We’d like to give a warm welcome to Lina West, Anthesis’ newest Job Developer. Lina was recently hired and has already proven to be a valuable member of the Anthesis team. Lina’s past experience and enthusiasm made her the perfect candidate for the role. Her past job experiences include working as an administrator for two facilities for a combined 20 years, as a direct support professional, as an independent living skills instructor, as a caregiver, and as a job developer for 10 years. She has spent over 30 years caring for and working with Individuals with [dis]abilities. Lina shared, “This is my passion and I love what I do. I believe this is my calling to give individuals the care and support to be the best they can be, live an independent life, and be a part of our community. My past experience has helped me have the knowledge on how to care for individuals with abilities, treat everyone equally, show them love, patience, and to be there to advocate for them in their everyday life.” On her free time, Lina enjoys volunteering at her church and daughter’s school, enjoys spending time with my family, watching movies, and going on bike rides and walks. Lina loves to garden because it helps her feel grounded and happy. Lina has also been a realtor for 22 years and loves to help her clients in the evening and on the weekends to find their dream home.
Lina joined Anthesis as a job developer in October of 2020. The job developer role is vital to supporting the participants. Job developers focus on finding and creating employment opportunities for Anthesis participants. The job developer is responsible for establishing and maintaining community integrated employment opportunities, paid internships and volunteer work experiences for Anthesis participants involved in Employment Placement Services and the Transition Program. The job developer is a really important role at Anthesis as their main function works towards Anthesis’ mission to support independent and inclusive lives for adults with [dis]abilities through employment and community integration.
Anthesis uses person centered planning as the basis for determining the best path for each individual, Lina assists individuals providing support to help them find unique positions that fit the needs of both individual and employer. Once individuals are ready for competitive integrated employment, they are paired with a job developer to find a job or career placement based on their interests and skills. Traditional job development techniques are used for individuals who have a clear vision of the type of work or career they are looking for. If they don’t have a sense of what type of work, they want to do they work with the job developer using Discovery methods to determine their goals based on their skills and interests. The job developer works with individuals on their resume, interview techniques and useful soft skills to prepare the individual for placement. Once Individuals succeed in getting placed, they then transition to Supported Employment with on-the-job support from a job coach.
When Lina was asked about her recent success in placing individuals at jobs, she explained that, “being a job developer has been a very rewarding job for me. I can help individuals find employment so they can have a job they love and enjoy, make a living for themselves, while being a part of our community. At my last job, also as a job developer, I was very successful in placing individuals. So far at Anthesis, I have been able to make 3 placements for our participants. I look forward to building more relationships and partnering with businesses that will provide more future jobs for all our participants.” Lina’s experience and enthusiasm towards helping the individuals at Anthesis find jobs, it is without a doubt that Anthesis has gained a great asset.
Being a job developer can be challenging, but worth it. Lina explains “There are a lot of no’s when finding working for our individuals but with all the dedication, time, and effort, there will be a yes, and it will all be worth it when you see the happiness and big smile on an individual’s face, hear them say how thankful they are, and know you were able to help them have a better future. I believe that Anthesis is the perfect place for me. I knew I wanted to be a part of this non-profit organization that has the same vision and passion to assist the people we serve and want to help them grow.” Welcome Lina, we look forward to seeing all the great things you will do!
To learn more about the Supported Employment Program, Employment Placement Services and the Transition Program please click here.