10/14/2026
In honor of Disability Employment Awareness Month, we're recognizing our employer partners who have made great strides to promote workplace inclusion, equity, and the hiring of workers with disabilities.
Meet Barbara Lee from Italiano Please YYC one of our amazing winners from this year's Inclusion Awards!
Presented by 2025 Inclusion Award winner and Barbara's daughter, Bea (yes, this was planned), Bea passed the Inclusion Champion torch to her Mom whose impact reaches far beyond Calgary — beyond Alberta, and even beyond Canada. Her vision for a more inclusive world began years ago in the Eternal City of Rome.
While living in Italy, Barbara’s son, Federico, was diagnosed with a rare degenerative genetic illness called HSP11. The diagnosis brought immense challenges and heartbreak to her family. But Barbara also saw an opportunity to turn that experience into something positive — to build community, create opportunities, and help other families facing similar challenges.
Together with her husband, Lucio, Barbara united with other families and founded La Fenice Operosa, or The Industrious Phoenix, an organization dedicated to supporting people with disabilities and raising awareness.
Then, in 2016, Barbara and Lucio took that vision one step further. They launched Fenix Eventi, a cooperative providing catering and event services while creating employment opportunities for young people with disabilities in a supportive work environment.
Years later, Barbara and Lucio brought their family and their vision for inclusion to Calgary.
They opened Italiano Please! bringing Roman-inspired dishes to Calgary’s downtown core while continuing to create opportunities for people with disabilities.
Since opening, they have employed more than 12 disabled youth, including DDRC client Josh V. But their impact goes beyond employment. They have created a space where people from many different communities can come together, connect, and feel welcome.
And that is what makes Barbara’s work so special.
At Italiano Please!, she has created a place where people with disabilities are not simply included — they are celebrated.
She is helping change the way people think about inclusive employment, while showing us something incredibly important: you don’t have to be a large organization to make a big difference.
Small businesses can be powerful champions for inclusion. And when inclusion is part of the way we do business, everyone benefits — employees, customers, and the community.
Barbara’s story is one of turning a difficult experience into a lifelong commitment to making the world more inclusive.
Congratulations again, Barbara, and to the entire Italiano Please! family! Thank you for all you do.
