The Choice Group

Rachel Brand has been with The Choice Group for one year. Rachel serves the Peninsula of Hampton Roads in Williamsburg and Yorktown. She works closely with Project SEARCH at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center (SWRMC). One of Rachel’s most memorable experiences working with The Choice Group was being able to work with High School Pre-ETS clients this summer facilitating Work Based Learning Experiences. Her favorite aspect was getting to work at several farms and animal shelters. Many of her clients opened up and became much more comfortable being around animals and being outdoors. Rachel enjoyed this because she also loves being around animals and being outdoors.  Rachel loves working with The Choice Group because “no one day is ever the same”. She feels blessed to have had so many diverse experiences in her first year being a part of the team. We are thrilled to have Rachel with us and look forward to many more years with her!

Meaghan has been an executive assistant with The Choice Group for 4 years and serves the areas of Richmond, Hampton Roads, Central Virginia, Northern Virginia and the Southwest. "Meaghan is the Administrative- Receptionist- LTESS extraordinaire. She wears many hats and is always available to help troubleshoot an issue with her expertise”.  In working the front desk she is the first face clients see when they enter The Choice Group Office. "I am personally incredible appreciative of not only her hard work but dedication to assisting all TCG staff any way she can.” Says her coworker Danielle. Danielle recalls her most memorable times with Meaghan have been her continual ability to solve problems in the Admin world. She says that Meaghan is great with giving directions and is always available to lend a hand. Danielle’s favorite aspect of working with Meaghan is her ability to maintain a positive attitude even amongst all of the chaos.  We are so pleased to ...

Heidi Chaney began working with Valerie in October of 2017. Valerie was referred to The Choice Group by The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to help her get back to work. Along with the help of her DARS counselor Kara Leavell and with the support of her family and friends she was ready to move forward. Valerie had gone to school 30 years ago to learn office skills and had worked at the local shipyard ordering parts for ship repair but was laid off and had not worked in 15 years. Valerie had overcome many challenges in her life and career such as being paralyzed from the waist down since the age of 18 and was not going to let being laid off deter her from finding work again. With the help of her job coach, Valerie decided that working as a front desk receptionist or as a greeter of some type would best fit her needs and desires. After taking a situational assessment at a local YMCA it was confirmed that Valerie’s desire to move forward in the job search ...

Danielle has been with The Choice Group for 2 years and serves the Richmond area. She specializes in Community Support Services (CSS), Wounded Warrior and The Department of Juvenile Justice. Her most memorable experience has been helping one of her clients participate in the Women in Action Veteran Beauty Pageant hosted at the Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center. She loves working at The Choice Group because it helps her instill hope in individuals whom often don’t think they’re capable of reaching their goals. Keep up the great work Danielle, we are lucky to have you!

Doctor Training Program Speeds Autism Diagnosis Pediatrician Brenda Holson visits with a 2-year-old patient. A program designed to train primary care providers to diagnose autism is helping reduce wait times for children with the developmental disorder, researchers say. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS) Training primary care providers to accurately diagnose autism is yielding big dividends, researchers say, allowing children on the spectrum to be identified and start treatment far sooner. Through a combination of in-person sessions and remote, video-based coaching over the course of a year, 18 primary care providers working across the state of Missouri learned to diagnose and treat autism. The training was provided through a program known as ECHO Autism that connected pediatricians, family physicians and other primary care providers with a variety of autism experts including a clinical psychologist, a social worker, a dietician, a psychiatrist, a parent and a pedia...

Vocational Counselor Rachel McGregor has been working with her client, Austin since June of 2016. Already a hard worker, Austin gained work experience as a high school student at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital where he impressed the managers and staff with his initiative and endurance. So when Rachel started working with him as a postgraduate, Austin had already gained an affinity for food service from his experience at Sentara.    The biggest obstacle Austin faced when landing a job, was finding the right match. They decided to apply to many different types of jobs since his work experience was somewhat limited up to this point. Austin “is capable of so much and knew exactly what he wanted to do,” said Rachel about her experience working with him. “I think it can be hard for younger individuals to find employment in their area of interest because often times they don’t have the experience needed for those positions.” However, Austin was more prepared tha...