2012 National Employment Conference
“The New Economy: Rethink, Realign,
Reinvent”
Sponsored by
The George Washington University National Technical Assistance Partnership
(GW-NTAP),
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)
and
The National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2012
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
REGISTRATION
1:00 to 1:15 PM
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
RECEPTION DESK, 2nd Floor
SALONS 1-4
Edward Anthony, Ph.D., Acting Commissioner
Rehabilitation Services Administration
U.S. Department of Education
Michael Yudin, Acting Assistant Secretary
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services
U.S. Department of Education
1:15 to 1:45 PM
A Better Bottom Line:
Employing People with Disabilities
SALONS 1-4
Governor Jack Markell
State of Delaware
1:45 to 2:00 PM
The New Economy:
Rethink, Realign, Reinvent
Thomas E. Finch, Ph.D., Director
Training and Service Programs Division
Rehabilitation Services Administration
SALONS 1-4
2:00 to 2:15 PM
BREAK
2:15 to 3:30 PM
The New Economy
SALONS 1-4
Paul Harrington, Ph.D., Director
Center for Labor Markets and Policy
Drexel University
3:30 to 3:45 PM
BREAK
3:45 to 5:00 PM
SALONS 1-4
Introduction to Café Conversations
Thomas E. Finch, Director
Training and Service Programs Division
Rehabilitation Services Administration
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO
The Bamboo Project, Inc.
Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
5:00 to 5:30 PM
BREAK
5:30 to 7:00 PM
BALLROOM
Evening Activities
SALON 4
Rebecca Soto
DARS Division for Blind Services
Christine Ha, 2012 MasterChef Winner
Christine Ha is the first blind contestant to win
MasterChef. In 1999, she lost sight in one eye due
to neuromyelitis optica, and was completely blind by
2007. She is an MFA candidate in Creative Writing,
but never studied cooking. Her food blog is titled,
The Blind Cook: http://www.theblindcook.com/
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
8:15 to 9:15 AM
Federal Panel
SALONS 1-3
Moderator: Kathleen West-Evans
Director of Business Relations, National Employment
Team (The NET), Council of State Administrators of
Vocational Rehabilitation
Alison Levy, Departmental Disability Employment
Program Manager,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Michael Murray, Diversity Program Manager for
Government-wide Disability Programs
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Christine Navarrete-Wasson, Acting Director
Wage and Investment, Human Capital Office
Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of
Treasury
Inez Uhl, Chief,
Office of Diversity and Inclusive Workforce
Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
9:15 to 9:30 AM
Re-Signing of the USDA and CSAVR
Memorandum of Understanding
Gregory Parham, Ph.D., Acting Assistant Secretary
for Administration
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Rehabilitation
Steve Wooderson, CEO
Council of State Administrators of Vocational
SALONS 1-3
9:30 to 9:45 AM
BREAK
9:45 to 10:45 AM
CONCURRENT SESSIONS I
Salon 5
C1 – Café Room: The New Economy
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO, The Bamboo
Project, Inc.; Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director, John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Salon 6
C2 – Fearless: Imagine a Business Partnership Built on Trus
Tobi Bickweat, New York State - General / ACCESVR; Leslie G. Reis, CVS Caremark; Ralph Roach,
Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation;
Mary Ann VanAlstyne, New York State Commission
for the Blind and Visually Handicapped
Join your colleagues to discover/review how: 1.
Assisting Businesses in the on-boarding of VR talent
must start by listening to and understanding
Business needs; 2. Cross-State VR System
collaboration can: identify resources; use braided
funding to on-board VR talent with the appropriate
supports (e.g. accommodations, job coaching,
follow-along, OJT, tax incentives); and promote and
expand hiring of VR talent. 3. Qualified workers
living across state lines can achieve fully integrated
competitive employment when businesses partner
with the CSAVR NET, state VR agencies, community
agencies and other workforce partners to meet
businesses needs.
Salon 7
C3 – Stairway to Healthcare Careers VR
Bill Allen, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission; Rick Laferrie
This workshop will highlight and demonstrate allied
healthcare careers within the pharmacy retail sector.
As occupations in healthcare continue to change,
there are increased growth opportunities in positions
as Pharmacy Technicians. CVS, one of the nation’s
premier retail pharmacy chains has partnered with
the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC).
CVS has utilized the MRC "Call Us First" Program to
identify qualified candidates with disabilities to be
hired into career focused pharmacy technician
positions utilizing the MRC On-The-Job Training
Program.
