PNWEF 2020 Speakers

Alex Koval

Alex believes strongly in the work he does for the Clark County Community Services Department in the Developmental Disabilities Program.  His work as an Office Aide includes an assortment of duties such as: processing billing invoices, tracking contracts, technical assistance requests and service authorizations, as well as a variety of other projects.  Alex has held other jobs in the past at PeaceHealth SW Medical, Cinetopia and Village Vendor but his current job blends his passion for inclusive communities with his skills in organization.  He really loves his work, his team and their mission.  He just celebrated his 5^th year anniversary.  Alex has always been a connector for people and enjoys building relationships and mentoring others to see possibilities.  He passion and ability to see what could be makes him a skilled presenter and activist.

Derrick Thomas

Derrick has dedicated most of his adult life to advocating for social justice in underserved communities, to include vulnerable youth, individuals who experience mental health challenges, survivors of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and individuals who experience cognitive and developmental delays. Derrick received his B.A. in psychology in 2015 and a Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2018, both from Portland State University. While working towards his B.A. and MSW, Derrick worked with Kampfe Management Services Brian Injury Rehabilitation Center, where he spent 3 year as a Case Manager and 2 years as Care Coordinator, therapist, and program developer. He also developed course material and co-lectured on the interpersonal impact of trauma within the family system. Currently, Derrick is the PAVE (Prevention of Amputations in Veterans Everywhere) Social Worker and specializes in amputee prevention for Veterans with complex medical and psychosocial barriers. In addition, Derrick co-created and facilitates SWAIR (Social Workers Against Institutional Racism), which consists of social workers working towards cultivating an anti-racist practice within the VA Health Care System. Derrick is also an an on-call social worker with Oregon Health and Sciences University and member of the BIPOC Committee, which focuses on the development of policies that address the impact of systemic and interpersonal racism within the OHSU health care system. Derrick is also a member of the VA Ethical Consult Committee, is an intimate partner violence champion, voting member of the PAVE Committee, and is an African-American and LGBTQ Special Emphasis Program Manager with the Portland VA Health Care System. Derrick’s core belief is that those with access to power and privilege have a responsibility to advocate for those who do not and a social obligation to care for those who cannot care for themselves.

Debbie Caselton

Chair of Diverse and Empowered Employees of Portland (DEEP) with the City of Portland. DEEP is dedicated to enhancing a work environment that is inclusive and supportive of the City of Portland’s diverse workforce that is committed to quality public service. While working in Community Outreach for Environmental Services for 18 years, Debbie is one of the founders and has chaired DEEP for the past 14 years. DEEP oversees nine different Affinity Groups (Employee Network Groups). She is also one of the leadership team for the LGBTQ & Friends Affinity Group, was one of the founders and directors of the Portland Queer Film Festival for ten years, served on many boards of directors, including Portland Area Business Association (PABA), Equity Foundation, Lesbian Community Project, and SCRAP PDX.

Tara Asai

Tara M. Asai, Consultant, retired, Asai & Associates, Inc. Until retiring in 2018, Tara Asai worked over 35 years in educational, residential and employment services for individuals with disabilities and their families. She is a co-founder and former president of Oregon APSE. Tara was born and grew up amidst the idyllic orchards of Hood River, Oregon. As a young adult and the granddaughter of Japanese immigrants, Tara learned the power of stories and the deafening silence of the lack of stories when inquiring about the Relocation and life in “camp” during World War II. Believing that stories can be transformative ultimately inspired her work in Person-Centered-Planning, Discovery, training and consultation. Tara lives in Portland, Oregon.

Kelly Graves

Kelly Graves is the President of Supported Employment Services, Inc, a for profit business founded in 1991 by her mother, Kathleen Snyder. SES, Inc. is rooted in the tenants of Supported Employment; focusing on full inclusion and integration into community job sites. Additionally, SES, Inc. offers Supported Living Services to assist our customers to live as independently as possible in their own home.

Regina Kline, Esq.

Formerly a partner at the law firm of Brown, Goldstein & Levy and Co-leader of the firm’s consulting practice Inclusivity, Gina is nationally known for her litigation and policy work in advancing the rights of people with disabilities. She previously served as Senior Counsel in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she provided legal and policy counsel regarding efforts to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C.’s mandate for community integration in employment, education, law enforcement/criminal justice, homelessness, and health care.

