Episode 47: Inclusion, in the Classroom, and Beyond

Transcript

Arthur: This is the inclusion Think Tank podcast, where we talk about inclusive education, why it works, and how to make it happen. On today’s episode, I welcome my guest Pamela Donovan, the founder, President, and CEO of the board of Ethan and the Bean, a cafe with two locations in New Jersey. Pam discusses how their organization collaborates with local schools and businesses to create an inclusive work environment outside of the classroom for students with disabilities.

I would like to welcome everyone back to a new episode of the Inclusion Think Tank podcast. I'm your host, Arthur Aston. And today I'm joined by my guest, Pamela Donovan. Pam is the founder, president, and CEO of the Board of Ethan and the Bean. Ethan and the Bean is a cafe with two locations. One is in Little Falls, New Jersey, and the other is located in Morristown, New Jersey.

So, Pam, thank you so much for joining me today for this conversation. I'm so glad that we were able to make this happen.

Pam: Oh, my gosh. Arthur, thank you so much for having me. I'm just absolutely thrilled to be here and appreciative of the opportunity to just spread the word about not only just Ethan and the Bean, but just a world that maybe people are not so familiar with or, inclusion and intellectual and developmental disabilities workforce.

So happy to be here and I appreciate you having me.

Arthur: Yes. So to begin our conversation, can you share with us a little bit about yourself and your role at Ethan and the Bean? And also, can you tell us what your inspiration was behind creating this business, this organization?

Pam: Oh, wow, yes, how we got started. My inspiration, obviously, is Ethan.

Ethan is my son. He's just turned 25 this March. And he has significant, not only intellectual disabilities but also physical and developmental disabilities, rare genetic disorder. That is, he happens to be so lucky to be the oldest living individual in the state of New Jersey or actually in the U.S. with a disorder called Chine, spelled c-h-i-n-e.

But he is our inspiration. We definitely I work we started Ethan in the beginning, actually in 2018 as a nonprofit organization. Everybody on our board works as a volunteer. We have an amazing little village behind Ethan and the Bean. which I contribute and honestly could not do this without them. We started in the basement of a church in West Caldwell, New Jersey, which was converted into a therapy center.

We definitely had an opportunity to work with O.T. and P.T. individuals and a kitchen space that was about 600 square feet. So we had Ethan was our little guinea pig to start with. If you would say. We went to our school district and we spoke to them about what we were doing to train individuals in a coffee shop-type setting.

And we set up shop in the basement of this therapeutic center and were able to host about 12 students in the space over a summer to pilot the program to see if it would definitely be something that could work. And after we did this, definitely over a summer, we were able we had a live captive audience, which was all the parents dropping off their students for the camp.

So they would all the parents would come downstairs and we were able to practice, a coffee shop environment for about 3 hours every day, Monday through Friday for about eight weeks. Just popped on over to Little Falls New Jersey and decided that, yes, we should open this up. We had a little bit of a shoestring budget and we opened up Ethan and the Bean in Little Falls, New Jersey, in November of 2019.

And then along came COVID. So we made it through that. We literally took all of our students that were in space because, as you know, Once you're out of school, once you're past that graduating stage of 21, and you kind of just as you mentioned earlier in our conversation, there is no special education, workforce, environment training companies to get you started.

And there's really not a lot of opportunities for employment and to be gainfully employed or to be in a competitive employment market. So we play we definitely pride ourselves on providing competitive wages and we have never paid any employee below minimum wage. Usually, it's a bit higher than that. We do have somewhat of a unique model where we do use sort of an ABA type program for training purposes, and it's just a very nice way to have set smart goals and be able to have measurable, where are you in these goals?

Pam: We meet you where you are, how are you progressing? So it does allow for a good means of being able to support the individual based on their needs and also how to teach them or how to improve their growth in the workplace and then measure that growth To be able to provide feedback on how they progress within the café environment, hospitality world.

So we started that. We opened Morristown in November, I believe it was November 2023 and only been open literally like maybe four months. So we were able to have a wonderful partnership with Valley National Bank. I think they're as referred to as Valley Bank at this point, and they are amazing partners in that space. So Valley’s headquarters is next door to us.

So they moved from Wayne to Morristown. Morristown has been an amazing opportunity to really connect with a community that's looking to support individuals in the workplace, like our individuals that are working. It does take a lot of support to have proper training and skilled training and support that is in the space basically. 24/7. It's not your typical, you know, a managerial staff.