Studio E
C4 - Employer Perspectives on Retention and Advancement
Susanne M. Bruyère, Director, Employment and
Disability Institute, Associate Dean of Outreach, ILR
School, Cornell University; Judy Young, Assistant
Director, Employment and Disability Institute, ILR
School, Cornell University
The purpose of this session is to identify, through
leader brief framing of the perceived priorities and
challenges of employers in the current economy and
participant interaction and discussion, what the
significance of the current economy is to what
employers are currently encountering, their strategic
response to this environment, and ultimately the
implications for improving employment outcomes for
people with disabilities. The goals of this session are
to: 1) To create a forum for discussion of the
perspectives of employers in hiring and retaining
people with disabilities in the current economy; and
2) To identify specific issues confronting employers
today that present barriers to employment, and ways
for service providers, disability advocates, state and
federal government, and employers to work together
to address these challenges.
Studio F
C5 - Middle Skill Jobs + Employer Focused
Services = Winning Combination for VR
Consumers
Robert Burns, Institute for Community Inclusion at
the University of Massachusetts-Boston; Ryan
Stamm, Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation
This session will focus on a research and
demonstration project by the Nebraska Vocational
Rehabilitation (NVR) and the Institute for Community
Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts
Boston to design, implement, and evaluate a
business-focused approach to assure and expand
access to middle-skill jobs for VR consumers. The
project will build on NVR’s previous experience in
developing certificate training programs in
partnership with employers and community colleges
that lead to middle-skill employment. The NVR/ICI
project will build out and expand those efforts
focused on a well-documented growth industry - the
health care sector.
Studio D
C6 - A New Contact Sport: Helping Transitioning
Youth with Significant Disabilities Find and
Succeed in Work Through an Innovative
Initiative in Delaware
Sandra Miller, Delaware Divison of Vocational
Rehabilitation; Dale Matusevich, Delaware
Department of Education; Marissa Catalon,
Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities
Services; Katina Demetriou, Autism DelawareProductive Opportunities for Work & Recreation
On a national level, thirty years of effort have gone
into preparing hundreds of thousands of special
education students to make the transition from
school to adult life. Scores of curricula have been
developed, numerous professional conferences held,
strong legislation enacted. But let’s face it. Our
efforts far outweigh our outcomes: youth with
significant disabilities continue to be one of the most
unemployed groups in the United States, in spite of
the fact that they want to work and have the talents
to do so. They are more likely to be isolated,
disconnected, and marginalized. In Delaware, a
statewide consortia is taking on the challenge,
through its Early Start to Supported Employment
initiative (ESSE), which stresses the importance of
brokering the relationships between these
individuals, business people, and community
members who provide creative and effective
supports.
10:45 to 11:00 AM
BREAK
11:00 to 12:00 PM
CONCURRENT SESSIONS II
Salon 5
C7 – Café Room: Preserving What Works and Letting Go of
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO, The Bamboo
Project, Inc.; Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director, John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Salon 6
C8 – Collaborating with Business: A Survey of
Employers Participating in PWDNET
Carol Ruddell, Project Director, Utah Department of
Health, Work Ability Utah, Medicaid Infrastructure
Grant; Leah Lobato, Business Relations Specialist,
Utah State Office of Rehabilitation; Sherry Neal, Civil
Rights EEO Specialist, Intermountain Region, U.S.
Forest Services; Shannon Cassias, Human Resource
Consultant, Division of Human Resource
Management, State of Utah
Collaborating with business means meeting their
needs. Utah’ PWDNET is one model to effect the
bottom line of successful businesses by linking
business with qualified candidates, and providing
supports and services to both the business and the
employee. PWDNET began in 2005 as a MIG/USOR
partnership. In 2011, Utah conducted a survey of
PWDNET business partners to determine 1) what
services are used, useful and most valued, 2)
changes to employment practices and 3)
recommended program improvements. Strategies to
meet business needs in order to effectively partner
will be shared.
Salon 7
C9 – Orchestrating Success: Creating Talent to
Meet Industry Needs
Alice C. Hunnicutt, New Jersey Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation Services; Jeffery Stoller, New Jersey
Department of Labor & Workforce Development,
Labor Planning & Analysis; Mary Ellen Clark, New
Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce
Development
Any successful effort to assist jobseekers must begin
with an understanding of the workforce and the skill
needs of employers. New Jersey has identified seven
industries that provide the foundation for the State's
economy and labor market. New Jersey has begun to
focus talent development efforts on these seven key
industries and will continue to expand this initiative.
