Webinar: Developing Creative Strategies While Integrating Individuals Who Need Higher Levels of Support in Employment

Webinar Description

This webinar will cover the following topics:

A) Thinking creatively about what is possible for each individual and building an individualized network of support for that person.

B) Offering solutions and being persistent to address differences in the workplace that makes it right for that person.

C) Thinking outside of the box: Rethinking business models within vocational agencies and preparing companies to shift their practices to embrace individuals who have not been accepted in the workplace.

Presenter: Dr. Dedra Hafner, EdD

In 2007, Dr. Dedra Hafner completed her dissertation titled Inclusion in Postsecondary Education: Phenomenological study on Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Inclusion of Individuals with Significant Disabilities at a Four-Year Liberal Arts College.  She is the founder and innovator of a new approach in supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities so that they can attend college. Dr. Hafner served as the Director of the Cutting-Edge Program and an Assistant Professor from 2008-2018 at Edgewood College. She consults with universities and colleges to replicate this model around the country. Dr. Hafner served as a member of the National Think College Accreditation Workgroup and is a co-founding member for the Think College Wisconsin. Dr. Hafner is a national award recipient for her work, and she has been a speaker across the country and internationally in the United Kingdom and Austria. She has been interviewed on local new shows including Here and Now on Wisconsin Public Television.

Her latest venture is called the Alumni Resource Center. She is addressing the needs of the alumni after they have had the college experience as they transition into the adult world.