Pam: We do have board certified analysts in our staff. Which is a a board-certified analyst being a BCBA, Applied Behavioral Analysis. We basically also reached out to Caldwell University reached into their autism program to help us when we first started in Little Falls with our training programs. And so far it's proven to be a success.

We are not complaining, but we're trying very desperately to bridge this gap between graduating high school and then coming into, I don't want to say the real world, but the world, you know, the world of employment.

Arthur: The world outside of the school.

Pam: Outside of school.

Arthur: And that, I love what you said.

Thank you for sharing the whole story of where you started and how you got to where you are today with now two locations. It's amazing to hear and it's much needed. As I shared with you, I have a disability myself, and those who have been following and listening to the podcast have heard me share my story, there's very little out there to help prepare people with disabilities for the workforce and to be gainfully employed and all of those things that you mentioned.

So to have you all there and doing the work that you are doing and creating spaces for individuals with disabilities to be employed is so, important and much needed.

Arthur: And for our next question, you started talking about this a little bit already, but your mission at Ethan and the Bean is to train individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to create employment readiness in supportive and empowering work environments.

Can you talk about how you achieve that and how that is how that is achieved?

Pam: Yes, we definitely sort of redefined a little bit of our mission. And again, going back to what you mentioned about, okay, you've graduated high school, whether it's 18 or whether it's 21. And, were you really, truly prepared? A lot of students they're going to go on to college.

Let's just say your typical or non-neurodiverse individuals, maybe they're going on to college, maybe they're going on to apprenticeships, maybe they're going in to trade. So we took a step back and took a look at like how we were getting individuals within our space in be at Little Falls or be at Morristown and creating apprenticeships. And then we took it one step further because unlike, again, Ethan being the inspiration, Ethan being sort of the guinea pig and how did things work for him?

And he is significantly challenged on a daily basis, both physically and mentally and intellectually. So we started to make this other connection and we said, you know what, We're going to create a world, you know, using hospitality is our foundation. So we created Coffee Corner University, which is currently located in Little Falls, and we are presently again back in a cute little church that has a commercial kitchen.

And we are now partnering. We reached out to both private and public schools and we have been very blessed to have we have a special education teacher in that space along with our community outreach manager is in that space as well. So these are individuals are in the school system and they have not graduated yet. And I would say approximately 17 to 21 are our young adults and we are now preparing them and exposing them because it's pre-vocational, you have to definitely sample sort of a wide range of skill sets.

Pam: So it could be baking, it could be serving, it could be busing tables, it could be sitting tables, it could be operating the dishwasher, it could be washing dishes, it could be making coffee. We expose you to a barista, but it cannot be usually job specific that connects to our work-based learning program, which is physically in our cafe.

It's set up now in our Little Falls location. So you are still in school, but now when you move into work-based learning, you are actually sort of sampling and you are all working in real time. You are practicing all this skill sets that you might have been exposed to, but a little bit more job specific. So you're working in those in that area.

So in Morristown we also created apprenticeship. So you are really working and we're building to have a work based learning program there. So we're connecting with the schools and bringing you in prior to graduation so that you can now be exposed to the various jobs and tasks within the actual café in real-time. So that's what the work-based learning program is about.

So we're in the process of sort of bringing that into space, that being a bigger space, Morristown because it's about 2000 square feet compared to Little Falls, which is probably 480 square feet, which the bathroom is probably bigger than the cafe, but it's a little bit smaller work environment and we don't have a kitchen. So in Morristown, we do have kitchen.

So all of that is getting that's our next move is to really create those work-based learning. Create exposure so that you could actually physically go out maybe during the summer and get a summer job, as in present a portfolio, we're definitely creating these individuals, their portfolios, be it digital or be it a resumé as they're going through Coffee Corner University.

And then we have basically you're learning food safety, you're learning baking, You're you're learning all of these things in some students will repeat the program depending upon, you know, their where they are, what their what they've learned during like an eight-week session. So we basically have fall-winter And in spring-summer, we're working on doing a extended school year, but we're just not there yet.

This really is our second. It's a year and a half that we've had this coffee corner university in place and we've been fortunate enough to work with a private school that's local to Montclair. But students are coming from out of district, so they're coming from all over. They could be coming from Newark, they could be coming from Clifton.

