Customized Employment: An Employer’s Perspective
Join us in learning how to scale customized positions and build sustainable relationships with employers! In this session, you will hear directly from an employer to understand what approaches helped them and how they felt supported over several years of partnership with Down Syndrome Innovations.
Amanda Myers (she/her)
Amanda is a Certified Employment Support Professional who joined Down Syndrome Innovations in April 2021. She has more than a decade of experience supporting individuals with special needs and is the Director of Employment Services at DSI.
Amanda’s experience offers participants a specialized focus on gaining vocational skills that will help them obtain their individual employment goals.
Amanda earned her bachelor of science in Family Studies with an emphasis in Counseling from Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, KS.
She began her career working with families at a Community Mental Health Center in Kansas. Following this, she worked in Vancouver, Canada as an Employment Specialist for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She then, moved back home to Kansas to build out the employment program at Down Syndrome Innovations.
Jarrod Sanderson (he/him)
Jarrod Sanderson is the Chief Executive Officer of The Way Home, an affordable housing accelerator in Kansas City focused on scaling solutions through better coordination, communication, and capital deployment. He brings a diverse background spanning nonprofit leadership, real estate, and operations.
Previously, Jarrod served as COO of Nautical Fulfillment & Logistics and was a founding managing partner of Staffing by Starboard. He founded and led Neighborhoods of Hope Community Housing, a CHDO specializing in LIHTC multifamily, single-family urban infill, and transitional co-housing developments. He has also managed senior housing assets, overseeing services for 400+ residents and refinancing HUD 202/811 properties into the 223(f) program.
Jarrod serves on the boards of Reconciliation Services and Pawsperity in Kansas City. He holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Missouri.