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

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Education, Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education (RPSE) will lead the VRTAC-QE.

Tim Tansey, Ph.D.
Professor and Principal Investigator

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

David Rosenthal, Ph.D., CRC
Professor

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

Jina Chun, Ph.D., CRC
Assistant Professor

Stacie Castillo
Financial Specialist and Project Manager

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

Jessica Holton, MS, CRC
SVRA Liaison

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 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)

John Connelly
Director, Research and Grants
Theresa Hamrick
Operations Coordinator
Inger Neal
Business Relations Consultant

QE Areas of Expertise:

Business Outreach

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

Jeffrey Meyer, MLS, MA
E-Resources and Instruction Librarian

QE Areas of Expertise:

Outreach to Rural Communities

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

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

Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (SVRI) - UW Stout

Kyle Walker, MRC, CRC, CPM
Executive Director
Cayte Anderson, Ph.D., LPC, CRC
Associate Professor
Researcher & Grant Director
Beth Gaertner
Director of Education

QE Areas of Expertise:

Eligibility Determination

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

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

Veronica Estala-Gutierrez, Ph.D., CRC
Director of the Rehabilitation Service Clinical Teaching Laboratory

QE Areas of Expertise:

Outreach to Veterans
Outreach to Latin(x)

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

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