Our Move to Include award is being presented to Dr. Julie Christensen for her work expanding workforce opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities through the Project Search program and other initiatives.
Julie is Director of Employment Programs at the UR’s Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities, which includes directing the Project SEARCH employment program.
Project SEARCH is a one-year transition-to-work program for students ages 18-21 with IDD who are interested in increasing employability skills
Julie has worked tirelessly to expand the program increasing job opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities at a growing list of employers in our region.
Congratulations Julie!
Julie J. Christensen, PhD, LMSW, is the Director of Employment Programs at Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities (SCDD), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Dr. Christensen is the Project Director for the New York State (NYS) Partnerships in Employment Systems Change initiative, a Project of National Significance funded by the Administration for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, that aims to improve employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
She is also the NYS Director of Project SEARCH, a one-year transition-to-work program for students ages 18-21 with IDD who are interested in increasing employability skills during their last year of high school. Dr. Christensen also collaborates with the EquiCenter, Inc., a therapeutic equestrian center in Upstate New York, where she currently serves as the Director of Research.
Prior to coming to the University of Rochester, she worked in local schools and not-for-profits, focusing on increasing options and access to leisure and recreation programs for at-risk youth, including youth with IDD. Her research interests focus on improving access to and outcomes for employment, as well as leisure and recreation, for people with IDD.