To truly ensure that the workforce development
system is responsive to the needs of jobseekers and
employers and that it produces results, New Jersey
has prioritized the development of an enhanced set
of performance metrics and processes that will
increase accountability and transparency, and
improve customer service. The DVRS is an important
partner in these efforts.
Studio E
C10 – Beyond Experimental Design: Lessons
from Three States on Implementing
Employment Practices in the Real World
Nanette Relave, American Public Human Services
Association; Millie Ryan, Alaska Governor’s Council
on Disabilities and Special Education; Jade Gingerich,
Maryland Department of Disabilities; Eric Blunt,
Interwork, San Diego State University
Implementing promising and evidence-based
employment practices in real world settings takes
more than a sound research design. This session will
draw on the experiences of three states (Alaska,
California and Maryland) that have leveraged their
Medicaid Infrastructure Grants to build systems-level
practices to support implementation of promising
and evidence-based practices. This session will also
explore the interplay of research and practice in
regards to adapting existing practices and fostering
new practice models. Presenters will address several
promising and evidence-based practices including
supported employment, customized employment,
customized self-employment, and benefits/work
incentives planning.
Studio F
C11 – SSA’s Employment Support Programs and
the Youth Transition Demonstration Project
Joyanne Cobb, Analyst, Office of Program
Development and Research, Social Security
Administration; Marie Parker Strahan, Program
Policy, Office of Employment Support Programs,
Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Office of
Employment Support Programs and Office of
Program Development and Research will present
data, analysis and research findings regarding the
youth population on SSI/SSDI disability benefits.
SSA is working to improve employment outcomes for
these youth. Over 1.5 million youth ages 13 to 30
receive SSI/SSDI benefits based on disability. We
will present VR and Ticket program data and SSA's
Youth Transition Demonstration findings to date. The
role that collaboration with VR played in the Youth
Transition Program Models will be discussed.
Studio D
C12 – Employer Chats: The VR Community and
Business Community Learning Together
Rick Laferriere, Manager of Workforce Initiatives,
CVS Caremark; Oswald “Oz” Mondejar, VicePresident of Human Resources, Community Relations
and Communications, Partners Continuing Care;
Michelle Crabtree, Area Director of Human
Resources, Hyatt Regency Crystal City; Michael
Wheeden, Director of Business Development,
Mortgage Bankers Association
What factors contribute most towards the employer's
decision to offer the job? What vocational
rehabilitation strategies and supports contribute
most towards the success of the company's
business? Come to the "Employer Chats" to get
these answers and more from employers; and to
share your effective employment practices and more
with business representatives from various
industries. The "Employer Chats" are focused but
engaging conversations among employers and
conference participants to learn specific ways to
improve employment opportunities for individuals
with disabilities.
12:00 to 1:45 PM
SALONS 1-3
WORKING LUNCH
“Technology Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond”
Gregg Vanderheiden, Director, Trace R&D Center and
Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering and
Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—
Madison
Gregg has been working on technology and disability
for just under 40 years. Many of the accessibility
features that are now built into every Macintosh,
Windows and Linux computer were created by his
group in the 1980s. He will discuss the future of the
economy and how technology can/will change
accessibility and the way people with disabilities
work.
1:45 to 2:00 PM
BREAK
2:00 to 3:00 PM
CONCURRENT SESSIONS III
Salon 5
C13 – Café Room: Dilemmas and Opportunities
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO, The Bamboo
Project, Inc.; Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director, John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Salon 6
C14 – How Legislation and Technology Drive the
Way Employers Connect with Jobseekers
Jolene Jefferies, DirectEmployers Association; James
D. Van Erden, Senior Policy Advisor, National
Association of State Workforce Agencies
The growing burden of employment laws and
regulations, including the recently proposed §503
amendments to The Rehabilitation Act, are changing
the employment landscape, driving significant
changes in employers’ recruiting practices. At the
same time, technology is also changing the nature of
work and how employers seek talent. Jobseekers’
increased use of search engines for job hunting has
resulted in over 226 million job searches done
monthly on Google. The use of social media and
mobile devices is also skyrocketing. Responding to
these legislative and technology trends, our nation’s
employers have created diverse strategies in finding
and recruiting their workforce. How well is your
State’s Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agency
prepared to respond to these same trends and better
support individuals with disabilities in using current
technologies to find work? Learn how your VR
agency can implement no-cost technology solutions
by partnering with the US.jobs National Labor
Exchange, through its Disability Outreach and
Employment National Partnership program, to help
employers effectively target, reach and hire
individuals with disabilities.
