The Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame was established by the National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC) to honor those individuals who are making a significant difference in the lives of youth and adults with disabilities through mentoring and to raise awareness about the importance of mentoring for individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to induct Kathleen A. Petkauskos into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame.
Ms. Petkauskos has over twenty years of experience delivering and managing vocational evaluation, supported employment, benefits planning, and job placement services for people with disabilities in Massachusetts. Ms. Petkauskos has successfully implemented several federal disability-employment initiatives and has extensive experience designing, managing and delivering disability-employment related services to the Massachusetts business community.
As Senior Program Director of the Disability, Health and Employment Policy Unit at UMass Medical School, Ms. Petkauskos provides expert guidance, direction and leadership on the development and implementation of various disability programs and services. She is Director of Work Without Limits, a Massachusetts statewide initiative managed by UMass Medical School that brings together employers and community partners to increase the employment of people with disabilities. Work Without Limits aims to improve the infrastructure in the state so that more individuals with disabilities will enter and advance in the employment arena.
Ms. Petkauskos has been instrumental in building the Work Without Limits B2B Network, which provides opportunities for business peers to share best practices around disability employment and build disability diversity confidence of organizations. Another resource created under Ms. Petkauskos’ leadership is Jobs Without Limits, an online job portal for people with disabilities seeking work in Massachusetts and the employers who are looking to hire them.
Among Ms. Petkauskos’ responsibilities is building and maintaining effective relationships with a variety of stakeholders including state and federal agencies, consumer and provider organizations, businesses and employers, and grant partners.
Prior to coming to UMass Medical School, Ms. Petkauskos was President at Resource Partnership, a private non-profit organization that worked to support non-traditional job candidates including individuals with disabilities to secure employment.
Ms. Petkauskos received an Associates of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from Becker College; a certificate in Vocational Evaluation from Assumption College; and a certificate in Nonprofit Finance and Administration from Suffolk University.
