 Janae Miller of Columbus.
Janae Miller began working as an Equal Employment Opportunity Technician with the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) in January 2020.
A participant of the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Vocational Apprentice Program, Janae is blind. She was born with rubella, causing eye, ear, and heart issues. She wears hearing aids in both ears. She was diagnosed with glaucoma in the fifth grade.
“When I was 19 or 20, I stopped reading print because it gave me headaches,” said Janae.
At the time, Janae was a communications studies major at Wright State University with a campus radio show. However, others tried to discourage her dream of a radio broadcasting career.
“We hear ‘no’ a lot. They said I couldn’t operate the equipment. But we have a lot of ways we can easily adapt. Visually impaired people have the hardest time finding employment because employers don’t know how adaptive technology works,” said Janae. She uses a JAWS screen reader, which reads out loud the content on her computer screen.
Her jobs after college graduation included working as a bank switchboard operator for 10 years. She left there after becoming bored and frustrated by the lack of career advancement.
Later she started working for the Harmony Project, a non-profit organization she had been involved with for years. She currently works 20 hours a week each for the Harmony Project and DAS.
The Harmony Project includes a choir, but its mission of combining artistic passion and social purpose means it also has outreach programs. The organization’s publicity has included a segment on CBS Sunday Morning by host Jane Pauley. The 2016 show included a piece where Pauley introduces Janae and the choir member who gives Janae her cues by tapping Janae’s leg.
Pauley returned to Columbus the following year to host the Harmony Project’s annual concert. On stage Pauley gushed about how Janae impressed her.
“I was like, ‘What did I do?’” said Janae.
Due to COVID-19, Janae learned she would be working from home beginning March 13, 2020. “For those of us who rely on public transportation and family and friends to take us places, we value being inside an office and interacting with people. For us getting a job means, ‘Yay, I can be out of the house five days a week.’ Thank goodness I have family and friends who care.”
Besides the social isolation that can come from relying on others for transportation and working from home, Janae is a new employee eager to get to know her coworkers.
“When starting a new job, you want to be present. When you aren’t physically there, it’s hard to build rapport.” She’s looking forward to the day she is able to return to the office.
Regardless of where she does her work, Janae said, “I like the work I do. I like my team. I’m grateful for this opportunity to have employment.”
She hopes more people can follow in her footsteps.
“I would like to see more disabled people, especially those who are blind or vision impaired like myself, be given opportunities where they can grow and learn and have a career path. They want to be valued,” said Janae.
The Vocational Apprentice Program supports Governor Mike DeWine’s Executive Order 2019-03D, establishing Ohio as a disability inclusion state and model employer of individuals with disabilities. The order requires state agencies to increase recruitment, hiring, and advancement of people with disabilities.
This program provides OOD participants with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and exposure through paid apprenticeships with state agencies. A total of 16 apprentices have started working, and one apprentice has moved into a permanent position.
If you have a disability and would like to work, visit OODWorks.com.
DAS contributed to this article.
 If you have a disability and want to work, reach out to OOD today. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors can help you explore your options. Visit OODWorks.com or call 800-282-4536 to get started.
 September is National Service Dog Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness and showing our appreciation for the extraordinary work service animals do every day for the people in their care.
Meet Clover (pictured above). She’s the guide dog to OOD Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Jamie Murphy.
How’s Clover handling working from home and social distancing guidelines? “When she sees her harness come out of the closet, she wags her tail and gets very excited.
This dog takes her work very seriously. She is a very friendly dog, and always wants to sniff or say hi if the opportunity presents itself, so I now need to be more vigilant of this because if she gets me close enough for her to do that, that means we are way too close for social distancing,” said Jamie.
We know times have been ruff, but to all the service dogs out there: You’re doing a fantastic job!
Business, education, and community leaders from across Ohio are invited to take part in a series of virtual workshops designed to strengthen collaboration to better prepare Ohioans for success in the economy and to learn about the recently released report Bridging Ohio’s Workforce Gap. Speakers will address critical issues and identify solutions to barriers facing Ohioans, including how to improve educational attainment levels, workforce challenges created by COVID-19, employment of a more diverse workforce, and much more.
The Aim Hire Workforce and Education Symposium and Fall Series is hosted by Ohio Excels and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation. The kickoff event will be held on September 22, 2020 and will feature Ohio Lt. Governor and Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation Jon Husted and Joseph Fuller, Professor of Management Practice in General Management and Co-Lead of Managing the Future of Work at the Harvard Business School.
See the full series agenda and register for free at EventBrite. Included in the lineup, OOD staff will host a session on “Unrealized Opportunities” on October 27. Please email info@ohioexcels.org or call Donna Anderson at (614) 897-0431 with any questions.
For trusted information on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ohio, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
September is Recovery Month, the perfect time to check out the RecoveryOhio website. You will find statewide resources in one convenient location to better help individuals who are looking for substance use disorder and mental health information. Visit www.RecoveryOhio.gov.
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