Salon 7
C15 – Demand-Side Employment Research:
Implications for Improving Vocational
Rehabilitation Service Delivery Practices
Fong Chan, Director of Clinical Training, Co-Director,
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center-Effective
VR Service Delivery Practices, University of
Wisconsin
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an
overview of the concept of demand-side employment
and job placement for people with disabilities.
Specifically, we will review recent research related to
attitudes toward people with disabilities and people
from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds,
analysis of workplace discrimination based on EEOC
data, and surveys of employers’ perspective on
the employment of people with disabilities. We will
discuss how this information can be used to
formulate targeted strategies and policies for
increasing employment opportunities for people with
disabilities.
Studio E
C16 – Middle Skills and Beyond: Building
Sector-Based Partnerships for Free Agent
Consumers
Matt Bruinekool, Drake University; Robert Stensrud,
Drake University
The presenters will discuss a sector-based demandside model for building relationships with area
business sectors so consumers have the social
capital to get middle skill jobs and advance within
sectors as economic conditions change. It will stress
using social media and describe an existing
partnership.
Studio F
C17 – Hiring Veterans is Good Business!
Ruth A. Fanning, Department of Veterans Affairs,
Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
Service will provide session participants with the
business case for hiring highly qualified Veterans to
meet their staffing needs.
Studio D
C18 – Employer Chats: The VR Community and
Business Community Learning Together
Bob Foley, Wounded Warrior Program Manager,
Global Talent Acquisition, Raytheon; Ling Peterson,
Corporate Recruiter, Acentia; Felipe Cofino, Human
Resources Director, Hyatt Regency Bethesda; Alison
Levy, Departmental Disability Employment Program
Manager, U.S. Department of Agriculture
What factors contribute most towards the employer's
decision to offer the job? What vocational
rehabilitation strategies and supports contribute
most towards the success of the company's
business? Come to the "Employer Chats" to get
these answers and more from employers; and to
share your effective employment practices and more
with business representatives from various
industries. The "Employer Chats" are focused but
engaging conversations among employers and
conference participants to learn specific ways to
improve employment opportunities for individuals
with disabilities.
3:30 to 3:15 PM
BREAK
3:15 to 4:15 PM
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Salon 5
C19 – Café Room: System Capacity
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO, The Bamboo
Project, Inc.; Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director, John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Salon 6
C20 – Working Partners Program…Think Like an
Employer and Perform Like an Olympian
Bill Allen, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission;
Oz Mondejar, Spualding Rehabilitation Hospital
Network; Colleen Moran, Spaulding Rehabilitation
Hospital Network; Felicia Nurmsen, Manpower
The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC)
has embarked on a business to business journey.
The journey has incorporated a very innovative
employer account system. The MRC Employer
Account System utilizes a team of Employment
Service Specialists and Job Placement Specialists
who are embedded in the business community. The
design and scope of this program allows qualified
candidates with disabilities to be hired and retained
into competitive employment options. The employer
account model also adopted a "Call Us First"
approach which leverages the business strategy
saving time and money for the employer. National,
regional and local employers have participated in this
unique collaboration. Employers such Spaulding
Rehabilitation Hospital Network, Manpower, and CVS
have integrated the Call Us First Program into their
business model.
Salon 7
C21 – Promoting Evidence-based Vocational
Rehabilitation Practice
John W. Lui, Executive Director, Vocational
Rehabilitation Institute, University of WisconsinStout; Cayte Anderson, Vocational Rehabilitation
Institute, University of Wisconsin-Stout
What are the incentives, barriers, and specific
training needs of vocational rehabilitation counselors
related to using evidence-based practices (EBP)
within a state-federal VR system? We will share
findings from a recent survey of vocational
rehabilitation counselors in the state-federal VR
systems conducted by the RRTC-Evidence-Based
Practice in Vocational Rehabilitation (RRTC EBP-VR)
followed with an open-forum discussion to explore
the challenges and opportunities in incorporating
evidence-based research information that is
accessible and usable to develop Individual
Employment Plans (IEPs) that may help to increase
successful employment outcomes for consumers.