So but their their school district happens to be in Montclair. So that's where we are. And trying to get you job ready, exposure to what it would be like. Wearing gloves. All of these types of food safety things that you might if you had a job in a pizzeria, local cafe, a Dunkin Donuts, a Starbucks, or something along those lines, But really, truly giving you exposure and what needs to happen in the workplace, at least in the world of hospitality.

Pam: And that's where we are with trying to get you pretty much exposure to the job market, job readiness skills, helping you build and develop a resume and exposing you then to the next level of a work-based learning program before you graduate, and then helping you, assisting you, and working with communities like-minded businesses within the community that are maybe in our same hospitality world for other opportunities for employment.

So that's the bigger picture. We're working on it, We're working on it.

Arthur: Yes. And I like how you keep it general so that like you said, it can be applied to many different positions that they may want to have.

Pam: More universal skills. If you kind of gravitate towards something versus something else, then how do we sort of match you up, you know, give feedback to the school?

It's better for them to maybe they're really geared towards a pizzeria local to their community versus a coffee shop. So and maybe a flower shop, maybe you're good at arranging and you like this type of task. And so my son seems to lean towards anything that could has a beginning and an end.

He's not very good with things that require. Okay, we're going to come back and do it later. It's he wants to start it and complete it. Yes.

Pam: It’s like he's like just to give you an example of something like that, he is very good. He fills all of our K-cups, so they're all done by hand. So he completes them.

So there's say that there's 12 that go in a box. He knows when that's done, it's completed. So that's kind of his strong suit. So we just work where he's best, his utilize his skills. Wow. Not good on the cash register. You'll never get your money back.

So he's like, 'Yeah, Okay, thank you. You gave a 20, Do You need change? Not so much’

He would not need to be on that task.

Arthur: Oh, that's funny.

Pam: So anything that can create jobs. But keep in mind, when you are doing something like this, and this is truly an entrepreneurship, what kind of business payroll is your I mean, obviously the mission is to,, ultimately employ.

Right. And so that mission is is the highest expense that you're going to have. And then these supports that are around that are also something that really needs to be taken into consideration. So it's a work in progress.

Arthur: Yes. And it's all it's just great work that you all are doing. I'm glad. You can read about things that are happening and I've read about you and, you know, and all that, the work that you do.

But to hear it coming from you, it’s really different to hear it from someone who is actually involved in the work.

Pam: It’s definitely a lot. And it does take I am telling you, truly, honestly, the people that are on the board who dedicate their time and talent to this purpose and to this organization, is truly remarkable.

I mean, it does take, you know, more than one. I mean, it takes an inspiration. And then, those people that are passionate that are behind you are truly what does the work And the people that are in our coffee shop that are our managers. just to give you an idea like Mike DeCarlo, who is in our Little Falls (location) he is an absolute amazing soul.

He really, truly is. And when he took on this position, we're like, do you do you know what you're in for? Do you have any. It's okay. It sounds good. I'll do it with a very, very approachable can do an accepting attitude. And then you have Natasha, who is our Valley Bank or Morristown manager. She is got the energy of a thousand people and she is truly, y a God sent with just, you know, writing programs, supporting staff and truly eventually, if she wants to move, she will move into something like our operations and training managerial of all things that we do, so as far as supports and training and staff.

So hopefully that will be if I can drag her away from the espresso machine because she really does love the whole coffee world.

Arthur: So you talked about the school districts that have been involved and also with the bank, the Valley Bank there.

Is there anything else that you could share about their involvement and the collaboration and partnership that you have with the school districts and also with the bank?

Pam: I mean, listen, the school districts have been very accepting to Coffee Corner University in our training program. We have definitely tried it and they were very willing to pilot it, and have faith in us and trust in us that we will do the right thing to support their students.

And really for a school district to take that leap of faith. And, you know, we presented what we were doing. We presented that we were willing to support their staff and meet their needs and what they were looking for as well in a program that they were also open to us like, okay, we really want a quality program.

This is what we're looking to do. We understand that some of the students that are coming into our program may not be here yet, but that's okay. So having the trust, the confidence in us as a new program, a new business and what we wanted to do in order to get students ready and bridged the gap between graduating and the employment world, that was that was huge.

Pam: So I could say we definitely reached out to, you know, Ethan's school district before he graduated and had the same conversation. And we integrated, you know, PT, O.T. speech, money management into their IEP. So, we had that just coming from a parents perspective of how you wanted to develop a quality program.

