with uncertainty, in all in all spaces, just not knowing what's going to happen when it's going to happen. I mean, that's the whole, yeah, of, of, you know, emergency response. So just really grateful for all that you've done and continue to do, so I want to shift gears just a little bit, a couple of different things.

Eric
One, family stuff. So kind of fun things outside of work. We both, you know, just in the hallway coming in, talking about being a parent. You know, me being at the very early stages and you, me being a more, more veteran, I guess, if you will.

Vance
Or down, what are some of.

Eric
The things that that family life has, has either taught you? What is that experience done for you? Just anything you want to you want to mention about this family life?

Vance
Sorry. I mean, so many things. For me, my father very, very grounding. Right? So, times in my life or my career where I think random hot stuff. And you go home and your kids, like, don't even care, right?

Eric
That's right.

Vance
Okay. Good for you. What's for dinner? Right. Like,

Eric
Yeah.

Vance
Or times when I felt just really overwhelmed.

Vance
And just. Just devastated. And you go home and they wrap their arms around you and you find sort of a strength, anything that you had, and for me, I feel so grateful. I always hoped for. However, I have. I don't know what your experience was, but yeah, my mom would always say, like, you can grow up and become a family.

Vance
You can do all these things right? Right. But, you know, I looked around. I didn't see anybody like me behind or doing any of those things. And so, I met this girl and things are going really well. You have those doubts about.

Vance
She really understand what I'm going to get into here? Yeah. And then you have kids and you have these insecurities about. I can't pick them up and throw them in the air, and they're. What's that going to look like? And then you realize, I mean, they just want to use you as students are able to. That's right. Right.

Vance
I'll take whatever you can give them. Right. My kids are little strollers, at least to jump in and be like, I'm in a wheelchair. They're like, for games where they'd be like, I'm going to interview to be your character. And, you know, like, that's all right. Stuff I'm sure other families are is it's fair to. That's right.

Vance
But they've got a it's a much deeper, level of empathy, I think. And and understanding. And so all these things came together and. Just a start. Fortunate guy getting to go back to when I was about, I think maybe a good sense of being grounded.

Eric
Yeah. Yeah. No. And I think I mean, as I mentioned, I'm in the early stages, of it, but I certainly I mean, it's it's been really interesting. Being in a family as the only physically disabled person in my family. Right. I just doing stuff and fortunately, having the support, major support of my parents, it kind of boosted me in a, in a direction that, that I ultimately, you know, got to.

Eric
But, but because I was in all different types of spaces, whether it be political spaces, advocacy spaces, at a certain point, even though I didn't see a whole lot of other folks, especially kids, who were in these same spaces, I didn't know any better. I just, like, jumped in. It was like, my parents think I can do this, so I'm going to do it.

Eric
And, and just one thing led to another. And now, they all credit either me or the the folks. I'm close with. Especially in the disability space with educating them and, like, creating an avenue for them to really understand disability and accessibility and be passionate about it as, as any of us would be. So it's been fun to, like, go from that as a major part of my life.

Eric
And now transitioning to being a dad and having a young person who will grapple with any like, oh, you know, my dad's in a wheelchair, but he can he does all these cool things. I watch adaptive sports, you know, all the different things that that, you know, I'm really looking forward, to sharing and just how that all will come together.

Vance
My kids used to go for rides on the back of my chair, you know, and I remember, Ryan, Gustavo kind of bummed out. It's like. Sammy, what's up? Like, I just feel sad that he. I thought he was on say something about, like, yeah, run like it's chargers we see on the path that we're on here. So I feel sad that it's so sad because all my friends get to do this on their dad's wheelchairs.

Eric
So sorry.

Vance
That's what I was like man. I'm taking you to ice cream.

Eric
That's powerful. Right? That's what powerful stuff. That is awesome. And, And it's cool because it's all we do. All this stuff, ultimately, you know, or in terms of staying connected and, like, sharing with the next generation and all those things. And I know that, you know, your current role super, you know, busy and important. And having family by and as a part of it is probably a big, a big part of the calculus.

Eric
And then your potential next role, you know, running for state assembly, in California, we don't have a lot of I mean, there are a whole lot of cool parts of it. We don't have a lot of disabled folks in elected office anywhere, anywhere in the country, including in California. We don't have a lot of disabled voices in terms of being passionate about our issues.

