Better Together: An Overview of the Region X VR Director and RC Educator Partnership Project

Dr. Beth Boland is a Professor and the Academic Program Director for the MA in Rehabilitation Counseling program at Western Washington University. She is also the Director of the University of Washington’s Center for Continuing Education in Rehabilitation (CCER). Dr. Boland has an MS and PhD in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to coming to Washington in 2004, she was a VRC for the State of Nebraska and an Assistant Professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Rehabilitation Counseling. Dr. Boland has more than 30 years of experience as a CRC and RC educator with research interests in (a) RC education, (b) return-to-work for individuals with significant disabilities, and (c) professional leadership.

Kelly Franklin is the Director of VR Services and Projects at the University of Washington’s Center for Continuing Education in Rehabilitation (CCER). Ms. Franklin as an MEd in Rehabilitation Counseling from Western Oregon University and is a CRC. She has more than 30 years of experience in VR as a counselor, administrator, and educator on topics such as Self-Determination and Motivational Interviewing. Ms. Franklin's passion for VR has led her to positions at state agencies in Oregon and Washington, as well as a national role working with a variety of governmental and non-profit agencies as the Assistant Director of the Institute for Individual and Organizational Change (IFIOC) prior to joining the CCER staff in 2020.

Dacia Johnson is the Director of the Oregon Commission for the Blind (OCB). Ms. Johnson has a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Portland State University and is a CRC. Dacia has more than 30 years of experience working as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor as well as various leadership roles in public vocational rehabilitation. She was appointed Executive Director of OCB in 2013. In addition to her work in Oregon, Dacia has served in a variety of leadership roles for the Council of State Administrators in Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) and the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB).