CSAVR Staff
Stephen A Wooderson
Chief Executive Officer
swooderson@rehabnetwork.orgRita Martin
Assistant Director
rmartin@rehabnetwork.orgKathy West-Evans
Director of Business Relations
kwest-evans@rehabnetwork.orgPaul Seifert
Director of Government Relations
Paulseifert@rehabnetwork.org
Stephen A Wooderson - Chief Executive Officer
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 nearly 30 years of service in the public 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. He is a certified Dale Carnegie trainer and a retired Army Reserves Lieutenant Colonel.
Rita Martin - Assistant Director
Rita Martin from the State of Indiana is the Assistant Director of the CSAVR. Rita has more than 33 years of experience in the field of rehabilitation, having begun her career as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, CRC in 1972. She is the former State Director for the Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program, having served in this capacity from 1995-2001. During her tenure as State Director, Indiana underwent a Redesign of the Vocational Rehabilitation Services Deliver System, with an emphasis on customer service and customer satisfaction. There were also significant yearly increases in the numbers of individuals obtaining employment during Rita’s leadership of the agency. She is also a Past President of the CSAVR and a Mary E. Switzer Scholar. From 1998-2000, Rita served on the National Workforce Excellence Board established by the Department of Labor. Her knowledge of field services and operating a state agency is of significant value to the State’s Council.
Kathy West-Evans - Director of Business Relations
Kathy West-Evans, the CSAVR Director of Business Relations is from the State of Washington. Kathy has her MPA from Seattle University, a BS from the University of Washington and is a CRC who is fluent in American Sign Language. She has been in the field of rehabilitation since 1978. She started her professional career working as a vocational consultant and manager of the Projects with Industry (PWI) program at the Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center in Seattle. She moved into the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) in 1983 as a VR counselor for consumers who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing. Kathy held a number of positions within DVR during her 14-year tenure with the state agency. In addition to her time as a VR counselor, she worked as an assistant regional administrator, a regional business relations specialist, and the Statewide Manager for Business Relations and Marketing. In 1997, Kathy moved to the federal level with the Region X office of Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) where she worked until July 2005. Kathy was employed as a RSA VR Program Specialist, serving as the State representative to Oregon and Alaska as well as the regional specialist in the areas of employment and business development, the ADA, training, CSPD, PWI, and services to individuals who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing. She served on the planning committee for the RSA – CSAVR National Employment Conferences in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004. Kathy is the co-founder of the ACCESS - conference, job fair, technology and resource expo for business and people with disabilities held annually in the Seattle area since 1994.
