The Choice Group

Longevity in any career is a rare and remarkable achievement—but when someone dedicates three full decades to the same workplace with pride and enthusiasm, it's something truly special. That’s exactly the story of Tito Woods, a longstanding client of The Choice Group who recently celebrated 30 years on the job. Tito began his career journey right out of high school with the support of a DARS counselor in Danville. He was hired to work in the cafeteria at a local hospital in Eden, North Carolina—a role that would evolve over time but always remain rooted in his commitment to showing up, working hard, and doing his part to support the team. Over the years, the hospital’s cafeteria operations have transitioned through various management companies, including industry giants like Sodexo and Aramark. Through every shift in leadership, Tito remained a steady and dependable presence, adapting to new systems and expectations while continuing to do what he does best. Today, Tito still enjoys...

Rachel McGregor, Vocational Counselor, was serving the Hampton Roads area when Quanita became her client in 2014. Quanita works at a local movie theatre in the area and has been an employee there since 2013. After Quanita graduated from Project SEARCH in 2013 she began looking for a job that would fit the skills she had learned while working at the hospital during her internship. Her tasks at the movie theatre include following a task list to determine which theatres to clean after showings, maintaining the restrooms and keeping the lobby area up to par for guests. Quanita is very reliable, and will pick up any shift she is asked to work. She also has a lot of energy and can work on her feet for long periods of time. Quanita is very independent and lives close to work so she is able to walk if she is unable to find a ride.  Obstacles Quanita has overcome in her position include limiting her socializing and identifying professional work boundaries. Quanita is very friendl...

Rachel, vocational counselor serving the hampton roads area, began working with Stacey Whitter in the Summer of 2016. S tacey completed the Project SEARCH program and was able to try out different internships throughout the hospital in which he interned for. He did a great job in all 3 of his internships, but, really enjoyed working in Food Services/Patient Foods. Rachel and Stacey quickly realized that one of Stacey's strengths was his ability to connect with people and bring joy to any work environment. Looking at his skills and interests, they really wanted to find Stacey a job where he could be himself and work alongside others who share the same values. Rachel first started working with YNot Italian in the summer of 2016 to find a client, through The Choice Group, to work for them. That is when Stacey found and landed his current position there! YNot Italian has always been a big supporter of disability awareness, especially during the month of October which is National Dis...

Rachel McGregor began working with R onique during her time in Project SEARCH in 2016. Ronique has been successfully employed at a local hospital in Norfolk since January of 2017. After completing her internship with her current employer through Project SEARCH they decided to hire her!   Ronique works in Environmental Services  at the hospital and does a wonderful job . Her attention to detail and time management skills have helped her  succeed in  her position. Ronique always follows her schedule when cleaning her areas and the departments have said that they can use Ronique as a time reference. They know  the exact time  because she is always right on time each day!   Ronique did not need a lot of support because she picks up tasks so quickly and understands the expectations. Ronique is young, therefore working with The Choice Group and Project SEARCH  has helped   her  find the opportunity to work in a great position that would ty...

William was referred to The Choice Group by Vocational Counselor, Susan Bohache, with the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services in April 2016 and was paired with Job Coach Ali Dodd and they soon found a position available at a local IHop in Chesapeake in July of 2016 but had to resign upon his families relocation. He rejoined in hopes of finding another job in Virginia Beach after his family relocated in April of 2017. William has been working with his vocational counselor Heidi beginning again in August of 2017 when he restarted services through DARS and began working with The Choice Group again. Assessments were tried initially in a grocery store, bagging groceries, collecting carts and cleaning bathrooms as well as working as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. His job coach conducted research in hopes of finding William a position somewhere where he would feel most comfortable and thrive. A position at the Founders Inn, for a Steward, came available and Willi...

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!

Devante Walker has been working with Rachel from The Choice Group since August of 2014. He participated in the Project SEARCH program, completing 3, 10-week internships at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he gained essential work experience and skills to obtain future employment. During his time with Project SEARCH, it was clear that Devante excelled in customer service. In learning this, Rachel and Devante began looking for jobs where he could use his customer services skills and interact with people, which he loves to do.  People are drawn t o Devante’s outgoing personality. He has a great memory and can recognize people after meeting them just once!  So when Devante got the job as a part of the security crew at The Funny Bone, it was a perfect fit! He works up front as the customers line up to come in for a show. He checks bags, IDs and stamps hands. Devante also monitors the showroom as comedians are on stage. He is so loved by all his coworkers an...

Brianna has been a counselor with The Choice Group starting in June of this year serving the Southwest region of Virginia. Brianna works with clients to help them make informed decisions about options for ongoing supports and employment through the Work Incentive Specialist Advocacy service.  Although Brianna is a new addition to our team, she has fit in great with our other counselors. She enjoyed her time at orientation with her coworkers and looks forward to her growth within the company.  Brianna has 6 years of experience working in job coaching and loves that every day brings someone and something new.  We are excited to have Brianna on board and look forward to seeing her help clients change their lives!

After volunteering at the American Library in Paris and earning their Bachelor’s degree in IT, Kian and Niall had a clear idea of what type of job they wanted. When they relocated to Charlottesville, VA, they began searching for jobs within the IT or data entry field.  A year later, both Kian and Niall were hired at the bookstore on the University of Virginia campus to sort and package textbook orders for incoming students. They quickly adapted to their work environment and impressed their coworkers with their stellar work ethic. Four weeks later when their contract ended, Kian and Niall did not give up and continued to search for their dream job.  They were introduced to a manager at the University of Virginia, who saw their attention to detail and offered the men positions as Temporary Data Technicians through UVA Temps. Within several months, Kian and Niall redacted years of research data, far exceeding the expectations of their coworkers and supervisors. They quickly t...

This story will not contain the boring, overused words “amazing” or “awesome” to describe the magnanimous character that defines Will Zentmyer.  This young man was teamed up with an excellent support crew to explore the vocational world of Charlottesville, VA.  This was a very challenging case, and Will did not know what type of work he wanted to do.  There were several unknowns to this equation, but the one given was Will’s determination.  He was able to try several different jobs including warehouse, restaurant, garden nursery, and hotel work.  This went on for a while, and Will exhibited the greatest success working in a hotel as a housekeeping aide. With this in mind, his Vocational Counselor visited almost every hotel in Charlottesville to advocate for Will’s extraordinary charisma and abilities.  Several hotels declined the opportunity for Will to work there, while others said they needed to think about it.  All of the hotels that needed to...

Mariam was working a retail job for 5 years before she came to The Choice Group looking for a change. Having lots of experience in the retail space, she was skilled at sales and conversing with customers but wanted something different and challenging. With a fun, talkative, and outgoing personality, Mariam wanted a position where she could interact with a lot of different people and have interesting conversations. She began working with Alexandra, her vocational counselor, in October of 2017. Together they found a position for food demonstrations at Advantage Solutions. Having a personal interest in cooking at home, this was a job that intrigued her. In her position as an Event Specialist, she is able to combine her retail experience with her love of interacting with customers.  Initially, she was shy drawing people to her demo station, but with her extended and studied knowledge of the products she’s offering, her confidence grew. Stimulated by her active role ...

Katie, a vocational counselor for The Choice Group in the Richmond area, has been working with her client, Casey, since June of last year. Relatively new to the workforce, Casey’s main obstacle was finding a position having limited work experience. Along with his mom and his DARS counselor, Katie and Casey sat down to discuss his previous jobs, training experiences, transportation options, hours of availability, and areas of interest. Where would he even want to work? With an easy going, positive and flexible attitude, it wasn’t hard to find Casey an employer willing to hire him on! He soon found a position at the Chick-fil-A in Mechanicsville that met with of his availability and transportation options. When he began training, Katie worked with him on his basic food preparation tasks for the restaurant as well as customer service skills such as eye contact, multi-tasking and prioritizing in a fast-paced restaurant environment. Katie also worked with the employer, educating ...

Meet Brianna, our newest team member and Certified WISA Specialist who began training this week! 

Darya "Dasha" Bell worked with our Northwest Manager, Adrienne Rudacille. After her experience, she created a super cute and insightful PowerPoint about what her job coach actually does day in and out! We think she nailed it!!!

We'd like to introduce some great individuals that just joined our team!  Siera Ellis Administrative Program Support Specialist Chris McElfresh Administrative Program Support Specialist Dana O'Connell Vocational Technician - Richmond

Chantile has been working at Elite Laundry since December 2016.  Before coming to Elite Laundry, she was a student in the Career Development Program at Norview High School.  After high school, Chantile participated as an intern in the Project SEARCH program, a national program that helps young adults with disabilities transition from school to work.  The program is a collaboration between Norfolk Public Schools, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, The Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services and The Choice Group, an employment service organization. Chantile comes in every Tuesday morning and goes through the hangers that have been returned by our customers. Each week there are hundreds of hangers that are sent out with tablecloths.  Many of our customers return these hangers to be reused.  This helps provide a job for Chantile and also keeps them out of the landfill.  These hangers need all of their tags removed as well as the tubes that are dirt...

Nolan Speichinger has been working with Brian Rogers since December of last year. After determining that applying for an AbilityOne job would be the best strategy for Brian at the recommendation of his DARS counselor, they applied for jobs through a government contracting agency located in Northern Virginia. The  AbilityOne  program "is among the largest sources of employment, on Federal contracts, for individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities in the United States.” Soon, they found a great position for Brian at a government facility in Washington D.C.! There were many new challenges that Brian had to face with his new job, one of them being transportation. His daily commute in and out of the city usually averages one and a half to two hours and involves getting on the bus to the Franconia/Springfield station, getting off at the metro station, and walking to his nightly shift on time. When he returns from work, the bus is no longer in service and has ...

I began working with Brittany Heath in October 2017, just after she had been offered a position with Walmart on Southpoint Parkway in Fredericksburg, VA in the Maintenance Department. She had worked with another job coach previously and I began working with her once she got the job! Brittany likes to keep things neat and tidy and this position was a great fit for her. Brittany had a wonderful trainer who helped her learn her job duties and answered all of her questions. Brittany picked up her job duties quickly and was moved to follow along services a mere two months after starting her job.  The management staff at Walmart are all very pleased with Brittany’s performance and praise her every time I visit the site. She recently began assisting with the training of new maintenance staff coming on board and says often how much she really likes her job. She is currently working part-time hours, up to 24 hours per week, usually three 8-hour days. Tricia Ann Hall Vocational Couns...