Ruby Moore

Ruby Moore is the Executive Director of the Georgia Advocacy Office, the designated Protection and Advocacy system for people with disabilities in Georgia. Ruby is nationally known for her work on behalf of people with disabilities for over 40 years, particularly in the areas of employment and the design and implementation of supports needed for people with disabilities to live, work and be educated in the community. Ruby has served as an expert in employment services for people with disabilities to the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, and the US Department of Justice. She assisted the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to design an employment program to help 50,000 homeless veterans to access employment. She has testified before various federal administrative agencies and Congress concerning services and strategies that enable people with disabilities to secure competitive integrated employment. Ruby has worked closely with federal agencies to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. She has served on the Labor Department’s State Employment Resource Rebalancing Project Research Team. As part of this effort, she assisted several states in evaluating their developmental disabilities, behavioral health, education and workforce systems, providing recommendations to improve these systems and facilitate compliance with Olmstead. Ruby has served as an expert and consultant in numerous legal cases, including landmark employment cases such as Lane v. Brown, a class action lawsuit challenging Oregon’s failure to offer supported employment services to individuals with disabilities served in sheltered workshops. Ruby is the past President of TASH and the current Co-Chair of the International Initiative for Disability Leadership (IIDL)-US Advisory Council.

Lisa Mills

Lisa Mills is a Consultant at Moving to a Different Drum, LLC. Dr. Lisa Mills has worked for thirty years in the field of disabilities, in both the US and the UK. Her passion for Customized Employment began nearly twenty years ago when she was an employer at organizations that hired people with disabilities and she supervised these individuals, recognizing that customizing their positions ensured the organization could maximize the contributions of these employees, while also ensuring the employees succeeded too. At the same time, Lisa’s passion for Systematic Instruction also started as she saw the benefits of effective training on worker performance and independence. Since 2006, Lisa has been associated with Marc Gold and Associates. She works mainly with state agencies and other funders on supported and customized employment, discovery and job coaching service models and funding structures that incentivize the best possible outcomes. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked in more than 20 states. Dr. Mills is also affiliated with the LEAD Center and ODEP’s Employment First State Leadership Mentoring initiative and VOICE initiative. She also served as lead subject matter expert for the US DOL’s Advisory Committee on Competitive Integrated Employment of Individuals with Disabilities, during its first year of deliberations.

Michael Rogers

Michael Rogers works as a receptionist at the Washington State DDA. Micheal is man determined to live his best life. After years of being told “you can’t” Micheal found ways to show that indeed he can! After buying a house and making a home with his wife, Emily, he set out to reach more goals. At 40 he learned to read, at 45, he started using technology and joined the world’s conversations, able for the first time to get the news firsthand, send and read text and email, and join the social media craze. Michael understands that access can change the world, and this fuels his drive to create solutions.

Jennifer White

Jennifer White, CEO, Able Opportunities, Inc., jennifer@ableopps.com.

Jennifer White is a seasoned subject matter expert, designing and implementing projects that further Employment First strategies in transition programs and community employment agencies across the US. She specializes in successful business minded tools, innovative, person-driven, high-tech accommodations (see the Work Autonomy App on iTunes), and collaborative design resulting in structures that sustain successful employment outcomes. Her experience includes university research, collaboration to honor and include the culture of first nation peoples, and cross agency projects serving people with intellectual developmental disabilities, mental health challenges, dual diagnoses, addiction history and veterans. She is a corporate consultant supporting affirmative action hiring initiatives, starting with the WIN Program at Harrison Medical Center in 2006 to present work with international fortune 500 corporations.

Noah Seidel

Noah Seidel is a disabled advocate who works to support people with disabilities to live a full life and engage in social change. He joined the Office of Developmental Disabilities Ombuds in 2017 as the Region 3 Developmental Disabilities Ombuds. Noah graduated from the University of Washington where he received a degree while majoring in Disability Studies, Political Science, and Comparative History of Ideas. He has worked in many ways to support people with disabilities and promote disability equality.

