Innovative Projects

Project Category
Systems Change / Employment Capacity Building

The Georgia Supported Employment Capacity Building Project was a five-year collaborative initiative bringing together Wise, state leaders, providers, employers, families, and individuals with developmental disabilities. The project focused on strengthening Supported Employment through comprehensive training, technical assistance, and cross-system collaboration.

The project was designed to build statewide capacity for Supported Employment in Georgia, ensuring that all stakeholders had the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to support Competitive Integrated Employment.

REACH was a multi-component project designed to expand and reimagine recreational opportunities for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) across Washington State, from middle school through adulthood. The project combined storytelling, training, community connection, and practical tools to support people in finding and enjoying meaningful activities in their communities.

The purpose of REACH was to address the barriers that Individuals with IDD often face to accessing inclusive, meaningful recreation and community connection. REACH centered lived disability experience, increasing access through multilingual and accessible formats, and equipping individuals, families, and providers with tools to support person-centered recreation journeys.

Funded by the Dan Thompson Memorial Grant.

The PRIDES Learning Series was created as a multi-format project dedicated to improving services for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) who are part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. The series engaged attendees through webinars, podcasts, and micro-lessons, offering flexible ways to learn and connect. This project elevated the leadership and expertise of presenters who live at the intersection of disability and LGBTQIA2S+ identity, centering the principle of Nothing About Us, Without Us. It addressed a gap in available training for employment providers and supported more inclusive, affirming practices across service systems.

The project consisted of 10 live webinars, 10 podcast interviews, and 10 micro-lessons. Content was designed to be accessed independently, allowing attendees to engage with learning over time.

The Language Access Forums were a six-part, statewide virtual learning series co-created and facilitated by Wise and Open Doors for Multicultural Families (ODMF). Held from January through June 2022, the forums focused on strengthening language access and language justice across Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) services in Washington State. The series brought together service providers, advocates, and community stakeholders to build shared understanding, practical skills, and sustainable strategies for multilingual and culturally responsive service delivery.

The forums centered the lived expertise of multicultural family advocates, interpreters, and community leaders, modeling best practices for inclusive engagement and reinforcing the principle that effective services must be accessible to those furthest from systems of support.

The Dan Thompson Employment Rallies brought together Washington State’s employment community after an extended period without in-person connection due to the pandemic. The project blended in-person gatherings with remote participation to ensure broad access and inclusion, particularly for communities historically underrepresented in employment forums.

The rallies were designed to re-energize and reunite the employment community around a shared goal: real jobs for people with disabilities. They celebrated progress and history while setting a collective vision for the future, with people with lived experience leading conversations about employment and leadership.

People with lived experience were central to the rallies, leading conversations, sharing personal stories of employment and leadership, and helping shape the direction of future community efforts.

This project was carried out in collaboration with county and state agencies, employment providers, and community partners across Washington State.