Project SEARCH
April Rives is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in graphic design and job coaching. As a Job Coach at Project SEARCH since September 2017, April helps facilitate a high school transition program focused on workplace immersion, combining classroom instruction with hands-on training. Prior to this role, April worked as a Graphic Designer at The AMES Companies, Inc. from 2002 to 2015, contributing to photography, packaging, signs, ads, and labels. Experience also includes graphic design roles at ABL Electronics and American Power Conversion, where responsibilities encompassed all marketing materials and photography. April holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from Millersville University of Pennsylvania and an Associate degree in Graphic Design from HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College.
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Project SEARCH
Project SEARCH was developed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, a research environment that fosters visionary thinking and innovation. It all began in 1996, when Erin Riehle was Director of Cincinnati Children's Emergency Department. Erin felt that, because the hospital served individuals with developmental disabilities, it made sense that they should commit to hiring people in this group. She wondered if it would be possible to train people with developmental disabilities to fill some of the high-turnover, entry level positions in her department, which involved complex and systematic tasks such as stocking supply cabinets. As a starting point, Erin presented her ideas to Susie Rutkowski, then the special education director at Great Oaks Career Campuses. Erin and Susie formed a partnership that was instantaneous, and together they launched Project SEARCH. Since its inception, Project SEARCH has grown from a single program site at Cincinnati Children's to over 600 sites across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Portugal, Iceland, New Zealand and Australia. Project SEARCH's primary objective is to secure competitive employment for people with disabilities.