In this episode, I interview Dr. James Williams, Chief Operating Officer and National Pre-ETS Director at Bloom Consulting. James is an experienced certified Rehabilitation Counselor who holds an advanced certification as an Autism Specialist and special education teacher. He is also an adjunct professor at Northwestern College-Iowa. With over 15 years of experience, James is passionate about providing transitional and vocational services to individuals with autism and other disabilities. We specifically talk about Campus Connections, a research-based program that supports students with disabilities through college with the final aim of connecting them to post-graduation job placement referrals and leads. James calls Campus Connections a start-to-closure program, placing focus on the main goal of the program - to find and land a meaningful career. James brings tons of passion and excitement to the vocational rehabilitation field and brings hope to adults who have struggled...

Yeah, this is gonna work

Well, this YouTube experiment is turning out to be a total win. I'm so grateful that the colleagues in my life are equally as (or maybe even more) adventurous as me. Enter Kelly Privitt, Director of AbilityFirst's College to Career (C2C) program, who graciously agreed to do one of these interviews. She knocks it out of the park by talking about empowering students with choice and allowing her students the dignity of risk. She gets personal, sharing her own learning profile and how her daughter, who allowed her mother to disclose that she has a disability on YouTube, is a total bada$$ at her job and shattering distribution records in corporate America. 

My intention with these YouTube videos has always been to provide high-quality information for free to the disabled community. I wanted everyone to have access to the amazing professionals and programs that I get to work with on a regular basis. It turns out that I'm also benefitting personally and...

Oh, it's something shiny! 

You know when there is something that just makes you all giddy inside? Well, this is one of those times! I'm launching a YouTube channel called, disABLED+Empowered, which is laser-focused on empowering disabled individuals (and their families and support systems) with information that can lead to meaningful action. 

Over the past 20 years, I've met the most incredible people who have taught me, shaped me, and well, have collectively molded me into the professional that I am today. Actually, it's this cumulative knowledge and expertise that people seek when they reach out to me for help. Unfortunately, I'm just a single person with so many hours in the day. So, I've been playing around with the idea of sharing my knowledge and the process by which I obtain information and integrate it into my thinking on a larger platform (enter, YouTube). It is my hope that giving you a voyeuristic peek into these...