Concurrent Block NineSaturday, July 19th 9:00 am – 10:30 am
#9.5 College Students and Graduates with Disabilities in the American Labor Market
Betsy Kravitz is a Senior Program Specialist at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) where she serves as manager of the Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities. In addition, is a member of ODEP’s Policy Communication and Outreach team. She also is chair of the interagency planning committee for the federal Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference. Ms. Kravitz has been with ODEP since its inception in 2001. Ms. Kravitz came to ODEP from the former President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD), where she worked since 1992. Prior to joining PCEPD, Ms. Kravitz was the Special Emphasis Program Manager at the David Taylor Research Center, U.S. Department of the Navy, in Bethesda, Maryland.
Kathy McCreedy founded DiverseAbility in 2001, leaving her role in Dow
Chemical as a research director to further pursue her personal mission
statement - to reaffirm the inherent value of every person every day.
DiverseAbility's mission is to integrate diverse individuals into
corporations and organizations, creating success for the organization and
growth for the employee. Our primary focus is developing career
opportunities for college students with disabilities, allowing them to
positively change the organizations in which they work. Her organization works with Dow Chemical, who was recognized with the 2007 DOL Freedom Initiative Award,
Michigan's AmeriCorps, as well as other organizations headquartered in
Michigan.
Kathy has also worked for the Center for Independent Living of Mid-Michigan,
leading a high school transition program. She received her Master's Degree
in Rehabilitation Counseling from Michigan State University and is a
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). She lives in Midland MI, which is
about 2 hrs. north of Detroit.
Jean Morrell is a consultant and recruiter for the internship program Entry Point. Entry Point is a program under the American Association for the Advancement of Science which matches talented students with internships in such places as NASA, IBM, Merck, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin and several other organizations, including some international assignments. Now in its 13th summer of placing students, Entry Point has jump started the careers of more than 600 interns in science, technology, engineering and math. Entry Point has also been asked to find the same talent in the areas of business, accounting, finance, HR and communication. Jean helped organize the formal Entry Point program while working as a "loaned executive" from IBM to AAAS. While working at IBM, she managed systems integration projects domestically and in India, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia.
Jean retired from IBM after 32 years and now works exclusively with Entry Point partners and colleges, visiting students on campus and at the internship locations to ensure students have what they need to have a successful internship
Veronica L. Porter is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Cooperative Education at Northeastern University. She develops partnerships with employers to provide experiential opportunities for students, and teaches the curriculum of the Cooperative Education Program, which includes the components of preparation, activity and reflection. One focus of her work is on outcomes of student learning relative to the critical concepts and skills that are applied in the Cooperative Education work setting. In addition, Professor Porter is the Liaison to the Disability Resource Center and conducts research relative to employment of individuals with disabilities. Her most recent study was The Bachelor Level College Graduate with a Physical Disability in the American Economy: An Analysis of Earnings. Her Doctor of Philosophy Degree is in Law, Policy and Society.
Avraham (Rami) Rabby is an International consultant, trainer, workshop leader, writer and speaker on equal opportunities, inclusive development programming and successful empowerment strategies for people with disabilities.
His experience includes Diplomatic Service of the US Department of State, 1990-2007, where he carried out six assignments as a political analysis and reporting officer for the US Department of State, at US embassies and missions on five continents. He has written articles on resume preparation and on employment of people with disabilities, which were published in The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly, in The Personnel Administrator, and in The International Labor Review. He has delivered numerous, well-received presentations on rehabilitation and employment of people with disabilities, some of them published in Vital Speeches of the Day, including, most recently, The Role of People with Disabilities in US Foreign Policy: Transformational Diplomacy in Action in the January 2008 issue.
He has also been a Self-Employed Consultant, Trainer, Workshop Leader, Writer and Conference Speaker, 1980 – 1990.
Mr. Rabby has an article that will be published in the upcoming Summer 2008 Issue of
Careers and the Disabled Magazine on careers in the Foreign Service for
Individuals with Disabilities.