Advance

SPRING 2015

Advance, Cornell ILR School's publication for alumni and friends.

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What attracted you to this feld? My passion is helping individuals with disabilities obtain that frst job experience. I was working as a teacher with young people with signifcant disabilities in the 1980s, and realized that education is about preparing and equipping students for what comes next. Young adults should be ready to help inform New York state policy and our work at EDI. How have advances in employment and disability rights impacted the workplace over recent decades? I think these advances have helped increase the presence and participation of people with disabilities within a variety of community environments, not just the workplace. The presence of people with disabilities alone increases the pub- lic's awareness and sense of normality of these issues. The laws in place don't create any type of advantage for people with disabilities, but they do level the playing feld for people to compete for jobs. What role does EDI play in disability policy? We work across three realms. Research into effective employer and educational practices lets us understand what works so that we can move into policy. We inform agencies about effective evidence-based practices that lead to better policy for schools, businesses and agencies. We strive to build capacity in our state and federal systems so young people with disabilities have the education and training to fnd employment on their own. You are currently working on some interesting online projects. Can you tell us about them? We think that media is our current essential strategy for advancing effective practices. TransitionSource.org is an interactive website that helps people create action plans, keep track of work, and share efforts, success stories and challenges. We've worked over the years with Insights International to collaboratively create videos about effective, evidence-based practices. We're also developing a mobile app around work- based learning so that youth with disabilities can keep track of their careers, work-based learning and skills develop- ment. What are you most proud of so far in your work? In 2008, EDI was awarded a contract to evaluate a state- wide transition project, studying the impact of high-quality transition services on 16,000 youth with disabilities. The results directly have informed New York state policy and our work at EDI since. David Brewer Senior Extension Associate, Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Employment and Disability Institute QA Q A & 8

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