Joanne Wilson new Federal RSA Commissioner

Joanne Wilson new Federal RSA Commissioner

The United States Senate confirmed Joanne M. Wilson as the new US Rehabilitation Services Administration Commissioner on July 19, 2001. She was officially sworn in on August 6, with a public swearing in scheduled for August 27th.

Following is her bio:

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH JOANNE M. WILSON

Joanne Wilson created, developed and oversees the daily administration of Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB), Louisiana's first adult orientation and adjustment training and independent living center for the blind. Ms. Wilson directed LCB to its current 87% successful rehabilitation rate. Under her guidance, LCB, a private nonprofit center, has become a unique national model and demonstration site for training public and private agency personnel who wish to replicate LCB's nontraditional methods of training.

On a daily basis, Ms. Wilson supervises 106 faculty and staff members, manages private fundraising projects for LCB's annual budget of $4,500,000, and conducts LCB's daily operations with her legendary boundless energy. The fiscally responsible management of LCB's numerous federal and state grants from a variety of sources depends primarily on Ms. Wilson's wisdom and experience in the field of rehabilitation.

Ms. Wilson's passion for improving rehabilitation and education services in the state of Louisiana led her to establish eight additional programs, created to increase the employment potential of Louisiana's blind citizens. In addition to serving as Director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, Ms. Wilson has served since 1982 as President of the National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana. Under her leadership 23 chapters have been established statewide. As a national board member of the National Federation of the Blind, the nations largest consumer based advocacy group, Ms. Wilson is frequently called upon to conduct seminars and leadership conferences, and serves as a national and international consultant to agencies and their personnel. Ms. Wilson graduated with honors from Iowa State University in 1969, where she earned a B.S. in Elementary Education and was named a Merrill Palmer scholar.

In 1971, she earned a Moster's degree in Guidance and Counseling/Administration from Iowa State University and for a number of years taught in the Ames, Iowa public school system. Ms. Wilson considers her own rehabilitation training at the Iowa Commission for the Blind during 1966 to be the catalyst which changed her life, and ultimately the compelling force which led her to establish a model training facility for serving the nation's blind.

A tireless and energetic advocate for persons with disabilities, Ms. Wilson is a much sought after public speaker, called upon to address rehabilitation professionals, educators, and public agency personnel who seek to employ the unique strategies and training techniques for which LCB is recognized. Her work resonates throughout the rehabilitation community in this country. She has demonstrated that an effective partnership in which a private entity working in tandem with a public rehabilitation agency can, and does work to best serve the needs of the disabled.

Source: Michael Peluso

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