Eric
And just like all the other things that come with it, you know, being able to be a visual representation of disability in elected office and running for office and all those things. So kind of what came in to the thought process of running for running for state assembly?

Vance
Yeah. Super excited. It's, you know, like, I love what I do. I love it. I've been able to spend a career helping to keep California safe. Right. And it's all conference room. Ask hey, are you Democrat or Republican? Right. Before we try and help with the First Amendment, right. And I want to do that on March 11th.

Vance
I wanted to do that in a way that that's even more meaningful. And so there's feels like a very natural step. And it's uncomfortable in some ways. Right. Because there's a woman who put yourself out there, I think for so long, you know, we've and said, I want leaders that understand real issues and good leaders or leaders that actually represent the communities that they serve.

Vance
And we left turn left, turn right, and nobody steps up and most recently, I just feel like. Our responsibility, our leaders have to lead. And so I'm going to toss my hat in the ring. I'm going to do my very best to represent the people that I live in, the communities that I've helped keep safe. We're going to do that, and we're going to do it in a way that is truly impactful for all Californians.

Vance
There's so much the more that we agree on. And there's so much work that needs to be done that could lift all of our burdens. But I hope it's something that's going to really resonate with folks that are.

Eric
And, you know, one of the things that's really fascinating about any, you know, elected office, but especially in California, and in this particular instance, of course, you'll be running for a specific district representing the constituents who vote in that district. Of course. But I think, you know, you said it here, and we can't underestimate how you'll also be a representative of so many throughout the country and throughout the state.

Eric
Who have disabilities, who have family members with disabilities. I mean, it's funny because there are all these kind of data points to point out, like how many disabled people are there in the United States, in the state of California, in different parts of the state. And we we say, you know, that's the disability community. But I always push back on that and say, actually, the disability community is way bigger than that, not just the actual disabled people, but our families are part of the disability community because they are people who are directly, impacted and care about all the things that we go through, all the things that we need.

Vance
And that's my family. My disability has impacted their daily life.

Eric
Exactly, exactly. That's right, that's right. And it's important that that we have real, you know, real representation at all levels. So I'm really, really excited I know all the advocates in the disability space throughout the state. Every time we connect and talk about it, they're like, oh man, we're so excited that that it's time is running. But we can't wait to support and do whatever we can to lift up.

Eric
So so I just really appreciate that.

Vance
I saw a lot of them, Reverend. District seven.

Eric
That's right.

Vance
That's.

Eric
Real.

Vance
That's interesting. You talk about representation and it's so important. I know, you do a lot of speaking. I know that you and I speak to, a lot of you to have disabilities. And for so long, I would ask, so how many of you are going to go to college? Right. How many of you are going to fall in love and have families?

Vance
Or maybe you're going to have a job you love and I'm a lot of hands and go up.

Vance
And you start to kind of pull back those layers and it's like, wow, I don't think that I could do that based on my disability. And then I say, look, I'm here to tell you, right? I'm here to be living proof that you can do these things, that these dreams can be your reality. And when kids see somebody doing the things they dream of doing, and somehow those things seem possible, and knowing that they're possible changes you.

Vance
And so it's been a real privilege for me to to get to be an example in that way. I've also benefited from being able to have examples to look to in my life. I interim on Capitol Hill, I was working around environment, not wearing a wheelchair around here. And then I literally drove into a guy in a wheelchair.

Vance
And Jim Lang of it was a member of Congress, Rhode Island. We remember that he used to work at that time. And first I thought, great. I find the one member of Congress I run and run into, you. Yeah. He was so cool. He was like, don't worry. I just broke my foot. I don't know, he gave me all the info, but I want you to come check in with me every month.

Vance
And so I pop into his office and just say hi, talk. I need ask me about my life and give me career advice. And on the night when I was on and I felt overwhelmed.

Vance
I thought, I don't know if I can do this. I would think about Jim and I would think, if he can do this as a member of Congress. And I can rattle through whatever I'm dealing with as an intern. And so I know that representation matters. I love that we can do that for each other. I think the other thing that's interesting about it is like, I don't think you will wake up in the morning and say, I'm going to be a life changing example today.

