The Choice Group

At The Choice Group, we take pride in supporting our clients in finding purposeful employment, enabling them to lead full and enriching lives. One such story comes from Billy Kraus, who has been working with Daylin Wilkins in the Hampton Roads area. Known for his caring nature, Daylin exemplified this quality in May when, while completing tasks on a worksite, he noticed a woman struggling to help an injured bird near the water. Without hesitation, he approached her and used his work vest to safely wrap the bird and assist in its rescue. This act of kindness did not go unnoticed. Military personnel arrived shortly after to continue caring for the bird and commended Daylin for his assistance. The military site manager even reached out to Daylin's manager to express gratitude for his compassionate actions. Daylin Wilkins teamed up with The Choice Group in January 2021. Through a series of situational assessments and job development sessions, Billy and Daylin worked together to find th...

At The Choice Group, we work tirelessly to help clients find employment that enhances their lives. Billy Kraus from our Hampton Roads team shares a story about Nicholas Cunningham, whose experience demonstrates the power of sustained employment. Nicholas Cunningham began working with Billy in April 2021. To identify the best job opportunities, Nicholas helped pull weeds at a job site as part of a situational assessment. Nicholas enjoyed the task so much that he applied for a position with the landscaping company , after a little encouragement from the employer. He has now been employed there for three years. Since starting his position, Nicholas has achieved significant milestones. He has been promoted to Crew Lead, a role in which he drives, supervises, and trains his crew at each job site. His job tasks include various landscaping duties, and his leadership skills have afforded him the opportunity to mentor new employees and build strong connections with his managers and coworkers. ...

Leon Turner and his vocational counselor, Nancy, began working together in July 2017. Together they found his current position at Hardees in September 2017, and he has now been working there for almost two years. Prior to Leon finding his current employer, he lived in an area that offered few opportunities in cleaning, where he had prior experience. With limited transportation, Leon needed to walk or bike to work, which then sparked his interest in working in food service. As they spoke with employers to identify job opportunities, Nancy and Leon found that the local Hardee's in Waverly was hiring! Leon was offered the job at Hardee's and accepted. His current duties include trash removal, mopping, sweeping, cleaning the parking lot, as well as preparing and cooking all of the food for the line. Leon cooks chicken, chicken tenders, string beans, mashed potatoes, and chicken gravy. He is extremely productive and personable. Everyone at Hardee's always comments on how ...

Veronda Rooks-Price is a Supervisor at a call center in Hampton, where she has been employed for a little over 2 years. Nancy, her Vocational Counselor, began working with Veronda in 2014, when they initially found a position that did not work out, before finding her current job.     DARS helped her get back into job development again, after losing her initial job. With the help of DARS, and Nancy, Veronda landed her current position where she has been successfully employed for over 2 years.  In the beginning, Veronda was interested in Human Resources and Management positions at a call center. Veronda completed her own applications and went on interviews independently, and Nancy assisted her with finding job leads and following up on them to secure interviews. Veronda currently makes a good supervisor because she is friendly and caring. She is a team builder and transformational leader and brings great energy to her team. Before finding her current success, Veronda wa...

Mary Chris Werner began working with Akia Turner in February of 2018 and has been employed at Zoup for over a year, where her and Mary Chris feel she is a great fit. Originally Akia was looking for a stocking position but Mary Chris helped open her up to the option of working in food services. Akia is diligent, hardworking and polite to her fellow employees and the customers she serves. She has great time management skills which help her with completing daily tasks on time and her personality is perfect for customer interaction. When she first started to apply and interview for jobs she was a little quiet and shy but has truly blossomed. This was her first job, therefore, she had to overcome the obstacles many face when starting a new position or beginning their first job. In the beginning she had trouble taking initiative, but being there for a year now, she has found her voice. She has shown improvement and helps when business picks up by increasing her hours as needed. She alw...

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...

Leah Burgess has been serving the Hampton Roads area as a Vocational Counselor for The Choice Group coming up on two years. Her specialty is with Pre-Employment Transition Services and she also works closely with Virginia Autism Project, a non-profit whose focus is to educate lawmakers and the public on issues that impact individuals with autism. Her love of the job comes from making a difference in her community and watching her clients succeed. One of her favorite experiences so far working with The Choice Group is the Collaborations Conference, held annually in Norfolk. She says, “The Choice Group works hard, but plays harder!” Thanks for all of your hardworking and dedication Leah!  

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

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...

The Choice Group is happy to participate in two great events this month that both happen to be taking place on Saturday, March 17th! We want to get awareness out there so anyone who wants to attend has ample time to plan ahead. We hope to see you out and about at one of these great events!  Life After High School Transition & Resource Fair Join us in Charlottesville for this FREE event available to students, parents, and Educators! March in March upcoming The Culpeper County Disability Services Advisory Committee is hosting its 2nd Annual March in March from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Culpeper Baptist Church, 318 S. West St. The rain-or-shine event will promote disability awareness while providing resources and information about available services. The event will involve a 30-45 minute walk or ride up to Main Street through the downtown area. There will be balloons, vendors, and food by the Lions Club. No sign-up is necessary. For information or to sponsor a booth,...

Ryan Page, a vocational counselor for the south-west region of Virginia started working with his client in June of 2016.  As a friendly and hardworking individual, Ryan’s client felt like his skills fit well in a grocery store setting.  When he first began his job, Ryan’s client was to stock vegetables as well as sort and unload palettes.  They worked together on pacing and efficiency in completing his everyday tasks. Now, after being employed for a year and a half, Ryan’s client has seen a raise and a promotion at work.  He is currently in follow-along services and his employer states that he continues to excel. 

