Notice Abilities

This determined, animal lover has aspirations of being a veterinarian.

After of years of working physically demanding jobs with a physical disability, Armando discovers a new avenue towards a career right for him.

While visiting her daughter, Jerri Schlachter lifted a heavy suitcase resulting in an injury that led to the discovery of her condition of osteopenia. As her pain quickly escalated, she found herself in situations unable to move. This is the story of how Jerri rediscovered a passion for life again - though her work.

Preparing for a hopeful spot on the Paralympics team, college student Michael Kinoshita tells DOR the path he has followed as a blind student-athlete.

Clay Hoffman tells the Department of Rehabilitation about his dreams of becoming a groundskeeper for the State of California.

Cy Lugo recalls the morning after Monday Night Football, 14 years ago, when he woke up blind. Due to an autoimmune deficiency, Lugo became visually impaired but continues to push himself to become a better person, father and counselor to others.

Due to glaucoma, Sarah slowly began losing her eye sight. After two hard years of transition, Sarah realized her potential to make a difference in the world. Here she tells her story of the hardships faced and explains her plans to help others understand visual impairment.

Stacy and Greg's lives changed the instant he heard her voice at a convention for the National Federation of the Blind in Texas. Now married with their first child, they share a bond around their commitment to disability awareness, accessibility, and improving the quality of vocational rehabilitation in the state of California.

Ivonne was headed to work when her life changed in an instant. She acquired a significant Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that left her unable to continue working as a teacher. After being released from the hospital, she received TBI services through Dignity Health’s program. Now Ivonne is an advocate for individuals with TBI and is part of a poetry writing group.

Kelly had just moved to Monterey to be closer to family and raise her son when she found out the pain in her hands was De Quervain’s tendinosis; preventing her from continuing her career as a massage therapist. She decided to check out DOR to see how we could help her transition into a new career in a related field. With guidance from her counselor and tuition assistance from DOR she set her goal as a college degree in physical education, but was diagnosed with breast cancer. She put her case on hold during treatment and eventually came back ready to start courses. She was re-diagnosed her sophomore year but continued school, graduating in 2014. As she gains back her strength, she’s looking forward to the pursuing the next level.

Dante wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, so he moved to California at the suggestion of a friend. He enrolled in classes at Sacramento City College and after finding his voice and building confidence in a public speaking course, decided he wants to be a Communications major. With tuition assistance and textbooks from DOR, Dante can focus on getting good grades.

Jordan Gonzales spent much of his adolescence not knowing why he felt so sick, but a diagnosis brought some clarity and new opportunities. With assistance from DOR, Jordan is finishing his bachelor’s degree at San Jose State with a concentration in art and psychology, hoping to use his passion and talents to help others like him.

Jason Chu got a degree in Criminal Justice from San Jose State that led to a job at the US Department of Justice. Working with his DOR counselor, he explored other options related to his field of study and now has a dream job at Google.

Travis graduated from the University of Santa Cruz with assistance from Department of Rehabilitation and entered a training program through Expandability for job seekers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He’s now living independently in Palo Alto working for SAP.

Jennifer Jones first exhibited signs of mental illness as young child, but she was not properly diagnosed until her 30s. Her high school years were very difficult and she ended up dropping out. Jennifer took a proficiency exam and started classes at community college. She did so well she was able to transfer to UC Berkeley, eventually earning her master’s degree in clinical psychology. California Department of Rehabilitation connected Jennifer to Momentum for Mental Health, and now she is the manager of Consumer Affairs in Santa Clara Mental Health Department, pursing a second master's degree in licensed clinical social work.

Alex Lee spent most of his childhood in Hong Kong, where he was first diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. At two years old, he began receiving occupational therapy and his parents started noticing a difference in his behavior — specifically a budding artistic ability. Alex finished high school and college in the U.S. and worked with the Department of Rehabilitation to determine next steps. His counselor suggested working with a non-profit organization to get his foot in the door. Now he’s putting his artistic talent and graphic design skills to good use as a marketing intern for Goodwill.

James Donnelly studied communication sciences and disorders at California State University Chico. He also has cerebral palsy with spastic dysarthria. With financial help and guidance from DOR and a personal aid to help with the transition to college life, James looks forward to the next chapter.

After college, Elijah Martinez wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to pursue until his counselor Nicole Green suggested he work with Evolibri, an employment services provider geared primarily to individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, Learning Differences, and Mood Disorders. Staff at Evolibri recommended Elijah for a month long training program through Expandability; he excelled in the program and was hired as a full time employee at SAP.

Andrew Shanley had a very active lifestyle, traveling the world as a cable splicer for AT&T, until a stroke led him to the hospital. He soon learned he had a rare degenerative disease - Inclusion Body Myositis. Rather than transitioning into early retirement, Andrew visited his local Department of Rehabilitation in 2011. With assistance from his counselor, he enrolled in college courses and is looking into opportunities in renewable energy.

Robby wanted to be a firefighter, but his mom Gail and teacher Barbara Schulman, knew that career goal was out of reach. With some hard work, the support of his family, Barbara, his DOR counselor Michele Kaplan (and natural charm of course) Robby landed his dream job at Albertson’s. He’s been there for three years now, and it’s not always easy, but he can’t imagine not working.

Haben Girma grew up in Oakland, CA with her parents insisting that being Deaf-Blind did not mean she couldn’t attend her local public school. She transitioned from Skyline High School to the Department of Rehabilitation where she and her counselor began talking about the technology she would need to attend college—like note takers. (Haben uses a wireless Apple keyboard that transmits to a digital braille computer, which she is then able to read in digital braille.) DOR also sent her to the National Federation for the Blind’s living skills center to help prepare her for the dorms. She attended Lewis & Clark College and went on to get her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Harvard Law. She now serves as a Skadden Fellowship Attorney in Berkeley, where she is challenging barriers to accessible technology.

Geoff was injured in a surfing accident at age 24; the same day he was offered a job with a public relations firm in southern California. Following years of physical rehabilitation and a few trips across the country, he's back in southern California working in an office and finding new ways to give back to his community after opening a case with DOR in 2010.

Shortly after moving to Northern California, Julio sustained a life-changing injury. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to go back to work, or if he even could. Then he met DOR counselor Teresa Cole in 2013. She helped Julio enroll at the Computer Technologies Program in Berkeley where he updated his skills and secured an internship at LMi.net—a local internet service provider. He was hired on full time as technical support in October 2014.

Nick moved to California from Texas for a career in renewable energy. When things didn’t go quite as expected, Nick came to the Department of Rehabilitation in 2013. He was assigned to a job developer at Diablo Valley College who worked with him to secure a position at the U.S. Mint.

Debbie came to California to live with her parents and heard about the Department of Rehabilitation’s Business Enterprise Program. She graduated from BEP in 2012 and interviewed for the vending route at the High Desert State Prison in Susanville. She was awarded the location and has become a very successful vendor.

Devin was 22 years old with a promising career in mixed martial arts when he broke his neck during a routine practice session. Despite this major change in Devin’s trajectory, he didn’t let his accident slow him down. Devin came to DOR in 2013. Now he’s back in school pursuing a degree in accounting.