This session will describe the culture surrounding Indigenous Disability and the history of Indigenous Disability services to Indian Country throughout the past and into the present. Our speakers will discuss current practices and initiatives led by state and Tribal vocational rehabilitation programs, highlighting innovation and possibilities. 

Speakers:   

Treva Roanhorse
Jimmy Warne, Warrior Society Development, LLC
Steve Wooderson, CEO-CSAVR

Bios:

Treva Roanhorse is a member of the Navajo Nation and fluent in the Navajo language with strong values of Navajo traditional culture and the way of life.  Resides in New Mexico. Former President of the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation (CANAR) and former Director of the Navajo Nation Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.  Currently, Advisory Council member with Northwest Indian College Tribal Vocational Institute and an advisor to the Find Their Way Program for Native American Youth Transition with the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities with the University of Arizona. Education is from the University of Arizona and her profession is in vocational rehabilitation, special education, and social work. 

Jim Warne, Educator-Advocate-Filmmaker Jim Warne is a member of the Oglala Lakota. Jim earned a BS from Arizona State University and a MS from San Diego State University. Jim created continuing Education programs at SDSU Interwork Institute from 1993-2015. He has written over 50 million in grants and contracts for universities and Tribal Nations. Currently, Jim is the Community Engagement Director at University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities, Oyáte Circle Sanford School of Medicine. Jim wrote several grants for USD establishing the Oyáte Circle, a Native Disability Center. Jim is President of Warrior Society Development, LLC. He consults for various government agencies, organizations, Tribal Nations, academia including the Arizona College of Medicine Sonoran Native Center. 

Jim is a Motivational Speaker, experience includes: Congressional Testimonies, Workforce Inclusion, Film Production, Actor/Stuntman, Professional Football, Youth Camps, Organizational Development including Higher Ed Administration. Jim’s WSD Productions Film Division produced “7th Generation” an Award-Winning Documentary. His Emmy nominated short film, “Oyáte un Itówapi - Pictures of my People” was featured on Fox NFL Pregame Show, Thanksgiving 2020 and FOX “Voices” on MLK Day 2021. His new production is “Remember the Children” (2022). Jim’s wife, Jill is on the Hoopa Tribal Council and Ryan is Jim’s son.

Steve Wooderson was selected as the CEO of CSAVR on November 1, 2010. Prior to joining CSAVR, Steve was the administrator of Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services. He oversaw the state VR and independent living programs, as well as the disability determination services bureau. ?His experience in VR spans over 35 years of service in the vocational rehabilitation program. Steve started as a VR counselor in south-central Missouri in January of 1981 and he enjoyed a 20-year career with the Missouri VR agency. In March of 2000, Steve moved to Iowa to become the rehabilitation services chief and then was appointed agency administrator in December of 2002.  He has served at all professional levels in the public vocational rehabilitation program; which gives him a unique perspective of the local, state, and national implications of VR service delivery. During Steve's tenure in Iowa, he also was adjunct faculty in the Drake University rehabilitation counseling program.

Since his tenure with CSAVR, he has also led the way to an international partnership with allied vocational rehabilitation service providers in Western Europe and been a featured trainer and speaker with the European Platform for Rehabilitation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Steve also has represented CSAVR and the US public VR program by presenting and meeting with members of the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, social services providers, and higher education officials in Hanoi, Vietnam.  He is a certified Dale Carnegie trainer and a retired Army Reserves Lieutenant Colonel.