We have hundreds of people to thank for this opportunity and many of our donors and supporters participated. The speakers touched on some of the things that make Aspiritech’s business and community so unique. Check out what they had to say.
Aspiritech, one of North America’s largest employers of people on the autism spectrum, celebrated the grand opening of its new headquarters in Evanston with a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 23.
Outgoing Executive Director and co-founder Brenda Weitzberg presided. Brenda was joined at the podium by Ester Stein, Board Chair, Aspiritech Staff Members Jacob Bielski, Joe Goodman and Brian Tozzo; Mayor of Evanston Daniel Biss, CMO Brad Cohen, Outgoing CEO and Co-Founder Moshe Weitzberg, and the new CEO Tara May. While there were hundreds of people to thank, the speakers touched on some of the things that make Aspiritech’s business and community so unique.
“Our name and logo highlight the word spirit”
“Our name and logo highlight the word spirit which is synonymous with strength, courage, fortitude, guts and character. These are qualities descriptive of so many of the people I have had the privilege to meet because of spirited autistic neurodivergent adults who, despite the challenges of living in a neurotypical world, aspire each and every day to attain fulfilling and meaningful lives.
Our staff demonstrates every day that given the right understanding and support and most importantly, the right job fit, you excel. You provide a huge benefit to the business community. Our continuing success is first and foremost because of you.”
“I think a lot of us could have found jobs, but there wouldn’t be us. There wouldn’t be this community that I needed. ”
“I finally have a real reliable position where I can grow a career and establish a real life for myself. ”
“After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in physics, I had a surprisingly difficult time finding a job. Then eventually I heard about Aspiritech, and I heard back from them.
I finally have a real reliable position where I can grow a career and establish a real life for myself. Aspiritech is an opportunity to raise members of our community out of an all-too-common struggle of underemployment and poverty and all the struggles that go along with it. Treating our employees with compassion and fostering our inherent talents, Aspiritech has shown a decent standard of living is attainable for neurodiverse individuals.”
“I hope we are going to come back to the office soon.”
“I have been with Aspiritech since 2010. We have acquired many clients over the years. We have also QA Tested in many applications and web pages, speakers and headphones, barcode printers, pet blood and urine analysis machines, and even little robots that teach autistic children about interpreting facial and body expressions. We are fortunate enough to be able to adapt to sudden changes, like the pandemic of 2020. Now many of our testers are still working from home. I hope that we are going to come back to the office soon.”
“We emphasize quality. What sets us apart from all other STEM companies in the entire world is that 95% of our QA Team Leads and managers are people on the spectrum. ”
“When we started Aspiritech, we were the first in North America. The two other companies took autistic people to work at client sites. We ask companies to give us the entire project. They quickly learned how good we are and we grew by word of mouth. We emphasize quality.
What sets us apart from all other STEM companies in the entire world is the fact that 95% of our QA Team Leads and managers are people on the spectrum. It’s not easy. It took years for people to develop the skills to secure these kinds of responsibilities. The QA managers are part of decision-making, and their input often reveals new perspectives. Many of our staff struggle with social interaction and sensory issues, however at Aspiritech they find understanding and an environment that allows them to be themselves and be productive.
What we’ve come to realize is that many of the adaptations that we make for our employees are actually good for everyone. For example, we added a column titled “suggestion” to the bug reporting sheet. So I got a phone call from the CEO asking me to give him a call. I told him that our people who found the bug feel they own it. They know the severity, and they want to share their thoughts. He objected, and I told him “just don’t read it then.” It took him one or two weeks and then he said because of you we are going to add “suggestion” to all of our sheets.”
“The building is a shining example of what a not-for-profit can look like. A tech company that has very talented people doing meaningful work at a decent wage. ”
“This place not only celebrates neurodiversity, but it is a place where you can come and be exactly who you are. And there aren’t a lot of places like that in the world.”
“In my first two weeks so far I’ve been going on a listening tour, which means I’ve been spending about a half an hour with every single team member. I still have a few more to go. One of the most incredible things that I have learned through all of their stories is the way that they view Aspiritech as a community and a family. From several people I’ve heard, ‘Aspiritech is the first place I’ve ever felt like I fit in.’
What I am hoping to do going forward is lots of growth and innovation. But that part of Aspiritech, the people and that warm, welcoming community — that we can never change. This place not only celebrates neurodiversity, but it is a place where you can come and be exactly who you are. And there aren’t a lot of places like that in the world.”
More photos from the Evanston ribbon-cutting ceremony:
Lead Donors:
The Coleman Foundation
The Harry and Jeannette Wienberg Foundation
Christopher L. and M. Susan Gust Foundation
A Home of Our Own Was Made Possible By:
The Coleman Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
Christopher L. and M. Susan Gust Foundation
Anonymous, In honor of Aspiritech’s amazing team
Anonymous
The Phyllis and Perry Schwartz Foundation
Jim and Joanne Steinback
Brenda and Moshe Weitzberg
Michele and Don Cronin
Brad and Jakee Cohen
In honor of Gail Henjum and her colleagues
Ron and Meridith Kaminski
Robert and Linda Lawrence
David and Karen Rappaport
Veronica Scotto
The Martin Geller and Lauren Schor Geller
Anonymous
In loving memory of Sara and Phil Markman
In honor of the Monogram Group team
Bernadette & Vivek Chopra
The Klaus family
Alan & Andi Berkowitz
Beverly and Myron Shapiro
Debicki Foundation
CME Group Foundation
Steven and Elise Henkels
Mike, Lauren, Lily and Charlotte Trumpy
Michael Duff and Chantal Forster
Winston Tsao
Brad Cohen
The Stein – Belrose Family
The Beres & Haring Family
The Eisenberg Family
Rachel Loftin, in honor of Theresa Thacker
Benjamin Prozinski
Ping He and Yun Zhang
In celebration of Constance Mar-Yohana, her loving father, Marc
Joan Costello
Rachelle Jervis in loving memory of Constance Jervis Mar-Yohana
Julien Fradier
Doppelt Family Gifting Fund
The Collins and Doerrer Families
In Honor of Brenda and Moshe Weitzberg, Laurence and Deborah Segil
Bruce Deichl
In honor of my dear daughter, Lauren Birnhak – Rita Morrin
Joyce and Jonathan Sapir
Carolyn and Ray Burton
Barbara and Peter Sereda
Dr. and Mrs. Michael and Lisa Foreman
Ron Brix
Carolyn and John Borta
Michael and Nina Blechman
The Lehman Family
Mary and Clark McCain
Michael O’Shields, in honor of Kyle
Bill and Susan Abrams
Jennifer Amdur Spitz
Joann Dinneen
Arieh Konigl, PhD
Hiral Chandrana
Alexander Knapp
Pamela Sanabria
Jane Bouzek
Susan Goldman
Suzanne Greenwald
Shari Reiches
Dr. John and Jean Beckerman
Ruth Sang
Shayna Foley
Paul Guggenheim
Gail Lovinger
Stuart Sadick
Mary Jane Bunzol
Roberta Thomas
