Andrea Guest has served as the Director of the Delaware Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) at the Delaware Department of Labor for more than twenty-one years. The agency annually serves an average of 7,000 people of all ages and all disabilities who are seeking employment. Under her direction, the DVR agency has developed and implemented several innovative programs to meet the needs of people with disabilities including programs for transitioning students, individuals with autism, and those with serious mental illness.
Nationally, Ms. Guest has served as the Chair of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation’s Transition Committee since 2010. In this capacity she has provides consultation to the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT) as well as, training and facilitation at several capacity-building conferences. In addition, Ms. Guest has presented national webinars on the topic of transitioning youth for the Social Security Administration, NTACT, and the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston as well as Mathematica.
In Delaware, Ms. Guest chairs the Employment Committee for the State Youth with Disabilities Transition Task Force. In addition, she has been a member of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Council in Delaware for more than twenty-one years; an active member of the Delaware Workforce Development Board; and, a board member of Disability:IN Delaware.
In a volunteer capacity, Ms. Guest has trained and educated parents on the topic of mental illness at the National Alliance for Mental Illness in Delaware. In 2014, Ms. Guest received the Governor’s Team Excellence Award for her leadership and participation on a state taskforce to increase the number of people with disabilities in state government.
Prior to her appointment as state VR Director Andrea worked for the Easter Seals Society of Del-Mar, Inc. as Director of Development and Manager of Employment Services. She has a B.S. in Psychology/Communications from Syracuse University.