My name is Wendy Vance, and I am a vocational evaluator. I founded Dogwood Disability Consulting after spending 16 years in the disability service industry across both public and private sectors. My goal was to leverage my professional experience and personal insights as a person with a disability to create an organization that champions the belief in equality for all. We all love, laugh, and dream alike.
I am passionate about helping people with disabilities secure quality employment of their choice in inclusive community settings that offer a living wage. Individuals with disabilities are essential community members who desire to be productive and contribute to society. With the right training, support, and accommodations, I firmly believe that gainful, fulfilling employment is attainable.
Dogwood Disability Consulting strives to promote inclusion and shift perceptions about what people with disabilities can achieve, encouraging both individuals with and without disabilities to recognize their capabilities!
We provide.....
* Comprehensive Vocational Evaluation - Virtual or In-Person
* Situational Vocational Evaluation
* Disability etiquette, accessibility, and inclusion training for small to medium businesses, educators, churches, and other community organizations looking to enhance diversity and inclusion.
* Motivational speaking.
In a word, experience! I have 16 years of experience working in the field of disability and a lifetime of experience as a person with disabilities. My journey includes 8 years as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, 3 of which I served as a counselor supervisor. Additionally, I have spent 6 years in disability advocacy, with 3 of those years focused on education advocacy, and I have also been involved in assistive technology sales and training.
Through my roles in disability consulting, I have helped hundreds of individuals secure quality employment of their choice, access quality education, and connect with community resources and supports. I have delivered numerous trainings at statewide conferences such as Family Cafe, Visions, and the FL Self-Advocates Network (Sand). My presentations have also reached national audiences at conferences like the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems and the Association of Vision Rehabilitation Therapists. Furthermore, I have contributed to the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities by presenting in their monthly employment webinars, covering topics such as school-to-work transition, employment for people with disabilities, reasonable accommodations, self-advocacy, and addressing relationship violence toward people with disabilities.
To empower people with disabilities through effective disability consulting, enabling them to make informed employment choices based on thorough individual, data-driven vocational information, and to change how society and individuals perceive disability.
To increase gainful, integrated employment of choice for people of all ability levels, disability consulting plays a crucial role.
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