Eric
That's right.

Vance
That's right. Just get up and do your thing. You get up and do your best. And I think that motivates people or helps people feel like they can have additional strength.

Vance
That's the cherry on top.

Eric
No, it's it's interesting. You know, I played wheelchair basketball for a while at the ball and I don't know, relatively high level, but, but my friends, I, I give all the credit to my teammates and competitors and guys who, who and women who continue to play at a super high level. And I actually linked up with a couple of former Paralympic gold medalists recently, and one in particular.

Vance
I love that you say that, like, so casually.

Eric
It's one of those things where.

Vance
I have to say, hey, now this these, gold medal winning Olympian, I.

Eric
Have to pinch myself every now and then, because when I watch them and think about it, I'm just like, these are the best of all time. Like, these are some of the best players who've ever played. But one of the things that we talked about, was being an inspiration. And I think we recognize, of course, the difference between being an inspiration for, like, simply just living life and like doing just everyday things, that being a separate category.

Vance
You woke up today.

Eric
You congratulated, you got outside the house. And the difference between that and literally being somebody who motivates people and inspires people to be the best people that they can be, to do for others, and those sorts of things. So and I think that's what you're talking about. It's like we can we still have that possibility to really excite, motivate folks.

Eric
So I love hearing that. Yeah.

Vance
By the way, I appreciate what you're saying about family and friends. I, I'm a big believer that, you know, there's a saying about we all enjoy shade under trees. We didn't plant.

Vance
Yeah. My mom came to this country when she was 22. Crossovers didn't speak any English. We were worked where I think most people would say are menial jobs. Foreign language. I don't get it. Hey, we're on to get a four year degree for great, tremendous sacrifices. Raised three kids all around because my dad laughed after our diagnosis came through.

Vance
You guys, and and I, I recognize, but so much of what I've achieved or experience is as a direct result of her sacrifice. That none of us gets here alone. But that message about friends and family and support networks, it's, it's, that that resonates deeply for me.

Eric
Fantastic. Well, you know, really appreciate, the candid, the candor, like, just, you know, talking about all of these things. We're going to have a couple of finishing questions. One, is there any kind of book or piece of music or film, anything that you feel really excited about right now, something that you think people should check out?

Eric
And they could, you know, be of like kind of current or it could be something that we should reflect on for back in the day.

Vance
All right. So, I'm watching Civil War right now.

Eric
Okay. Super cool. Nice Apple TV plus. That's right, that's right.

Vance
I saw the residents on that. Frank. That was really fun. Yeah. Something I think really meaningful. It's, I just started, braiding sweetgrass. Oh, it's been really neat. One book that I think for me was really transformative was Bernie Brown wrote a book called brave in the wilderness. Talks a lot about vulnerability, talks a lot about belonging versus fitting in.

Vance
I, I think for anybody that's struggling right now, whether that's with the political climate, whether it's just trying to figure out who you are. I read that book, it will speak to you.

Eric
Yeah. Fantastic. Fantastic. And then the the last question, what is your game plan, for these next 12 months? I think we know what you'll be busy focused on, but but, what is your kind of plan of action? Kind of coming up here.

Vance
Yeah. So, you know, it's this right here. It's it's connected with people, right? I really believe that. We long we yearn for human connection. And especially when we're talking about politics, right. Our political leaders first will represent us. We genuinely want people out there, but we feel like they're going to work on our behalf. And that doesn't mean they mean you're going to vote 100% of the time the way I want you to vote, or at least want to believe you're a good person.

Vance
I at least want to believe you're going to try. And if it doesn't come our way all the time, I could still live with that. It's lacking right now. And so I think over the course of the next 12 months, it's going to be my job to try and connect with people in a way that helps them understand who I am in a more personal way, and hopefully make them feel better about being able to get on with their daily lives, knowing that somebody who actually cares about them is going to be there for them.

Eric
Oh, fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Vance, for coming and joining us today. We really appreciate you being here with the game plan with.

Vance
Us from.

Eric
California.

Vance
It's a thanks.

Eric
I absolutely get the power.

Announcer
This has been the game plan. Production and disability rights. California. Please like, subscribe, comment the platform of your choice. We'll see you next time. Much love.