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Resa Hayes

Community Educator, People First of Washington Resa Hayes has been volunteering as a self-advocate for so many years; she can’t even remember. Resa has served on a variety of state and local boards and committees, including SAIL, a Client’s Rights Committee, and is currently chairing a committee trying to close the Fircrest School in Washington State. One of her favorite jobs was to work at the United Cerebral Palsy Daycare Center. As a Community Educator for People First of Washington, Resa works with members one-on-one by calling and checking in on them to help them further develop their own self-advocacy skills. She lead the “Reaching my Own Greatness” and other trainings, and is always available to give input to her colleagues and the general public. When not out in the community, Resa loves to watch episodes of “I Love Lucy,” Westerns and other old movies. She lives on her own in the Spokane area with her sweet cat, Tigger.

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Jordan Ohlde

Jordan Ohlde had worked over 20 years as a Floor Staff at the Regal Cinemas in Bend, Oregon when he was abruptly furloughed March 5th due to the pandemic. It’s a huge change for Jordan who started his job when he was a Freshman at Mountainview High School. He misses the favorite part of his job of meeting and talking with people. Jordan lives in a six-person communal residence of 2 apartments and 1 house. He is a strong advocate who actively participates in the High Desert Advocates, Employment First, Central Oregon Coalition for Access, and the Regional Public Transit. He is also on the planning committee for the annual Breaking Barriers Conference held in Redmond.

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Kelly McCauley

Born in California, Kelly McCauley moved to Monroe, Oregon when she was five. She is multi-talented as an actress, musician, and writer and her favorite author is Stephen King. Kelly graduated from high school in 1999 and has worked at various food service jobs for many years. Currently, she does food prep as a Dishwasher / Diet Aide at the Conifer House Nursing Home / Memory Care in Corvallis where she has worked for close to four years. As she is considered an essential worker, Kelly practices health and safety precautions at home and at work. She has been tested twice for Covid19 and fortunately has tested negative. Future goals include going vegan (it’s going slowly) and exploring other careers.

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Heidi Dirkse-Graw

Heidi is passionate about empowering and quipping employers to create diverse and inclusive workplaces that engage the talent of people with disabilities. She has worked in the field of disability employment for thirty years, creating innovative trainings and engaging businesses to create a culture of inclusion for people who have traditionally faced barriers. As the founder of Dirkse Counseling and Consulting, Inc. she leads a team of fifteen professionals in the Portland Metro area who resonate with her passion and commitment. As a business owner, Heidi possess an informed perspective of the needs of business as they seek to hire and retain talent that reflects the richness of diversity, especially in disability employment. Her educational background and experience as a licensed professional counselor, nationally certified rehabilitation counselor, and workplace mediator have been the backbone of her successful practice providing consultation, coaching and training for employers in their disability inclusion efforts.

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David Scott

David has been a Director of Sales with a range of hotels including Radisson, Courtyard by Marriott, Embassy Suites and now Curio by Hilton. One of the sales tools he continues to leverage is to share inspiring stories of Project SEARCH hotel interns with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Getting to know each class over eight years, David played a role in helping to find meaningful employment following their course completion. This came from hosting transition job fairs, touring potential employers through his hotel to see the interns on the job and calling employers that may be looking for applicants with equivalent transferable skills. Realizing bottom line numbers often hold more sway than inspiring stories, David began measuring the positive impact on hotel turnover, team engagement and customer loyalty. David is currently working towards creating a Disability:IN Affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska where he lives with his wife and two children.

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Ken Kaneko

Ken Kaneko is the CEO of Forward Greens in Vancouver, WA. Forward Greens utilizes vertical farming practices to grow fresh produce while reducing natural resource requirements. A local cosmopolitan farm, focused on serving the environment and planting the seeds to create a cleaner future for generations to come. The farm provides the most efficient way to foster the tastiest greens, found in grocery stores across the Pacific Northwest. Ken’s primary focus is on creating a commercially viable business that can responsibly scale in relation to the community and environment. His former experience spans R/D and operations at Intel Corp. and Apple Inc. He currently serves on the Department of Energy, National Alliance for Water Innovation team for the agricultural sector.

Steven Cutter

Steven is the Director of Employment Services for ATwork in Spokane, WA. He is also the Vice President of the WA APSE board. He is passionate about collaborative management practices, engaging employees in problem solving, accountability and decision-making. He loves his community and the work he does. In his spare time he enjoys watching football and spending time with his dog.

Taylor Jones

Employment Specialist at Community Vision and MFT graduate student.