I'm pleased to welcome Natasha Jerde to the DEED leadership team as State Services for the Blind's new director. Natasha will begin her new role on August 21.

Natasha is very well known to those who work at SSB and the greater Minnesota disability community. She joined SSB in 2008 as a vocational evaluator, then became a rehabilitation counselor for individuals who are DeafBlind.

Natasha's management-level vocational rehabilitation experience took off in 2014. As vocational rehabilitation counseling supervisor, she managed a 12-person staff and specialized in policy and rule development. She moved up to director of policy and program administration – a position reinvented following a budget crunch – where she developed and managed policies and ensured they were aligned with state and federal regulations. Then as the interim deputy director of program services, she managed SSB's Workforce Development, Business Enterprises, and Senior Services with a $15 million budget.

We knew we were looking for a driven, experienced leader, and we found that in Natasha. She carved her own path, emphasizing policy development, program administration, and quality assurance as the best way to help individuals become independent and successful in competitive employment.

Here's a nice story that will tell you something about Natasha's work: She created an extensive policy and procedure manual for the vocational rehabilitation program. In June we had a visit by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, our federal partner under the U.S. Department of Education. Their monitoring team reported that it was one of the most thorough and comprehensive manuals they had ever seen.

Natasha is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stout, earning a Master of Science in rehabilitation counseling and vocational evaluation and a Bachelor of Science in vocational rehabilitation counseling. She holds a certification in DeafBlindness from Northern Illinois University and participated in the Emerging Leaders Institute, the state's premier leadership development program for future leaders. She is a resident of Hammond, WI and reports to the Assistant Commissioner of Workforce Services.

SSB's mission is to facilitate the achievement of independence by Minnesotans who are blind, visually impaired, or DeafBlind. SSB plays a critical role in ensuring Minnesota provides for a vibrant workforce by removing barriers to employment, as well as providing the printed word in accessible formats for persons with print disabilities. Through SSB's Senior Services, we serve thousands of seniors with vision-related conditions that are often a part of aging.

As the previous director, I look forward to seeing how Natasha's leadership and expertise embolden that mission.

– Carol Pankow, Assistant Commissioner of Workforce Services