Massry Professor Awarded Partnership with New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
ALBANY, N.Y. (November 5, 2025) — At the 2025 New York State Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month (DREAM) Symposium, Massry School of Business Professor Sanjay Goel was awarded a $1.4 million collaboration from the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, in collaboration with the New York State Office of the Chief Disability Officer (CDO), as part of New York’s implementation of Employment First Executive Order 40. This grant enables researchers at the Massry School of Business to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to develop workplace solutions for individuals with disabilities, supporting integration and accessibility.
“We have been given this grant to use artificial intelligence for developing technologies to assist people with disabilities. In the workplace and in society, people with disabilities can feel isolated and left out. Our goal is to use AI to reduce barriers related to a disability and leverage personal strengths so they can perform essential work duties and better integrate into society,” said Goel, the Morris Massry Endowed Professor and chair of Information Security and Digital Forensics. “For instance, if somebody is hard of hearing, we want to develop and evaluate technologies that will take audio of people talking around them and generate a transcript of the conversation.”
“New York State’s commitment to Employment First is powerfully reinforced by this grant to Professor Goel and the Massry School of Business. This is a game-changer—it represents a pivotal investment in AI-driven solutions that will directly address workplace barriers and unlock the full potential of people with disabilities,” said Kimberly Hill Ridley, NYS Chief Disability Officer. “ Our partnership in funding this initiative is about more than just technology; it’s about creating a more inclusive, accessible, and ready workforce throughout New York, ensuring that every individual has the tools and the support needed to succeed in their career.”
Developing a More Accessible World
Goel, a leader in information technology, saw an opportunity to use his 20 years of AI expertise to address practical challenges. He began exploring how AI might, in theory, create adaptations for every disability and started collaborating with the Office of People With Disabilities and CDO to develop a vision over the last nine months.
Goel also described the project’s broader goals: “We are going to become a clearinghouse for new assistive technologies. Our team will evaluate the technologies to determine whether they're effective, suitable and safe for people with disabilities; they will also conduct research on how to enable people with disabilities to become more work ready.”
He also highlighted possible impacts beyond the workplace. “Some people with autism who are very bright – and very good coders – might struggle to integrate into the workplace because of gaps in social skills they struggle to integrate into the workplace. Our goal is to develop systems, such as those utilizing extended reality through VR headsets, and acclimate users to interacting with people, crowds and other social contexts. This would enable them to develop the social skills necessary for work readiness." We are starting to host esports gaming competitions to bring together both neurodiverse individuals and neurotypical individuals. So, they can learn to interact with each other.”
Goel further explained how the research will benefit educators. “For students on the autism spectrum, learning can be challenging. They're given the standard curriculum, but they learn in a different way. Teachers struggle to prepare content that is adjusted for these students. We are using generative AI to transform standard content into various formats tailored to different needs. For example, if a student needs lessons that are more pictorial, AI can take the standard content and convert it to more pictorial content, supporting not only the student but also the caregivers and teachers who work with people with disabilities.”
A Partnership for the Future
Goel shared plans for involving students in the project. “We're going to be hosting business plan competitions for AI and assistive technologies as well as hackathons for university students in the area of AI and assistive technologies. Several students are already working in our AI lab on a variety of projects targeting mental health, curriculum transformation, and evaluation of products – all related to people with disabilities.
New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Willow Baer spoke about the partnership, “As we transition New York to an Employment First State, assistive technology will provide transformational independence for people with developmental disabilities in their daily lives, including in the workplace. The consortium is a natural collaboration with SUNY’s Center for Assistive Technology to trial intuitive and effective technology that will help people with disabilities perform jobs with minimal support. We are thrilled to advance this partnership with SUNY and the Office of the Chief Disability Officer, and are excited about the possibilities this will bring for job success and retention for people with developmental disabilities and their employers.”
Andy Sink, Employment First Director at Office of the Chief Disability Officer, also said, "Employment First is about leveraging all of the tools we have at hand to create more inclusive workplaces for people with disabilities, reduce barriers and to normalize creative approaches to accentuate everyone's strengths. As Employment First Director, I am so excited for this partnership between the Office of the Chief Disability Officer (CDO), the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the Massry School of Business. I think we'll see tangible impacts of this collaboration in the near future that will benefit all New Yorkers."
By empowering researchers, educators and students to develop practical solutions, this initiative stands to transform the landscape of workplace accessibility and opportunity. The grant not only recognizes Goel’s leadership but also marks a pivotal step toward creating a more inclusive future where innovation and compassion ensure that every individual has the tools to succeed.
We are very thankful to the Office of People with Disabilities and the Office of the Chief Disability Officer for making this collaboration possible.