Author: Glen Jennings

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RETAIN Employer Seminar Series

Posted on | by Glen Jennings

When asked about the RETAIN Employer First Seminar series, Kimberly Wickert figured she’d let a frequent attendee, Judiann Romeo, AVP at CareWorks, speak to the experience.

“She’s presented for us over the last few years, and she’s also been an attendee from an employer perspective,” Wickert, who serves as Director of Organizational Partnerships for RETAIN Kentucky said. “Her comment to me was…’It’s a series where I continue to learn every month from national industry experts.’ That’s what brings her back.”

The Employer First Seminar Series began in 2021 on the suggestion of the Human Development Institute (HDI) Executive Director Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones. 

“It is a monthly 30-to-45-minute lunch and learn series that we provide,” Wickert said. “We provide takeaways or nuggets of information that are new to employers to learn best practices and workforce trends specific to stay at or return to work strategies.”

Sheppard-Jones and Wickert felt that a lunchtime meeting would be easiest for the most people to attend. They also chose to host the meetings online to increase accessibility.  They are also available on RETAIN’s Media Channel, RETAIN Kentucky Media.

Wickert said there have been a variety of presentations on various subjects for the year. 

“So far this year, we’ve had national subject matter experts talk about creating trauma responsive workplaces. We had a subject matter expert talk about an employer perspective on workplace culture, safety and stay at work strategies,” Wickert said. “And then just this month we had Dr. Tim Tansey from the University of Wisconsin, showcase the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center.”

There are several factors Wickert said HDI considers when seeking presenters for these seminars. 

“We look at things that employers can use as resources, like identifying and developing bench strength in their workforce, universal design strategies to promote quality employment for workers with mental health considerations and ways that they can promote safety in the workplace,” she said. “This information provides best practices to hiring and retaining workers.”

And with convenient timing and online attendance, Wickert hopes that these seminars will be easy to attend for anyone who hopes to learn from them. 

“It’s a way for them to learn about trending topics from industry experts without having to leave their office or desks,” she said. “They get content that is relevant to an inclusive workforce on a daily basis.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Employer Seminar Series, email beth.potter@uky.edu to receive the monthly training announcement.

Disability in the Arts Gallery Showcase (Dates Extended!)

Posted on | by Glen Jennings

The exhibit will be extended and will be open onTuesday April 2nd – Wednesday April 3rd from 9 am – 4:30 pm.

The Human Development Institute (HDI) will be holding an art gallery at its Center for Assistive Technology (CATS) from March 26 to March 29.

The gallery, open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will celebrate and showcase art by artists with disabilities as well as the assistive technology that creatives can use to bring their creative vision to life. 

“We want to reach out to the community and share the talents and expertise of some Kentucky artists,” Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones, Executive Director of HDI, said. “It’s also a great way to check out CATS, learn about assistive technology, and celebrate Developmental Disability Awareness month!”

Nancy Savage, an administrative assistant at HDI and one of the show’s organizers, said that the art and artists showcased vary wildly. 

“There is a wide range of styles ranging from mixed-media, photography, graphic medicine and an art-related assistive technology display,” she said. 

The gallery will include students with disabilities from across the state who participated in a nonprofit program called ArtsforAllKy. Also participating are artists from the UK College and Career Studies program in mediums from traditional art to photos to comics. There are even a few artists, such as Brittany Granville and Erin Fitzgerald, who are part of the HDI staff, and local artists such as Melissa Armasal and Carter Underwood. 

A big part of the gallery’s goal is to provide multiple forms of meaningful representation for disability in the arts. 

“The disability experience is represented in multiple ways. The artists are disabled. The gallery also includes photographs that include people who have lived disability experience,” Sheppard-Jones said. “Unfortunately, stock photography is not inclusive of disability. Representation matters. This sample of photos is taken from the Human Development Institute photo library. The show also includes some assistive technology devices that gallery visitors can try out to experience a variety of ways that art can be created.”

CATS is located at 2358 Nicholasville Road, suite 180 in Lexington. The photo library can reached at https://www.flickr.com/people/198826134@N02/ and was created by HDI staff members Haley Potter, Kari Batts, Adam Potter, and Eric Seale in collaboration with models from Kentucky.

HDI dedicates Maurice Dawson, Jr. Training Rooms

Posted on | by Glen Jennings

Christina Espinosa remembers Maurice Dawson as a beloved member of HDI’s community. 

“Maurice was one of the few people at HDI as a member of our tech team that was able to connect with people across the institute…that was inherently special to be able to be someone got to connect with so many people but was also always very present and willing to help problem solve” Espinosa, the Community Education Division Director, said. “He had his own quirky style of humor. He was amazing with sending memes. He would always send back a meme on chat or in Teams.”

His friends and colleagues deeply appreciated how eager he was to help people with any of their tech-related problems and how quick he was with a joke in team meetings. Many member’s of HDI’s team were devastated when he passed away last year. But since then, HDI has made multiple efforts to honor his memory. 

As one of these efforts, they’ve created space for community and education at their new location in Lexington’s Huguenard building. 