And, is it perfect? It's not perfect, but it's definitely getting there and then having the Valley Bank as a partner between Tom Iodanza and Ira Robbins and Justin Black and the entire Valley Bank community. I have to say they are a financial institution that does what they say they're going to do, and they truly do talk the talk and walk the walk of how they envision themselves as a bank in a community, not only in New Jersey, but they're definitely abroad into other states within the U.S. But they really do go out and support and show up.

And that's truly an amazing thing that you can say. And they're not a small institution and they're pretty I would say they're in the top between top 50, top 60 banks in the U.S. So they're they're pretty out there. So is to have them come in and support what we're doing. And they were a major launch for Ethan in the being to be in their headquarters and to be downstairs and to be an entity that not only supports about 5 to 600 employees that come in and out of that valley headquarters every day, but we're also opened to the Morristown community.

And yeah, it's it was definitely a a partnership that was truly embraced. And we are very grateful. Very grateful.

Arthur: It’s so nice to hear of you know, you all having that support because that is how it gets done, as you said, with your board members and employees that you have. It's a lot of work.

And to also have the support of the community and a great a company and a bank like Valley Bank to have them behind you all and supporting you. And it's really great to hear that, you know, that it's working out so well.

Pam: I mean, we were still definitely, you know, a non-for-profit organization and we are still fundraising and raising money. Little Falls is getting ready to move into their new space at 35 Stevens Avenue, which will give us a kitchen and then hopefully we can move out of the church with CCU, which is the coffee corner university arm of Ethan and the Bean.

That space will move from about 400. It's about 450 square feet in Little Falls. We bake everything. And when COVID came, we brought we took an opportunity to teach our individuals how to bake. And we did everything out of a toaster oven. It so it can be done. There are ways to work around not having a kitchen, but it is truly if you want to expand your menu and opportunities and job and job training selections, it's nice to have a kitchen.

As we move into Little Falls in 35 Stevens, hopefully next year, about this time we're still raising funds for that. And because that's about a $200- $300,000 project and we have a huge golf outing that comes up in July. So we're looking to that's our biggest fundraiser of the year and we hope to be in this space next year.

Pam: We’ve already started and we're working cohesively with the Historical Society of Little Falls to restore the building because it's a 1914 building and they're restoring it with the extension, the eastern end up being will move into that space. So we've agreed to move into that space with them, but that's where we are.

So we are still a work in progress as far as funding is concerned. So it's it's ongoing. A labor of love.

Arthur: Yes, that is so it's just great to hear all of this, all of these great things. And before we go, can you share with us again where your cafes are located and your website.

Pam: Oh, my God, Well, definitely on Ethan in the beacon and ‘and’ is spelled out. Don't use the ampersand or you won't find us. Right. We have 98 Main Street in Little Falls, New Jersey is our baby is looking to move right up the block at 35 Stevens Avenue in Little Falls, New Jersey. Hopefully this time next year. And we do have a lot of support.

Hopefully moving into that space. And then Morristown is located at 70 Speedwell Avenue Ethan in the Bean, and we are right next to Valley Bank. An amazing partnership that we have developed this year and we are so thankful.

Arthur: Yes, well, Pam, I am thankful that we have made this conversation happen. And yeah, so I'm so glad that you were able to share the story of Ethan and the Bean and the amazing work that you're doing there to continue to educate, those with disabilities and prepare them for the working world,, if that's the direction they choose to go in and giving them the skills necessary to be successful in the working world. So definitely that yeah, it's definitely needed. And more places like like Ethan and the Bean are necessary to provide these learning opportunities for these young people going into the working world after they leave school. So thank you for the work that you're doing.

Pam: Thank you so much. And thank you very much for having me and I look forward to having you join us at Ethan and the Bean. I’m grateful to be on your podcast and thank you so much for highlighting Ethan and the Bean, and we definitely look forward to speaking with you, hopefully again in the very near future.

Arthur: Yes. So thank you again for joining me for this conversation.

I truly appreciated our time together and this great conversation to hear about everything you all are doing there and you take care.

Pam: Thank you, you too.

Arthur: We thank you for listening to this episode of the Inclusion Think Tank Podcast. This podcast is brought to you by New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, NJCIE. We will be back with a brand new season with new episodes in September. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and don’t forget to follow us on social media, @NJCIE. Until next time.