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Project Partners


The Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE) is a collaboration between the following partners.

Our partners are national leaders in research and training with a wide range of collective experience in identifying and sharing innovative employment practices for people with disabilities.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE) is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (CFDA H264-K200003)

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Tim Tansey, Ph.D.
Professor and Principal Investigator

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Malachy Bishop, Ph.D., CRC
Norman L. and Barbara M. Berven Professor of Rehabilitation Psychology and Co-Investigator

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David Rosenthal, Ph.D., CRC
Professor

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Fong Chan, Ph.D., CRC
Professor and Department Chair

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Jina Chun, Ph.D., CRC
Assistant Professor

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Stacie Castillo
Financial Specialist and Project Manager

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Emily A. Brinck , Ph.D.
Researcher and SVRA Liaison

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Jessica Holton, MS, CRC
SVRA Liaison

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Cayte Anderson, Ph.D., LPC, CRC
Researcher and SVRA Liaison

UW Madison QE Areas of Expertise
  • Outreach to Native Americans
  • STEM Career Pathways
  • Business Engagement
  • Transportation
  • Health and Disability
autism workfoce logo
Autism Workforce
  • David Geslak, BS, ACSM EP-C, CSCS
    President & Founder
  • Amber Pantaleo, LBS1
    Director of Development
  • Jake Smith
    Marketing Manager
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Autism
  • Business Engagement and Outreach
Advancing Disability Inclusion and Workforce Innovation
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSVAR)
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Business Outreach
florida atlantic university - counselor education logo
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
  • Michael Frain, Ph.D., CRC
    Professor, Department of Counselor Education
    Director, FAU Center on Self-Employment
  • Jennifer Sánchez, Ph.D., CRC, CVE
    Associate Research Professor, Department of Counselor Education
    Research Coordinator, FAU Center on Self-Employment
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Self-Employment
  • Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Psychiatric Disabilities
  • Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Iowa wesleyan university logo established in 1842
Iowa Wesleyan University
  • Jeffrey Meyer, MLS, MA
    E-Resources and Instruction Librarian
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Outreach to Rural Communities
Iowa wesleyan university logo established in 1842

Michigan State University

  • Dr. Emre Umucu, PhD, LPC, CRC
    Assistant Professor
    Director of the Veteran WellBeing Lab
  • Beatrice Lee, Ph.D., CRC, LPC (WI)
    Co-Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling
    Director of Neurological Disorders and Stress Management Lab
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Outreach to Veterans
  • Outreach to Asian Americans
S C State University established in 1896 logo
South Carolina State University (SCSU)
  • Cassandra Sligh Conway, Ph.D., CRC, GCDF, aPHR
    Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling Program
  • Jacques Days, Director, Health Ministry of the Seventh Episcopal District of the AME Church
  • Dr. Elaine Eskew, BCC, MSW
  • Vernell Wolfe
  • Nicolette M. Houston
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Outreach to African Americans
  • Outreach to Faith-Based Communities
  • Disaster Preparedness
  • Counselor Bias
UW-Stout - Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute
Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (SVRI) - UW Stout
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Eligibility Determination
university of illinois at urbana champaign logo
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • David Strauser, Ph.D., CRC
      Professor Department of Kinesiology and Community Health in Rehabilitation Psychology
    • John F. Kosciulek, PhD
      Professor
      Department of Kinesiology & Community Health
    • Bryan S. Austin, PhD, LPC, CRC, CVE
      Quality Employment Project Manager
      Department of Kinesiology & Community Health
    • Stuart Rumrill, PhD, LPC, CRC
      Post-Doctoral Research Associate
      Department of Kinesiology & Community Health
    • James Knauf
      SWTCIE Project Manager
      Department of Kinesiology & Community Health

QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Adjudicated Persons
  • Apprenticeships
  • Career Development
  • On-the-Job Training
  • Job Placement
  • Foster Care Youth
University of Kentucky (UK) logo
University of Kentucky
  • Phil Rumrill, Ph.D., CRC
    Director, Training and Research
    Human Development Institute
  • Christina Espinosa, MRC, CRC
    Director, Community Education
    Human Development Institute
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Customized Training Program
  • Remote Service Provision
  • COVID-19
  • Transportation
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) logo
University of Texas at El Paso
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Outreach to Veterans
  • Outreach to Latin(x)
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
  • Alissa Brooke, M.S., C.R.C., PBSF
    Director of Employment Research Training
  • Vicki Brooke, M. Ed.
    Dir. of Training for VCU ACE, Dir. of Business Connections, & Dir. of RRTC on Employer Practices for Individuals with Disabilities
  • Katherine Inge, Ph.D., O.T.R.
    Director of the RRTC on Employment for People with Physical Disabilities, Director of Instructional Technology
  • Kanako Iwanaga, Ph.D., CRC, LPC
    Assistant Professor
    Department of Rehabilitation Counseling
    College of Health Professions
  • Jennifer Todd McDonough, M.S., C.R.C.
    Project Director
    Associate Director of Training
    Virginia Project SEARCH Statewide Coordinator
    VCU-RRTC
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Supported Employment
  • Customized Employment
  • Subminimum Wage
  • Job Coaching
YolBe: Your Life Only Better
YolBe - Your Life Only Better

A trusted community platform for building social capital, skills, and careers.

  • David Douglas
    Co-Founder & CEO
  • Andre Dolan
    Director of Strategic Initiatives
  • Sydney Gear
    Communications and Marketing Manager
QE Areas of Expertise:
  • Business Outreach
  • Business Engagement