There are two spaces at Huguenard that were dedicated to Dawson’s memory during its Feb. 16 ribbon cutting – the training room and the meeting room, as he was a common fixture in both places at HDI’s previous Coldstream offices. Some members of Dawson’s family were also there in attendance. His mother said a few words. She was just really grateful that we got to know him and were able to honor him in that place, too,” Espinosa said. 

Already the training room is seeing use. “Any project that needs to reserve a space that can house twenty to potentially forty people can reserve it for trainings for larger project meetings,” Espinosa said. “It’s also being currently used as a spot to gather for lunch, as a as an opportunity to connect with other HDI staff.” 

In addition, Dawson’s art and photographs of the Coldstream Farm decorate these spaces. 

In addition to these dedications, HDI is also honoring Dawson through its Maurice Dawson, Jr. Technology Training Initiative. 

Ross makes her stage debut

Posted on | by Glen Jennings

It’s never too late to discover a passion, as Suzanne Ross can attest. At 62, she’s trying something new and loving every minute of it.

Ross has always dreamed of making her debut on the stage, and recently, she got the chance, playing her first role in the Morehead Theatre Guild production of “The Odd Couple” as Gwendolyn Pigeon. 

Ross remembers first developing an interest in theater when she was young – an interest she and her brother shared, but never talked about. 

“We didn’t know it growing up, but we both wanted to do something like this, but just never had the nerve to do it,” she said. “Our high school didn’t have a theater program. And my brother was into sports and that kept him busy.”

So despite her interest, Ross never got the chance to try acting. Even after she graduated, she never pursued the dream. But when her brother retired, he did. 

“He was in a production last fall or actually last Christmas season called ‘In-Laws, Outlaws, and Other People That Should Be Shot,’ which was really funny. And I went to see him and he said, Sis, you really need to try out,” Ross said. “I said, Well, I’ve always thought about it, but just kind of a little too scared to do that. So he encouraged me and my husband encouraged me. So I went and auditioned.”

She was nervous going into the audition, but after being cast and actually getting the chance to take the stage, Ross has had many of her nerves dispelled. 

“It’s been a blast,” she said. “It’s helped me, honestly, with my seasonal affective disorder. I had a little problem with that in the wintertime where I really get the blues pretty bad, and this has helped me tremendously.”

She’s also found her fellow cast members incredibly gracious and welcoming. 

“All of the people that have been theater people for a long time in some form or fashion, behind the scenes and directing and acting, they have welcomed me with open arms and I’ve learned a lot,” Ross said. 

So how did the show actually go? Ross said she was nervous as she prepared to make her big entrance, but once she did, it felt natural as could be. 

“Opening night was great! The audience was fully engaged and laughed a lot throughout all the production,” she said. “I was feeling nervous as the time approached for me to enter the stage through the ‘apartment door’ in Act II. Once I got out there on stage, I was fine. I remembered all my lines and managed to get some laughs.”

There are a few other shows coming up at her local theater, and she hopes to audition for those as well, and is already seeking new ways to challenge herself as an actor.

“I would like to try something more dramatic just just to kind of see how I do,” she said. 

Staff spotlight Lakyn Hollandsworth

Staff Spotlight: Lakyn Hollandsworth

Posted on | by Glen Jennings

Lakyn Hollandsworth has always believed in helping people where she can. 

“I grew up in a family where if someone needed something, you helped them,” she said. “Seeing compassion in others and being willing to help others around you I think is incredibly important.”

That’s an attitude she’s carried into her career as a Return-to-Work Coordinator with the RETAIN Project at HDI. 

“We help individuals with an illness or a non work related injury, return to work or stay at work by assessing their needs with accommodations, working with their employers…to implement some of those accommodations,” she said. “And we also provide resources to other organizations in the community because when someone has an unexpected injury or illness and they’re out of work, that could impact their financial stability.”

Hollandsworth had an unusual path to HDI. She began by getting her degrees from Akron and Kent State universities, then moved to North Carolina for an internship with Vocational Rehabilitation. 

The year was 2020 and the internship fell through. Now, Hollandsworth was on her own in a new state without a job and with no significant local relationships. Fortunately, Dr. Phillip Rumrill contacted her about opportunities available with the RETAIN project. Four years later, and Lakyn has earned promotions from intern to Return-to-Work Coordinator. She’s integrated into a system with co-workers that she likes and work that she enjoys.

“At the time I was just shadowing other coordinators, listening in on a phone call as they were doing with participants. And eventually I was able to have my own caseload,” she said. “Without the internship, I think I’d be very overwhelmed. But being able to slowly dive into it and have all the mentors that I’ve had throughout the program and my work with the program, that’s been incredibly beneficial.”

Outside of work, Hollandsworth and her husband have an 11-month-old son. 

“Since he’s come into our life, our whole world focuses around him. But he goes everywhere with us,” she said. 

And everywhere is a lot of different places. They enjoy exploring breweries, hiking up mountains, and you’ll find them a lot on the lake with boats and jet skis during the summer. 

But everything circles back to that desire to help people – and she feels proudest at her job when she sees the proof that she’s done so.

“Some of my proudest moments are when I get feedback from a person that I’ve worked with that they couldn’t have done what we did without my help,” she said.