Elizabeth Juaniza-Saso

Lizzie Juaniza-Saso joined the Yang Tan Institute on Employment and Disability as an Extension Associate in 2019. Her work includes providing technical assistance and training to the NY State Office of Special Education’s Technical Assistance Partnership for Transition (TAP for Transition). She also works as a trainer for the New York State Consortium for Advancing and Supporting Employment (NYS CASE), which is funded by ACCES-VR.

Lizzie comes with experience from Oregon, where she was part of a statewide co-funded Department of Education and Vocational Rehabilitation technical assistance team. In her role, she focused on building strong transition services and practices throughout the state to improve outcomes for youth with disabilities. She developed her skill in providing support to schools and community agencies and was actively involved in Employment First teams. She believes that everyone can work. and strong, sustainable systems of community support with a person-centered lens is key. She is trained in facilitative practices, Planning Alternative Tomorrow’s with Hope (PATH) plans, and Person-Centered Planning. She has served as an Oregon APSE (Association of People Supporting Employment First) board member and has taught as a special educator at both the high school and 18–21-year-old transition program level.