Greetings. I feel privileged to introduce myself to you.
My name is Jennifer Minnehan. I am proud to say, I am the Executive Associate for the California Policy Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CPCIDD).
I am excited to have the opportunity to work with the many amazing and gifted people from the IDD community – from self-advocates, family and loved ones, to direct support professionals – all those who make our community so rich and diverse. I am learning so much from them as well as those I work with at the Center and our esteemed Board Members. As a team, we are engaged in projects that I know will make an impact.
My passion for my job with CPCIDD comes from the inspiration I get from the IDD population we serve as well as my passion for the nonprofit community. I want to serve this particular population because I want to be a part of change and evolution. As well, I am the wife of a man with a disability.
My husband, Aaron Collier, age 51 now, was born with bilateral club feet. This is a birth defect in which the feet are twisted out of shape or position. My husband attended Shriners from birth till the age of 18. In December of 2012 at the age of 39, after 11 surgeries related to his disability, my husband became a below the knee amputee on his right leg. After having many failed surgeries and extensive pain in his adult life, he tells people, “It was the best decision I ever made.”
My Husband retrofits bikes that he can ride comfortably as an amputee. He was named an Elevation athlete by Elevation Prosthetics and they have recently featured him in several stories. The latest is a video of him riding one of the bikes he created saying, “Empowering amputees through bike mobility! Embracing two-wheeled mobility not only offers a practical and sustainable transportation solution, but also promotes physical well-being, mental resilience, and a renewed sense of adventure. Don’t let your socket restrain your mobility.”
I watch my husband, the father of our 5 children and his persistence to thrive successfully as a person with a disability and how he inspires those around him, and it makes me want to help other people find that kind of personal fulfillment and path to independence in their own lives.
One of the things I am really excited about in my daily work for the Center, is an employment pilot project. In a collaboration between our Policy Center, the California Retailers Association (CRA), local Regional Center employment vendors and the National Retailer’s Foundation (NRF) RiseUp curriculum, we have launched a retail training certified job placement project for the IDD community, with the goal in mind of doing a long-term outcome study to evaluate the impact of the project curriculum, job coaching strategies, and employer and employee supports in helping people with IDD to enter the job market, sustain employment and enjoy greater fulfillment and independence. We plan to share those findings in hopes to help impact future efforts and policies.
The training is acknowledged and recognized by CRA members as an industry-approved certification in vital retail skills. Please check out the interview Dave Manson, our Director of Outreach & Engagement conducted with our instructors at Meristem in this issue of the Center’s newsletter!
When I am not working, I am enjoying life with my Husband and our 5 kids, ranging from the ages of 13-29. We live 30 miles North of Sacramento in a small rural town with our 2 golden-doodles; Duke and Moose and our Aussie-doodle, Captain, as well as our two youngest daughters. They keep us busy! We also love to take the 5th wheel on the road and experience new adventures when we have the time.
Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about me and my compassion for my job and the IDD community. I certainly feel blessed to be here.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Anne Frank
