Janice Lintz: Advocating for access

Imagine your daughter or son, niece or nephew telling you that they couldn’t access facilities such as a museum, a taxi or an art gallery. What would you do? You’d feel disappointed. You might even write a letter to complain. But would you try to overhaul the system? That’s a big ask for any parent or relative. But that’s exactly what Janice Lintz did.

Over the last 20 years Janice has fought for access for the deaf and hard of hearing like her daughter. Induction loops are now fitted in the NYC Transit, taxis and limousines. Airlines have closed captions on films. All in all, her efforts have helped the 48 million Americans with hearing loss.

Changing practices takes a lot of skill, determination and commitment — it took nine years to introduce hearing loops in taxis. In this discussion, Janice let us into the secrets of how she does it. This episode is for anyone who wants to become a better advocate by:

• Getting people’s attention.
• Sustaining interest.
• Making it easy for the sponsors/decision-makers to change.
• Following up with discipline.
• Improving your resilience.

More about Janice

Janice Schacter Lintz is a passionate, accomplished hearing loss consultant and advocate, and CEO of Hearing Access & Innovations. Since 2002, she has become the global ‘go-to’ person on all matters related to access for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Janice works with domestic and international organisations to benchmark best practices and leverage the most effective solutions for their situations. The New York City resident and mother of two is a 2023 Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Candidate and 2022 NYS Disability Rights Hall of Fame Inductee.

You can find out more about Janice and the organisation she leads.