Rachael Rounds appointed to State Rehabilitation Council
Appointed by former Gov. Ralph Northam, the RRTC Program Manager serves through September 2024.
Rachael Rounds, Business Connections Program Manager with the VCU Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC), has been appointed to the State Rehabilitation Council of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI).
DBVI provides services and resources to empower Virginians who are blind, vision impaired or deafblind to achieve their desired levels of employment, education and personal independence. The council works with DBVI to review, analyze, and advise the agency on its vocational rehabilitation program, policies and practices.
“I am very excited to represent VCU as a Community Rehabilitation Services Program Provider and work with DBVI in this capacity,” said Rounds.
Council members are nominated by the governor every three years, based on recommendations from organizations representing a broad range of individuals with disabilities. Rounds’ term runs through September 2024.
Rounds, who joined RRTC as an Employment Specialist in November 2010, has direct service and administrative experience in the Supported Employment field. After earning certification from the Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators in 2011, she served as the Supported Employment Supervisor, before being promoted to Business Connections Program Manager in 2015. Rounds earned her Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from VCU. She is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor.
Business Connections at VCU, a project within RRTC, is a Supported Employment service provider for individuals in the Metro Richmond and surrounding areas, assisting individuals with disabilities with finding competitive, integrated employment and providing ongoing support to clients who obtain employment.
RRTC is a center affiliated with the VCU School of Education.