VCU RRTC

Valerie Brooke, M.Ed has been a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and working in the field of employment for people with significant disabilities for over thirty years. Ms. Brooke is the Director of Training and Employment Services at VCU-RRTC and serves as the Principal Investigator/Project Director for several personnel training grants promoting employment for people with disabilities.

In January, 2015 Ms. Brooke was appointed to the Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities (ACICIEID) by the United States Secretary of Labor, as a provision of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations on way to increase opportunities for integrated competitive employment for individuals with disabilities including ways to improve the oversight of the certificate program under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, Ms Brooke has served on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation since 2000 and is interested in all issues and concerns which impacts the employment rate and advancement of people with disabilities. She is a frequent speaker, consultant, and author of numerous book chapters, journal articles, newsletters, and briefing papers. Some recent publication include:

Schall, C., Brooke, V., Wehman, P., Molinelli, A., Ham, W., Collins, H., & Gerhardt, P. (2014). Transition-aged youth with ASD and community based functional assessment: An analysis of the social validity of available transition assessment tools. Manuscript submitted for publication. Focus on Autism.

Wehman, P., Lau, S., Molinelli, A., Brooke, V., Thompson, K., Moore, C. & West, M. (2012). Supported employment for young adults with autism spectrum disorder: Preliminary data. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 37(3), 1-10.

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