Labor and Employment

Disabilities and Employment

State Partnerships: Setting the Stage for an Emerging Workforce

A Pre-conference Seminar for NCSL's 2006 Spring Forum

Speaker Bios

Sallie Rhodes // Kristen Cox // Amy Porter

Sallie R. Rhodes
Senior Program Associate, Institute for Educational Leadership

Sallie Rhodes serves as a Senior Program Associate at the IEL’s Center for Workforce Development (CWD). CWD is active in efforts to improve the connection between learning institutions and the workplace. Currently, Sallie provides training and technical assistance to High School/High Tech Programs in eight states (CO, DE, FL, GA, OH, OK, MD and MI). This project falls under the purview of the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth), a technical assistance consortia funded by the Office on Disability Employment Policy within the U.S. Department of Labor that focuses on improving workforce development services for youth with disabilities.

Prior to joining IEL in August 2005, Sallie was employed as the Director of External Relations for the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) for four years. In this position she provided training and technical assistance to Directors and Senior Management staff at State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies. She also tracked, reviewed, summarized and analyzed legislation, regulations and national policies impacting the employment and independence of individuals with disabilities.

Prior to working at CSAVR, Sallie was employed by Senator James Jeffords, who was then serving as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sallie served as the Disability Policy Director for the HELP Committee. She did research, wrote speeches, drafted amendments, developed talking points, and provided general support to HELP Committee staff on issues under the jurisdiction of the Committee and impacting the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Sallie went to the Hill with 16 years of experience advocating for the rights and needs of individuals with disabilities. Her legislative and regulatory work includes extensive work on the Workforce Investment Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Developmental Disabilities Bill of Rights and Assistance Act, the Assistive Technology Act, and the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. She has also had extensive involvement in various coalitions such as the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities and the IDEA Partnership. She has worked with a variety of federal agencies including the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Employment and Training Administration, and the Social Security Administration.

Sallie earned an M.S. in Community Systems Planning and Development, from The Pennsylvania State University, and a B.S. Degree in Sociology from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kristen Cox
Secretary of Disabilities, Maryland Department of Disabilities

Kristen Cox comes to the Ehrlich Administration with a strong and personal commitment to improving Maryland’s disability programs, and to create systems that instill positive and empowering beliefs about the capacities of people with disabilities. Her previous work in the federal government, advocacy, and special education provided her with a wide range of skills and a comprehensive working knowledge of disability programs and services at both the state and federal levels.

Prior to her appointment as Director of the Office of Disability Services, Kristen served as one of President George W. Bush’s appointees within the U.S. Department of Education. In that capacity she served as a principal adviser to the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration on program and policy matters and developed national initiatives to promote the employment and independence of individuals with disabilities.

From 1998 until her time with the U.S. Department of Education, Kristen worked for the National Federation of the Blind where she coordinated the organization’s legislative agenda, defended the rights of blind people on a variety of fronts, and provided leadership to 50 state affiliates and hundreds of local chapters. Her past experiences as president of a state advocacy organization, certified special educator, and member of various disability-related boards and advisory committees reinforced her commitment to promoting a consumer-driven service delivery system. Kristen and her husband Randy have two sons and reside in Towson.

Amy Porter
Project Director, Connect to Work Project, CT Bureau of Rehabilitation Services

Amy Porter is the director of the Connect to Work Center. This Center, housed within Connecticut’s Vocational Rehabilitation agency, is focused on systems-change activities to better support the employment and independent living needs of individuals with disabilities. Dr. Porter has administrative oversight for a number of federal grants, including Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach and a Benefits Offset Demonstration through the Social Security Administration, as well as a Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and two Real Choices systems change grants funded through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Porter is also a key planner in Ticket to Work efforts, both in the state of Connecticut and nationally.

Dr. Porter has worked in the Public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program for fourteen years in a variety of positions, focusing on comprehensive systems to support employment of individuals who receive benefits from the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income Programs. In her role in the administrative offices of VR Programs in both Connecticut and New Hampshire, Dr. Porter has been a key staff person on national committees addressing employment barriers for individuals with disabilities.

Link to 2006 Spring Forum Pre-Conference page