Nominees for 2011 MN APSE Governing Board
Completed ballots must be received by Tuesday, March 1, 2011
MN APSE Governing Board members should embody the following characteristics, in line with the Mission of national parent organization APSE-The Network on Employment:
- Demonstrate interest or involvement in the activity of supported employment
- Uphold the APSE Mission, Values, Goals and Ethical Guidelines, governing both practice and training/education
- Uphold supported employment values and principles and demonstrate these in their respective occupations
- Represent APSE in a positive and professional manner
Please review the information provided by each nominee below (listed in alphabetical order) to assist in your assessment of the above characteristics.
Nominee: Dawn Bacon
I have several years of direct service as well as supervisory experience assisting people with securing and maintaining employment. I’ve brought a strong commitment to employment for all to my current position as a Planner with Ramsey County Community Human Services. Most recently I have worked with community stakeholders to hold a local Employment First Summit and have also been engaged with a community action team that is learning about and applying Discovery and Customized Employment practices. I am very proud of MN APSE and am deeply committed to its mission. I would like to continue to work for the advancement of employment for citizens with disabilities.
I grew up in Fergus Falls MN. I hold a degree in Social Work and am licensed in that profession. I have previous experience on the MN APSE board of directors and have served as both Vice-President and President of our state chapter. I have contributed to the planning and coordination of a number of MN APSE conferences and training events.
Dawn is a visionary who brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to the MN APSE organization.
During the past eleven years, I have had the privilege to work closely with Dawn as she has advanced along her career path and can personally attest to the contributions she has and continues to make towards advancing employment for people experiencing disabilities and other barriers to employment. She is tireless in her efforts to stay abreast of best practices and current legislation that promotes full employment. As a colleague and friend, I know Dawn to be a person of high ethical standards and a steadfast advocate of the most independent and least restrictive employment options available.
Nominee: Megan Zeilinger Henjum
Manager of Employment Services at Community Involvement Programs;doing individualized employment supports for persons with a wide range of disabilities. I have been employed by Community Involvement Programs for 6 years and involved in every aspect of employment for persons with disabilities; from providing job supports, transition planning, developing a Business Advisory Council, to job development and management of operations. I have always tried to find new and better ways to do things and love to share my ideas and perspectives with others. I believe firmly in Employment First and believe in one person, one job, one business and prevailing wages. I live these beliefs in every aspect of my life and would love to get more involved in APSE!
I have been at two National Conferences and have been on the MN APSE training committee for four years and would love to get more involved in APSE’s strategic plan and helping to build sustaining relationships with other partners throughout the state in order to further advance opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Megan has consistently shown an exemplary commitment to and leadership in the area of employment for people with disabilities. I have had the privilege of working with Megan as her supervisor for most of the past six years at Community Involvement Programs. She has been instrumental in implementing changes that have
shifted our Employment & Community Supports programs from center-based to community-based. Most recently, she has become skilled at training employees in implementing the Discovery Process and has orchestrated a shift to utilizing this creative method as a primary means of securing employment for the people we support at CIP. Megan is a strong advocate for the concept of Employment First and embraces the belief that employment for people with disabilities should mean real jobs, at real wages, at real businesses, done one person at a time. Megan has been actively involved in MN APSE’s training committee for several years, has attended
both state and national conferences and ensures that the people she supervises are exposed to these conferences to the greatest extent possible.
Nominee: Kelly Nye Lengerman
My career has taken me on a journey though many different areas of disability services. My service started over 13 years ago as a direct support professional in a residential setting. In college, I worked for a vocational rehabilitation organization in Iowa as a job coach. It is on the front line you can often see the greatest change and growth that employment creates.
I graduated from Luther College with a degree in Social Work and Psychology. My early experience was at Catholic Charities. I spent almost 6 years at Ability Building Center in Rochester. Over 75% of our participants worked in community settings, but it was not employment that was truly based on a person’s interests or strengths. Community settings don’t always mean integrated. The challenge was to get others to recognize the employment capacity of ALL people and to encourage and expect work. At PossAbilities we created a new program to transition individuals in DT&H to exclusively integrated, independent employment settings. I learned and witnessed the most in supporting and watching the trials and tribulations of those we served, but in the end there was no doubt that employment was one of the most powerful tools at our disposal.
Along the way I earned a Masters degree in Social Work at the U of M with an emphasis in community practice and Human Service Management in 2008. I have now been with the University of MN for almost 2 years at the Institute on Community Integration. Employment has not always been in the forefront at ICI, but there are several staff, including myself, who are committed to making employment an essential part of our practice at ICI through; technical assistance, community involvement, research, grant writing, and evaluation.
Nominee: Jeffry Nurick
My first job in Minnesota was at Americorps. During my two year term, I developed a program with two other people to help people with disabilities find customized employment. This program was for people who do not qualify for traditional vocational rehabilitation services due to the severity of their disability(s). This program resulted in many people with disabilities being placed in the workforce. Since then, I was able to secure and customize my own job at the University of Minnesota. I strongly believe that if I can work with my own physical limitations, other people with disabilities can work.
I graduated from Hofstra University and was inducted in the International Honor Society in Social Science. I have worked for National Organization on Disability, the Disability Rights Organization of Greater Washington and after graduation I was invited to work in the White House as an intern, during the Clinton administration. After this internship, I moved to Minnesota from New York and served two years with Americorps at RISE Inc.
As a person with a physical disability and a speech impediment, who has a meaningful job in our community, I feel that I can serve as a role model for people with disabilities. I am also advocating for pictures of people with physical disabilities on APSE brochures and publications, so that potential employers can immediately recognize who APSE serves. I have first hand experience in the challenges and opportunities that people with disabilities face and will continue to apply my knowledge, skills and abilities to improve MN APSE’s goals and desired results.
Nominee: Mary Morehouse
My interest started when I began assisting my son as a teenager to find a job. I knew he was not going to be able to go on to college so needed to get a job to gain some work experience. Over time, and with my added experience at Ramsey County I came to understand the complexity of the issues faced by persons with disabilities in the employment arena and with others began an effort to move Ramsey County away from traditional day services and into employment as the first option for our clients.
I am retired from Ramsey County where I have held various positions in child protection, children’s services planning, and developmental disabilities. My last position was manager of Developmental Disability services for children and adults.
I am the parent of two adult children, one with a developmental disability. This young man is in community based employment. I am also step-parent to two adult children, one of whom is a provider of residential services in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. My husband is a supervisor in Developmental Disability services in Dakota County.
I can bring a parent’s perspective to the table as well as some system knowledge. I am a supporter of the efforts and leadership APSE provides in putting persons with disabilities to work.
Ballot for the
2011 MN APSE Governing Board
To be eligible to vote, you must currently be a Member of APSE.
MN APSE Governing Board members should embody the following characteristics, in line with the Mission of national parent organization APSE-The Network on Employment:
- Demonstrate interest or involvement in the activity of supported employment
- Uphold the APSE Mission, Values, Goals and Ethical Guidelines, governing both practice and training/education
- Uphold supported employment values and principles and demonstrate these in their respective occupations
- Represent APSE in a positive and professional manner
Please review the attached information, provided (in alphabetical order) by each nominee, to assist in your assessment of the above characteristics.
Please indicate your vote for up to five (5) of nominees below to represent the membership of MN APSE (listed in alphabetical order) by marking an X on the box next to the nominees you are selecting:
Dawn Bacon
Megan Zeilinger Henjum
Kelly NyeLengerman
Jeffrey Nurick
Mary Morehouse
Ballots must be received by the Nominating Committee by 3/1/2011via e-mail, fax or mail:
fax: 763-535-7589
MN APSE, PO Box 23087, Richfield, MN55423-0087
Ballots must be received by Tuesday, March 1, 2011 to be counted.
New Governing Board members will be notified by phone or e-mail no later than Wednesday, March2, 2011, and will be announced at the regularly scheduled MN APSE Governing Board Meeting on March 2, 2011.