Studio E
C22 – Scaling the Cliff: Helping VR Clients
Receiving SSDI Achieve SGA
Joe Marrone, RSA SGA PROJECT- Institute for
Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts
Boston; Robert Burns, RSA SGA PROJECT- Institute
for Community Inclusion, University of
Massachusetts Boston; Julisa Cully, RSA SGA
PROJECT- Institute for Community Inclusion,
University of Massachusetts Boston; Rob
Groenendaal, RSA
This session will focus on the early results of ICIs
RSA funded SGA project. Analysis of RSA and SSA
data and interviews with several states provided
information that allowed ICI to develop an
intervention model that has the potential to assist
SVRAs help more SSDI clients achieve SGA. This
program model that will be described involves clinical
and system interventions that have been developed
as a result of this initial analysis. Successful
implementation of these approaches has the
potential both to assist people on SSDI succeed in
financially more rewarding employment and SVRAs
gather increased SSA reimbursements.
Studio F
C23 – Intersections with the Administration for
Community Living, Opportunities in the Aging
Network
Michelle Washko, US Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Community
Living; Elizabeth Leef, Aging Services Program
Specialist, Administration for Community Living, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services,; Richard
Nicholls, Aging Services Program Specialist,
Administration for Community Living, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
The mission of the US Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Community
Living is to maximize the independence, well-being,
and health of older adults, people with disabilities,
and their families and caregivers. Presenters will
provide an explanation of the genesis of this new
federal agency and the history of its programs. This
will include an in-depth description of the Aging
Network and ways which it has connected with the
VR network at the State and local level to provide
employment supports for individuals seeking to
maximize their self-sufficiency and independence in
the community.
Studio D
C24 – People with Autism Achieving Career
Success
Valerie Brooke, Virginia Commonwealth University;
Jennifer McDonough, Virginia Commonwealth
University; Alissa Molinelli, Virginia Commonwealth
University
The number of individuals with Autism Spectrum
Disorders entering the workforce is exploding yet the
employment outlook for these individuals is grim.
Virginia is fortunate to be on the cutting edge of
services for people with ASD. Through collaboration
and research, the Commonwealth is leading the way
to supporting individuals with ASD in the workforce
and educating the community and service providers
on how best to do this.
4:15 to 4:30 PM
BREAK
4:30 to 5:30 PM
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Salon 5
C25 – Café Room: Finding the Will
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO, The Bamboo
Project, Inc.; Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director, John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Salon 6
C26 – The NET: Branding VR as a National
Resource for Business
Kathleen West-Evans, Director of Business Relations:
The National Employment Team; Harley Engelman,
Marketing Consultant; John P. Evans, Employer
Relations Manager
Through the National Employment Team (NET), VR
continues to use the input of business to support a
national group of business/employer consultants that
work directly with private and public sector
businesses. The goal of the NET is to meet the
employment needs of business by referring qualified
applicants with disabilities from the national VR
system and capitalizing on the expertise of
professional staff to assist the business is hiring and
retaining a work force that is inclusive. This session
will focus on the development of a national branding
strategy for VR based on input from business
customers, a marketing consultant, and the 80
agencies under the public VR system. The presenters
will facilitate a discussion and brainstorm with
participants about how they are reinventing their
message and realigning their marketing strategy at
the state, regional and national level through The
NET. As VR rethinks the relationship with business,
in the new economy, how do we realign our message
to business customer?
Salon 7
C27 – A Cross-Systems Approach to Employer
Engagement –
Collaborative Strategies among State
Workforce Investment Agencies, Vocational
Rehabilitation, and Business
Randee Chafkin, Workforce Development Specialist,
Office of Workforce Investment, Employment and
Training Administration, US. Department of Labor;
Wanda Boulden, Disability Resource Coordinator,
Virginia Disability Employment Initiative; Meredith
DeDona, Grants Manager, Office of Disability
Employment Policy; Belen Burkharter, Business and
Employment Services Coordinator, Oklahoma
Rehabilitation Services; Shaun McGill, Senior Policy
Advisor, Office of Disability Employment Policy; Deb
Russell, U.S. Business Leadership Network
Representative, Walgreen Co.
