Season 4, Episode 2 — 20 August 2020 About this Episode At the TASH conference in December, the YES! Center’s, Dale Verstegen spoke with Julie Hocker, the Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities at the Administration for Community Living at the Department of Health and Human Services. They have a rather personal discussion of Commissioner Hocker’s path to the success she has achieved, the things she learned and the mentors who’ve contributed along the way, but they also discussed the important cultural lessons and policy prescriptions we can take from her career path. About the presenters Julie Hocker joined ACL as the Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities on October 1, 2018. Hocker brings to the role extensive experience in operational process improvement, risk management, and effectiveness assessment. Ms. Hocker joins ACL from the Charles Koch Foundation, where has served as a senior manager since 2016. In that role, she has led several key initiatives to improve the foundation’s operations, including development of an integrated technology and data solution for fundraising, grantmaking and expenditures; redesigning process to improve investment tracking and enable better analysis of effectiveness; and creation and implementation of risk-management processes. Previously, she served in a variety of roles with The Vanguard Group and as an analyst for the Administration for Children and Families. In addition, she has been a senior policy fellow for the Center for Human Dignity at the American Conservative Union Foundation since 2015. Dale Verstegen is a Senior Research Associate at TranScen and one of the State Liaison for the YES! Center. Transcript Announcer:You’re listening to YES! to Employment, a podcast series that seeks to improve competitive integrated employment outcomes for transition aged youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the TASH conference in December, the YES! Center’s, Dale Verstegen spoke with Julie Hocker, the Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities at the Administration for Community Living at the Department of Health and Human Services. They have a rather personal discussion of Commissioner Hocker’s path to the success she has achieved, the things she learned and the mentors who’ve contributed along the way, but they also discussed the important cultural lessons and policy prescriptions we can take from her career path. Musical interlude Dale Verstegen: Dale Verstegen here with Commissioner Julie Hocker for the Administration on Disabilities. Julie, thank you so much for working us into your busy schedule and taking the time to talk to us today. Julie Hocker: Yeah, I’m just, I’m really happy to be here in Phoenix at the TASH Conference and grateful to talk to you this morning. Dale Verstegen: Great. So, uh, what was your education and training like in the early years of both your life and your career? Julie Hocker: Oh, goodness. Well, I guess we could start all the way back at the, the, the true beginning. Um, when I was in a preschool, I like to tell this story that I actually started off in, um, a preschool just for children […]