Maximizing Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes: Leveraging High Quality Technical Assistance for Lasting Impact

Catherine (Cayte) Anderson, Ph.D., LPC, CRC serves as a research professor with the Innovative Partnership for the Advancement of Rehabilitation Research & Training (IPARRT) housed within the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the process evaluation of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Worker Connection initiative in addition to actively contributing to the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE), the Wisconsin Career Advancement grant, and specific research studies focused on youth in transition.

Dr. Anderson received her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has provided leadership on numerous research, demonstration, and systems-change grants for over 25 years. She also recently served as President of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) Board of Directors from 2020-2022. Dr. Anderson regularly publishes in peer-reviewed professional journals, including open-source venues to promote knowledge translation in the field. Her research interests include understanding and improving employment, career, and financial outcomes for students and adults with disabilities, transition-age youth and families, interagency collaboration between education and vocational rehabilitation, cultural responsiveness with low-income and marginalized disability populations, and use of evidence-based practices within vocational rehabilitation.

Malachy Bishop, Ph.D, CRC, is the Norman L. and Barbara M. Berven Professor of Rehabilitation Psychology in the Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 2000-2018 he served as a professor of Rehabilitation Counseling with the University of Kentucky and was Rehabilitation Counseling Doctoral Program Coordinator (2012-2018) and Director of Research for the University of Kentucky’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, the Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute (2014-2018). Dr. Bishop’s clinical background includes rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology in physical medicine and rehabilitation and other health care settings. He conducts research in employment and psychosocial aspects of chronic neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and other chronic neurological conditions, and the application of quality of life research to adaptation to chronic illness and disability. Dr. Bishop was an appointed member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Public Health dimensions of the Epilepsies, and served for several years on the Epilepsy Foundation’s National Professional Advisory Board as a consultant on employment and psychosocial aspects of epilepsy. He has served on the Clinical Advisory Committee of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Kentucky/Southeast Indiana Chapter, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Wellness Workgroup. Dr. Bishop is on the editorial board of several professional rehabilitation journals, and he has authored over 130 articles in professional journals and book chapters in rehabilitation and health care, co-edited 5 books, and made over 60 research and training presentations throughout the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Bishop was the 2020 recipient of the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association James F. Garrett Distinguished Career in Rehabilitation Research Award, the 2015 George N. Wright Varsity Award, the 2015 National Council on Rehabilitation Education’s Researcher of the Year Award, and the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association’s Research Award.

Chelsea Brehmer serves as a researcher with the Innovative Partnership for the Advancement of Rehabilitation Research & Training (IPARRT) housed within the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). Dr. Brehmer currently works on the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (TAC-QE) grant. Dr. Brehmer received her Ph.D in Community Health from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August, 2021. Her research interests include reentry and rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions that have experienced incarceration, employment as a driver to improve overall participation and wellbeing, and individual career development.

Dr. Emily A. Brinck, LPC-IT, CRC, CVE is a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) department serving on the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE) and the Wisconsin Career Advancement grant. She received her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counselor Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her Master's in Management from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Education: Intervention Specialist from Miami University. Dr. Brinck has had the opportunity to work on the Wisconsin Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE) as well as the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employer Practices (RRTC) grants. She has published articles in the Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, and Rehabilitation Psychology. Her research interest includes interagency collaboration between schools, vocational rehabilitation, and employers; transition services to post-secondary employment and education; and counselor supervision.

Stacie Castillo serves as the Project Manager with the Innovative Partnership for Advancing Rehabilitation Research and Training (IPARRT) research team. She also serves as the Project Manager on the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE) grant and the Integrated, Technology Enhanced Approach to Building Capacity for Job Retention among Persons with Disabilities in Competitive Integrated Employment (DIF Retention - PRIME) grant. Additionally, she provides project management and operations support to ten additional federal grants and contracts that seek to advance and promote quality employment for individuals with disabilities. She has spent most of her career working with individuals with disabilities. She has worked at the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in New Mexico and worked as a Senior Adjudicator for the Social Security Disability Determination Services in New Mexico. She holds an M.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Beth Gaertner is the Director of Education at the Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (SVRI). In that role, she leads education and training efforts within SVRI. These efforts include continuing professional education training, agency consulting, and technical assistance services. Previously, Beth worked as an Outreach Specialist for SVRI and in the unit that determines eligibility for the State of Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) program. Prior to SVRI, Beth spent three years with the Community Support Network in Madison, Wisconsin, where she served as a Supportive Employment Specialist, Volunteer Coordinator, and Case Manager. Beth attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout in the M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling program and the University of Wisconsin – Madison for a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and exploring new places.

Jessica Holton serves as the Project Manager for Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)’s Career Pathways Advancement Initiative grant and as a State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (SVRA) Liaison for the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE). Previously, she was with WI DVR as a Program & Policy Analyst – Advanced for over five years, a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) and VRC-Advanced in Milwaukee, WI for six years, and a VRC in Bloomington, IN for over two years. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with an M.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also completed San Diego State University’s National Rehabilitation Leadership Institute.

Dr. Tansey received his Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a professor in the Rehabilitation Counselor Education program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Tansey has over 20 years of experience as a rehabilitation counselor, educator, or rehabilitation researcher. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles in the areas of applying novel technology in vocational rehabilitation and rehabilitation counselor education, evidence-based practices in vocational rehabilitation, self-regulation, and self-determination. Dr. Tansey has extensive experience in adapting technology and utilizing social media for knowledge translation and dissemination activities. Dr. Tansey is the principal investigator on the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment, a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. He is currently the principal investigator, co-principal investigator, or co-investigator on several other federally-funded research or national technical assistance center grants from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Social Security Administration and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research). These current projects seek to ascertain evidence-based practices in the vocational rehabilitation of youth with disabilities, identify employer practices in the recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion of persons with disabilities, and provide technical assistance to state vocational rehabilitation toward increasing competitive, integrated employment of persons with disabilities living in areas of extreme poverty. Dr. Tansey has developed doctoral-level training focused on online and hybrid pedagogy as well as established numerous online, hybrid, and technology-enhanced courses. He serves as the co-editor of the Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin and on the editorial boards for numerous other journals.