Wendy Parent-Johnson, Ph.D.
Wendy Parent-Johnson Ph.D., is Research Associate Professor and Assistant Director,
Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, a Center for Excellence
in Developmental Disabilities at The University of Kansas. She has more
than 25 years of experience in the areas of supported and customized employment
and transition from school to work for individuals with severe disabilities.
Dr. Parent has published numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed journal
articles related to transition and supported/customized employment and
has coauthored several books on supported employment. In her efforts to build
systems capacity and enhance employment and self-employment outcomes, she
provides training and technical assistance to teachers, transition coordinators,
families, rehabilitation counselors, job coaches, and individuals with disabilities.
She is currently the president of the Kansas Rehabilitation Association and
Kansas Association for Persons on Supported Employment (APSE): The Network
on Employment and serves on the national Boards of the APSE Foundation
and the National Rehabilitation Association. She serves on the editorial board
of two journals: Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities and the Journal
of Rehabilitation. Her areas of interest and research are supported/customized
employment and transition from school to work for individuals with severe disabilities,
with an emphasis on creative funding and support strategies, individual
and family involvement, job-coach training and leadership, interagency collaboration
and service delivery issues, and systems change.