Next
Stop,
Special
Olympics
By Mark Berton
ONE MAN’S
QUEST TO GET
PICKLEBALL
ON THE
ROSTER OF
OFFICIAL
GAMES IN
THE SPECIAL
OLYMPICS.
46
T
here are plenty of people who say they’ve
discovered themselves, but John Koncoli
had an epiphany. After 21 years of working
in Silicon Valley, Koncoli woke up one day
realizing he wanted to help people with intellectual
disabilities. So, he quit his job and started working as the
director of employment development for Hope Services,
Silicon Valley’s leading provider of services to people with
developmental disabilities and mental health needs.
“It came to me out of nowhere that these are the folks I
needed to work with. For 14 years, my job was to reach out
to CEOs and corporate presidents to inspire them to hire
people with intellectual disabilities,” Koncoli explains.
“I found it to be my passion and got them a lot of good
paying jobs in corporate America. I met Steve Jobs and
inspired him to give employment to our folks. First it was
Apple, then Google, Facebook, Whole Foods... but the
biggest was Starbucks.”
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