There is a large untapped population of persons with
disabilities who are well qualified to meet the
recruitment and retention needs of the business
sector for qualified employees. The U.S. Department
of Labor has invested in a number of systemschange initiatives focused on improving the capacity
of various state agencies in developing collaborative
partnerships with employers in the hiring and
retaining of workers with disabilities. Two specific
grant initiatives currently funded by the DOL’s
Employment & Training Administration and the Office
of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) that include
vocational rehabilitation agencies and businesses as
strategic partners will be highlighted. Additionally, a
variety of effective practices, innovative strategies,
and technical assistance resources focused on
enhancing employer engagement at the local and
state level will be disseminated.
Studio E
C28 – Cloud-based Accessibility: Implications
for the Workplace and Employment
Clayton Lewis, Consultant, NIDRR Cloud Computing
Initiative
The Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure initiative
will use cloud computing to make it much easier for
people with disabilities to get information and
services delivered to them in a manner that
automatically matches their individual capabilities,
needs, and preferences. In this interactive session,
the audience will discuss how this technology can be
shaped to best address workplace accommodations
and other employment related needs. For example,
how can this technology make it easier for people to
change jobs, without worrying about negotiating and
arranging needed accommodations? More generally,
what considerations regarding the workplace and
employment should the people who are developing
this technology be aware of?
Studio F
C29 – Small Investments- Big Savings: A Look
at How Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies Save
Money by Partnering with their AT Act Program
Entities (AT)
Paul Galonsky, RESNA; Brian Bard, RSA
Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (VR) are finding
that working with their Assistive Technology Act (AT)
Programs can save the agencies funds. This is why
several VR agencies have contracted with their AT
Act Programs to provide cost effective services that
save VR funds. This Presentation will showcase AT
Act Programs and describe how their state VRs have
realized agency savings, as well as successful VR
client employment outcomes through collaboration
and partnership with their AT Act Programs.
Studio D
C30 – Success Through Collaboration and
Customized Employment: Three Partners
Serving the Most Significantly Disabled
Scott W. Harrington, Nevada Center for Excellence in
Disabilities; Mechelle Merrill, Nevada Department of
Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation; Maureen
Cole, Nevada Department of Employment, Training,
and Rehabilitation; Stephen Rock, Nevada Center for
Excellence in Disabilities
The Rehabilitation Division in Nevada Department of
Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (NV-DETR)
has taken a leadership role with two other agencies
in serving Nevadans with the most significant
disabilities. The Nevada Center for Excellence in
Disabilities (NCED) and DHHS-Developmental
Services are collaborating together on a pilot project
utilizing Customized Employment to serve job
seekers with the most significant disabilities. This
NTAP presentation will provide attendees with an
overview of the Nevada collaboration and in an
interactive session, help states to develop a similar
successful model by identifying the barriers to
collaboration and development of a workplan to
overcome the barriers.
5:30 to 7:30 PM
TACE Regional Meetings
“Given all we have learned at the conference, what
are the next steps that we in our region should take?
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2012
8:15 TO 8:20 AM
SALONS 1-4
Welcome
8:20 to 8:45 AM
Remarks from the Office of
Personnel Management
John Berry, Director
Office of Personnel Management
Veronica Villalobos, Director
SALONS 1-4
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Office of Personnel Management
8:45 to 09:00 AM
Remarks from the Office of
Disability Employment Policy
SALONS 1-4
Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary
Office of Disability Employment Policy
09:00 to 10:00 AM
Federal Contracting Panel Discussion
Moderator: Kathleen West-Evans, Director of Business Relations,
Bob Foley, Wounded Warrior Program Manager
Global Talent Acquisition, Raytheon
Jill Houghton, Executive Director
U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN)
Rick Laferriere, Manager of Workforce Initiatives
CVS Caremark
Oswald “Oz” Mondejar, Vice-President of Human
Resources
Community Relations and Communications,
Partners Continuing Care
10:00 to 10:15 AM
BREAK
10:15 to 11:00 AM
The Affordable Care Act and
Employment Opportunities for
Persons with Disabilities
SALONS 1-4
Barbara Otto, Chief Executive Officer
Health and Disability Advocates
11:00 to 12:00 PM
Call to Action
Bob Williams, Associate Commissioner
Office of Employment Support Programs,
Social Security Administration
Michele M. Martin, President/CEO
The Bamboo Project, Inc.
SALONS 1-4
Kathy Krepcio, Executive Director
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Thomas E. Finch, Ph.D., Director
Training and Service Programs Division