The Business Side of Things: Employment and Brain Injury Podcast
Skilled program staff and innovative employment approaches can and do help people with brain injury enter and remain in the workforce. Business is in the business of recruiting and retaining qualified and committed employees who can work. At the center are individuals impacted by sometimes complex challenges related to brain injury. This podcast is a panel discussion from an employer perspective on challenges and successes in acquiring and maintaining employment. National labor market trends and practices will be shared as well as challenges that business faces in hiring and job retention. Recommendations for those who have sustained brain injuries related to seeking employment will be discussed, and a personal journey from injury to work will be shared.
Panelists will discuss:
how employment looks today and tomorrow from a national and local lens;
how staff specialists can and do assist with helping individuals who have sustained brain injury return to work that they love, regardless of challenges that might be present;
how you can build relationships in your state with business to increase employment options for those you serve; and
what success in the workplace looks like for one individual who has been on a journey from injury to employment
Speaker Panel: (Kathy)Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), Business(Jessica), State TBI Program/Employment Staff (April and Anna), Individual with TBI currently employed (Elizabeth).
Moderator: Maria Crowley, Director of Professional Development with the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators.
Speakers
Kathy West-Evans is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) who is fluent in American Sign Language. She has her MA in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science. Kathy started in the field of rehabilitation in 1978. She has worked in a community agency, for the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, at the federal level with the Rehabilitation Services Administration and now leads the National Employment Team (NET) at CSAVR (Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation). The NET is a cross state team of VR business specialists working through a dual customer approach to develop strategies with business to employ and retain the talents of individuals with disabilities across the company or organization. Kathy was also part of the team that developed the Talent Acquisition Portal (TAP) in response to businesses who wanted to easily access the talent pool of candidates with disabilities and individuals who were interested in accessing career opportunities with companies across the country.
Kathy is a past member and Chair of the Veterans Advisory Council on Rehabilitation and a former Commissioner on the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. In addition to impacting legislation focused on VR’s work with business, she is a frequent speaker and has co-authored articles focused on working with business to employ the talents of people with disabilities.
Anna Taylor is a Business Relations Specialist with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. Mrs. Taylor earned her BS degree from Troy University in 1999 where she studied Rehabilitation and Psychology. After graduating from college, she worked at a private university providing admissions and career counseling services. In 2000, she was recruited into the staffing industry where she served as an Executive Recruiter and Headhunter providing talent acquisition for all lines of business throughout the Montgomery, Alabama River Region. Mrs. Taylor specialized in the placement of C-suite, insurance, banking, legal, manufacturing, accounting, insurance, and government contracting, later branching nationally to do physician recruiting until 2010. Mrs. Taylor began her second career with the State of Alabama, Department of Rehabilitation Services, as a Business Relations Consultant in 2011. She completed her master’s in counseling in 2018 and moved into a business specialist role where she oversees new staff and provides national and state-wide training for business and industry. Mrs. Taylor helps employers identify hidden talent pipelines and promote initiatives related to recruiting, hiring, and retaining individuals with disabilities, veterans with disabilities, and transitioning service members in the workforce. Mrs. Taylor serves on a variety of Alabama military and Veteran committees and is a passionate about helping services members with disabilities connect to employment.
April Turner is currently the State Head Injury Coordinator for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. She is also The Traumatic Brain Injury Program Director of the Federal Administration on Community Living TBI Partnership Grant, the State TBI Pre-Vocational Care Coordination Program and Statewide TBI/Spinal Cord Injury Registry Services for the Lead Agency on TBI. Her agency also carries the Alabama Head Injury Task Force and The Alabama Head and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund. Recently, she wrote and was awarded a 5-year Administration on Community Living Federal TBI Grant for systems change in the Behavioral Health area for individuals with TBI.
Mrs. Turner received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Rehabilitation from Troy University in 1999 and then went on to receive her Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling and Vocational Evaluation from Auburn University in 2001. During her master’s program, she completed a thesis on Characteristics of a Mentally Ill Population Associated with Employability. She began her work for Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services over 21 years ago. She has worked as a Vocational Evaluator, Welfare to Work Counselor and Transition/General Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and a specialized hybrid Traumatic Brain Injury/Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
Mrs. Turner, a native of Alexander City, AL resides in Opelika, AL with her husband Chad and two sons, Cam and Cole.
Elizabeth Benton began working with Opelika Power Services in 2017 where she is a customer service representative. She has previous work experience in data collection field. Elizabeth is a brain injury survivor from the Opelika, Alabama area.
Jessica Samuel is Elizabeth’s supervisor and has been employed with Opelika Power Services in 2018 where she is a Customer Service Manager and supervisor of 7 employees. Her previous work experience is in administration, customer service and the banking industry. Jessica and her family are from the Opelika, Alabama area.
