Tricia Jones-Parkin is the Program Manager at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. Tricia has over 20-years of experience working with people with disabilities. In 2011, Tricia collaborated to craft the Employment First Language for Utah and has focused on capacity building and systems change efforts to increase the number of people employed and included in their local communities. Tricia is also the project director for Utah;s School to Work Inter-agency Transition Initiative funded by the Administration for the Employment Systems Change grant. She is the co-state lead for Utah’s partnership with the Office of Disability Policy’s Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program. Tricia was the recipient of the National Association of Persons Supporting Employment First (APSE) Dave Hammis Award.



Kelie Hess is the School to Work Program Coordinator at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.



Lavinia Gripentrog is a Transition Specialist at Utah State Board of Education.



Laura Owens is the President of TransCen. Laura is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Exceptional Education Department where she teaches courses focusing on high school inclusion and transition from school to work. She is also the founder and President of Creative Employment Opportunities, Inc. (CEO), in Milwaukee, which she founded in 1991. Prior to joining TransCen, Laura served as the Executive Director of APSE (the Association of People Supporting Employment First), a national organization focusing on the advancement of integrated employment for citizens with disabilities.



Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center.

Complete transcript forthcoming



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



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