On Thursday September 7th and Friday September 8th, 2023 the State’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) held it’s first Statewide In-Service meeting since 2018. What had normally been an annual event had been interrupted by the pandemic and was finally reinstated.
Vocational Rehabilitation, Bureau of Services to Individuals Who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Pre-Employment Transition Services and Business Enterprises of Nevada staff all met in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort for two days of intensive training and team building. The keynote speaker was Chief of Staff to Governor Joe Lombardo, Ben Kieckhefer. Learning breakout sessions included Employer Perspectives on Hring People With Disabilities, Physical Disabilities and Mental Health, VR Trends and Best Practices for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, VR Trends and Best Practices for the Blind and Vision-Impaired, LGTBGIA+ and Vocational Rehabilitation, Recruitment and Retention, Counselor Ethics, Mindfulness and Self-Care and many others.
For the first time, VR held an awards ceremony to recognize the two top employers in the State of Nevada for hiring people with disabilities.
The number one employer of people with disabilities in Nevada is the State of Nevada itself. Director of Administration, Jack Robb accepted the award on behalf of the State of Nevada. These successes are primarily driven by the States’ 700 Hour Program, which requires state agencies to hire qualified people with disabilities. The second award, for the number two employer of people with disabilities was Sephora. This success was driven by the very successful Sephora Inclusion Program, in place at the Sephora Distribution Center in Las Vegas. On hand to accept the award for Sephora was Enrique Pichardo, General Manager of the Las Vegas Distribution Center.
Vocational Rehabilitation is very appreciative of it’s partnership with the State of Nevada and Sephora, and looks forward to even greater success for people with disabilities.
