2018 05/18/2018: Skokie Chamber Breakfast Club

The Benefits of Supported Employment and Intern Programs

As an employer, you have many opportunities with regards to hiring, as well as making personnel decisions. Supported Employment and Intern Programs are a wonderful opportunity to expand your resources while serving the greater community. When you choose an employee from a supported employment program, you are partnering with agencies while employing individuals with special needs or special circumstances. While participating in an Intern Program, you are not only adding a new dynamic to your workplace, but advancing your career field as a whole by being a mentor. As a Chamber of Commerce we can endorse this practice as something that not only benefits the broader community, but enhances your work place and work environment.

Our panelist, Ina Silvergleid has been helping people since 2009, with criminal backgrounds get jobs, obtain profressional or occupational licensing, or go to college by removing their criminal history. Ina formed A Bridge Forward LLC, Legal Pathways to a Brighter Future, in 2012. Ina graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Order of Coif, in 1990. Following a judicial clerkship with a federal judge in Missouri, Ina went on to represent Cook County agencies and officials, the U.S. Postal Service, as well as private individuals and labor unions on a host of labor and employment law matters.

Our panelist Torrie Baker, Director of Employment Services at Orchard Village, has her Masters of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago, specializing in Leadership and Development.   She has been working in supported employment for over 12 years.  She began her career in Michigan assisting individuals with traumatic brain injuries in their return to the workforce.   At Orchard Village, she and her team provide employment supports to individuals with developmental disabilities.  Previously she has worked with individuals with mental health challenges, managing the supported employment program at Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare.  During her time in the field she has also consulted for organizations assisting them in building and implementing supported employment programs, both nationally and internationally.

Our third panelist Shannon McKenzie has served as the Internship Specialist at Oakton Community College for over 10 years. She has also been an executive board member for approx. 4 years, including past President of ILCEIA (Illinois Cooperative Education and Internship Association). Prior to Oakton, Shannon worked at the Career Resource Center and Lake Forest College. She holds a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from James Madison University and graduates with a BA from Bradley University. 

The Skokie Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Breakfast Club is a monthly interactive networking experience involving formalized networking, dynamic discussions, and the sharing of expertise and knowledge.  This program is moderated by master networker Rebecca Bloomfield of Jerry S. Pearlstein Insurance Ltd.

Breakfast Club is presented by Oakton Investment Management