Podcasts

District of Columbia Rehabilitation Services Administration and Revitalizing Community Membership of Washington Team Up to Create DSP Academy

Season 3, Episode 5 — 30 August 2019

YES! To Employment talks with Darryl Evans, the Deputy Director of the D.C. Rehabilitation Services Administration, Montrel Tennessee, the Project Manager of D.C. Learners and Earners, the Partnerships in Employment project of the District of Columbia, and Susan Brooks, the Operations Manager at RCM of Washington, Inc. The D.C. Rehabilitation Services Administration and RCM have teamed up to create the DSP Academy, a program to prepare people with disables to serve as direct support providers, or DSPs, helping other people with disabilities to live and work in the community. DSP Academy is currently running their second class. We talk with them about how DSP Academy came about, how it works and their experience with their first two cohorts.

A photograph of Montrel Tennessee, Darryl Evans, Donald Taylor and Susan Brooks posing in a line in a conference room after recording the podcast interview.

Darryl Evans is the Deputy Director of the District of Columbia Rehabilitation Services Administration.



Montrel Tennessee is the Project Manager for DC Learners and Earners which is funded by the Partnerships in Employment federal grant. Montrel’s core responsibility in his role is to create and expand the postsecondary opportunities for youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Montrel is a graduate of George Mason University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign respectively.



Susan Brooks is the Operations Manager at RCM of Washington, Inc. in the District of Columbia. Growing up with a sister who had Cerebral Palsy, she found her passion for supporting and advocating for people with disabilities early in life. Susan holds a BA in Psychology from Bowling Green State University and is actively involved with the Coalition of Disability Service Providers, the ANCOR Leadership Academy, and the Department on Disability Service’s Person-Centered Thinking Community of Practice.



Donald Taylor is the Training Manager at the Youth Employment Solutions Center and the producer of YES To Employment.
Complete transcript forthcoming



This interview was originally recorded 22 August 2019.



The audio of this interview and the transcript have been lightly edited for clarity.




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