From the Director's Desk
Bob Hand - Executive Director
This has been an extremely busy time for the CIL. We have recently expanded our services to include job placement for people with disabilities, opening Creative Careers under the leadership of Rebecca Johnston.
We have also been dealing with a great deal of staff turnover, including losing staff members from Merced and Visalia, but we are fortunate in having been able to find excellent replacements for those positions.
I was recently elected to be on the Board of Directors of the Whitney Foundation. This is a nonprofit organization that gives grants to help other nonprofits to better serve our communities. The emphasis of the Whitney Foundation is to help people to help themselves. This makes it a perfect fit for me to work with them.
We have also had a few people term out on our Board of Directors, and recently elected a few new members. These include Mary Long, Community Services Program Manager for the Community Action Partnership of Madera County; Leona Montalvo, Planner and Grant Administrator for the Madera County Planning Department; and Dr. LeeZa Ong, a new professor in the Rehabilitation Counseling program for CSU Fresno.
I am confident that in the long run all of these changes and developments will move us toward even better services for our local citizens with disabilities.