Participating in your community through your work is an important part of a fulfilling adult life. That’s no different for young people experiencing disabilities. Their individual skills and unique perspectives are valuable contributions to the workplace, though their potential can be overlooked by schools, the business community, and sometimes their families and themselves. Working with educators and community partners, Clackamas Education Service District’s transition network facilitator, Kriss Rita, helps students ages 16 to 21 experiencing disabilities shift from school to integrated, competitive employment.

“If I were to give a small elevator speech — which is one of the things we teach our students to do — I would say I bridge the gap between schools and the agencies and community partners that can help these young people transition to adulthood,” Kriss explains.

Many of Clackamas ESD’s services reach beyond Clackamas County borders, and Kriss’s work as a transition network facilitator is one of them. As part of the statewide Transition Technical Assistance Network, Kriss is one of eight transition network facilitators in Oregon, serving Clackamas, Hood River, Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties. This year, she also was on the organizing board for the Oregon Statewide Transition Conference. The conference gathered over 600 educators and community partners interested in learning innovative approaches to transition practices.

Some rural areas Kriss serves have just one special education teacher in their school district, making the training and support she offers even more impactful. 

In April 2023, Kriss is organizing a rural student summit in Gilliam County that will help students as far east as Morrow County develop employment and leadership skills, like how to build a strong resume, practice their interview skills, and develop elevator speeches that highlight their best qualities, accomplishments, and employment goals. A student summit Kriss organized in Hood River County last spring served more than 50 students in our region.

“One student out of Molalla River built his confidence through his success at the student summit,” Kriss shares. “After the summit, he independently sought a job stocking shelves at the local pharmacy and scored an interview. He got the job!”

In addition to the student summits, Kriss gathers multiple community partners at resource fairs where families can learn how to get developmental disability services or help finding a job from Voc Rehab, for example, all in one place.

She also collaborates with students’ support teams to create employment plans that identify the students’ strengths, gifts and capacities as they relate to employment.

“We plan backward with the student’s ‘north star’ in mind, figuring out how are we going to help the student achieve their dreams based on their strengths,” says Kriss. “I wholeheartedly believe that anybody that wants to work can work. With the right support in place, they can be a contributing member of society.”

Kriss notes the dedication of the special education teachers she works with as key to a successful transition from school to adulthood.

“I really can’t take a lot of credit,” Kriss insists. “The teachers I work with, they all have stories of students who have transitioned right into jobs.”