Katelyn Lacy, a vocational counselor in the Central Virginia region, started working with Lauren Garrett in April of 2017.  They began by completing extensive job development training for four and a half months. Together, they worked on job interviewing skills, social interactions within interviews as well as with coworkers.  Lauren worked on distinguishing boundaries with coworkers as well as learning appropriate topics of conversation in the workplace. While Lauren has many personal strengths — she is a straightforward and friendly person— when Katelyn began working with her it was clear she wasn’t a fan of change. However, as time went on, Katelyn was able to support Lauren through the transition of finding employment, transportation, and learning communication styles with different individuals in different environments.  After this learning period and 11 interviews, Lauren obtained her current position at UVA Runk Dining Hall with Aramark as a Food Service worke...

Heather Gilman, a Choice Group counselor serving Central Virginia started working with her client, Christopher in July of 2017.  Together they made lists of Christopher’s job preferences such as cleaning and stocking, and she was able to set up vocational assessments to try out those skills in action. While he performed well, they did not seem to be the best job fit.  As Heather got to know Christopher and his family, discussing his hobbies and interests, his family told her that he enjoys cooking loves helping out in the kitchen. Bingo! They immediately began looking for opportunities in local restaurants to complete another assessment. It was during this time that Heather came across a flyer for the Stone Soup Project . Stone Soup is a food service training program designed to help those who complete the course get necessary job skills to enter the workforce. After talking about the opportunity with Christopher, she advocated to support him in this program to his DARS ...

When Teresa first began working with The Choice Group, she was a young lady finishing up her last year in high school and planning for her future. She was beginning to explore employment opportunities and starting to ask what a good career fit would be for her, but Teresa already knew the answer!  She was emphatic about becoming a baker. Teresa and her job coach, Justin, began working together to learn more about what was involved in a career as a baker. By completing situational assessments throughout the community, Teresa was able to gain hands-on experience with local businesses such as grocery store bakeries, cupcake shops, bread bakers, and fast food restaurants that prepared baked goods in-house. Through completing multiple assessments arranged by Justin, Teresa was able to truly hone in on her passion—cake decorating—and continued to build her skills with practice and baking courses offered in her high school as she prepared for graduation. Throughout this time, Justin...

We have many programs we offer to our clients, and they have now expanded to include Therapeutic Behavior Services: Therapeutic Behavior Services are provided to clients with challenging behaviors that interfere with community engagement, independent living, and employment. Using Applied Behavior Analysis and a person-centered approach, clients and their support teams are given the skills necessary to decrease these challenging behaviors and replace them with ones that will help fulfill their goals. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst will make assessments, develop support plans, train, and supervise behavioral interventions so that clients may make meaningful progress toward their goals.

Jessica Womack has been a counselor for The Choice Group in the Southwest region of Virginia for over a year now! She specializes in CSS work, Community Support Services. Job seeking is not the only important step for many individuals seeking to maximize independence and with Jessica’s skills, she helps her clients prepare for other life tasks. Time management, grocery shopping and meal preparation, personal safety, laundry, medication, and money management are just a few of the everyday activities many of us take for granted but can seem daunting for an individual on their own for the first time.  One of her favorite parts of the job is that she “loves being able to work collaboratively with other counselors for the common cause of servicing individuals with disabilities in her community.” Keep up the good work, Jessica!

Vocational Counselor Katherine Edwards of Hampton Roads recently received the Charles A. Wornom Helping Hands Award at the Hampton Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities Annual Luncheon! Not only does she deserve this honor, but the way she received it was extra special as well… Several weeks ago one of Katherine’s clients, a veteran with a disability that had been working with Katherine for over a year, got in touch with Ericka Neville, her supervisor, to divulge her plan of nominating her to receive the award from the Hampton Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities.  She had drafted a nomination letter to the committee and asked Ericka for review.  She personally empowers me to be as independent as possible even though she continually monitors my needs to understand when I need assistance before I even ask for help.” Her client’s nomination letter reads.   "Her contribution to the needs of our community has been nothing less than amazing….. [and]...

Rebecca Myers began working with Elizabeth Hunter, or Lizzie in December of 2016.  After determining vocational goals based on Lizzie’s interests and skills, Ms. Myers arranged several situational assessments to determine what environment Lizzie would thrive in the most. Situational assessments are a great tool for vocational counselors, it not only helps the client find a preferential work situation but helps vocational counselors determine what specific types of supports are necessary for the job! Lizzie completed assessments at a grocery store and a fast food chain where she focused on cleaning as well as additional assessments at two large retail chains where merchandise was the main focus. Although she demonstrated she was proficient at both, Lizzie decided she liked food service the best.  In March 2017, Lizzie gained employment at Domino’s in Broadway, Virginia!  Being a people-person, she enjoys her work environment where she can interact with co-workers an...

We would like to welcome our newest members of The Choice Group team! Zachary Sisisky - Behavorial Management Manager Travis Horn - Vocational Counselor, Hampton Roads

We would love to welcome our newest Ticket to Work Program Specialist, Nury Mojica!  Not only will she be bringing her expertise to The Choice Group to assist our Ticket to Work clients, but she will be offering her services to the Spanish Speaking community!  Look forward to our website en Español. Nury Mojica - Ticket to Work Specialist