A Bold Idea, 20 Years and Going Strong

SO MANY BOLD ideas are hatched among friends during their undergrad years. Not all of these ideas come to fruition, of course, and even fewer stand the test of time. INCIGHT, an organization co-founded and led by Scott Hatley ’01, is an exception.

For the past twenty years, INCIGHT has been creating opportunities for individuals with disabilities to join the work-force. And by giving individuals the tools they need to thrive—through scholarships, job skills training—INCIGHT also aims to change workplace culture and expectations around people with disabilities. Since 2011, they have served 9,800 students and jobseekers, and in many ways, they’re just getting started.

“We’re looking forward to the next 20 years,” Scott said, at the milestone celebration event in downtown Portland this July. At present, only two out of ten people with disabilities participate in the workforce. Scott wants to improve this percentage because he knows there is so much untapped potential in this population. And he knows from experience that when someone has high expectations of you, then you live your way into them, whether you have a disability or not.

Scott’s parents had high expectations of him before and after he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at age four-and-a-half. As he was growing up, he met people with disabilities who weren’t expected to succeed. “I remember kids getting asked the question ‘What will you be when you grow up?’ and I want kids with disabilities to dream big and for society not to limit them.”

At UP, Scott met Vail Horton ’01 and Jerry Carleton ’01—they became the dream team who launched INCIGHT. (The name is a mash-up of “incite” and “insight” because they wanted to light a fire under disability awareness and they also wanted to do that with a lot of thoughtful research.) Vail Horton also founded Keen Mobility (which Portland magazine has featured in the past, a company that creates ergonomic products that aid mobility for people with disabilities). Close UP friends DJ and Summer Widmer ’02 worked for Keen and were also supportive of INCIGHT from the early days.

At the anniversary celebration in July, Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of Oregon Historical Society, spoke about his own longstanding relationship with Scott, and he put the work of INCIGHT into the larger context of disability rights in the US. About Scott, Tymchuk said, “We bonded instantly because of my work for many years in connection with Bob Dole.” Senator Dole was injured in Italy during World War Two. He regained his ability to walk, but never regained use of his right arm. Dole was an advocate for those living with disabilities and helped gain bipartisan support for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which created civil rights protections and access to public spaces, transportation, and—most important to INCIGHT—employment. President George HW Bush signed the ADA into law in 1990.

“That mission,” Tymchuk said, “has been picked up by INCIGHT and by Scott. They continue to make a difference here in Oregon in so many ways.”

Naturally, in a span of two decades, an organization goes through ups and downs. The pandemic, for instance, challenged INCIGHT’s programming, and they had to figure out how to adapt and refocus their mission. But Scott is used to adapting. He talks a lot about obstacles, how people with disabilities are very practiced at thinking creatively about obstacles (even “leveraging” them as an asset and an opportunity, as Scott likes to say).

“It’s been rewarding for our team to really step back and reflect and realize all that we’ve achieved in these 20 years,” Scott said. “I think that’s something to celebrate, and yet we’re still scratching the surface.”

At the end of the celebratory night a representative from Senator Ron Wyden’s office gave Scott a flag that was flown over the US Capitol in honor of the essential work that INCIGHT does for the people of Oregon.

Warmest congratulations on this milestone, Scott. Brenda Greiner (Shepard Academic Resource Center), Amy Cavanaugh (Career Center), Gwynn Klobes (retired staff from the School of Business), Laurie Laird (former Moreau Center director), Jessica Murphy Moo (Portland Magazine editor), Wes Studer ’09, and Sam Bridgman ’13 were among the proud UP staff and alums in attendance. We’re in awe of what you have achieved through INCIGHT, and we stand with you in your bold mission.

To learn more about INCIGHT, visit incight.org