As many of you know, UCP has been forced to implement layoffs in our Supported Employment Department.
One of the biggest changes was that the department’s Director, Melissa Miller, was laid off. We’d like to take a moment to celebrate and honor Melissa’s achievements at UCP. Melissa started at UCP more than 17 years ago. She applied to be a “Roommate” (a live-in caregiver), hoping to get a job and a place to live. As she says, though, she ended up finding “a family, a community and a mission.” That mission? As Melissa says, it’s to “PUSH THE ENVELOPE and NEVER STOP PUSHING for those who need support.” Over the years, Melissa worked in many of UCP’s departments, supporting and interacting with hundreds of customers and employees. She met her husband at UCP, and started her own family. Meanwhile, Melissa was creating a new department, Employment Solutions, and serving as a statewide advocate and voice. As UCP’s Executive Director, Ann Coffey says, “Melissa is bold, fearless, opinionated, hard-working, and full of gusto. She moves mountains. And she will continue to push the envelope for equity and justice, wherever she may roam.” Melissa’s right-hand woman, Nicole Vivanco, will step into a new role as manager of the Employment Solutions team. Learn more about recent changes to Employment Solutions here. Happy NDEAM to you!
Wondering what NDEAM means? It stands for "National Disability Employment Awareness Month," and it happens every October. The 2020 NDEAM is pretty special. That's because we're celebrating both the 75th observance of NDEAM... and the 30th anniversary of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)! Both milestones are being celebrated across the country with a range of events, all centering on the theme "Increasing Access and Opportunity." UCP Oregon's fantastic supported employment division (Employment Solutions) creates "access and opportunity" every day!
Congratulations to a UCP customer, Linda Akagi! Linda was accepted for her first research publication--Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Artificial Intelligence! Linda Akagi, B.S., is a research assistant in the at the PSU Universal Design Lab, and experiences cerebral palsy and complex communication needs. Linda leads the AAC Design Council, a forum for people with complex communication needs to influence the direction of AAC technology and research. She is dedicated to helping serve children, teenagers, and adults obtain AAC systems and be inspired to change people’s expectations. PS: Kudos, too, to Linda's UCP Employment Specialist (Alex Raines of UCP Oregon’s Employment Solutions), who assisted Linda to get her job at PSU.
|
NEWS Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|