Helen Ledgard no longer works for the Ann Arbor CIL.
Helen is passionate about developing and expanding the Ann Arbor CIL into a vibrant and comprehensive community enrichment center for individuals with disabilities in Ann Arbor. Helen works in program development and management, grant writing, communications, fundraising, and organizational development efforts for the Center, shaping strategic directions and promoting the growth of the organization.
As part of this, Helen serves as the Director of the Career Services program and has been an integral part of developing it into a strong, reputable, and popular resource for job-seeekers, both with and without disabilities, throughout Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan. In its first two years, the program served over 700 job-seekers facing the challenges of unemployment. In this role, she maintains relations with a wide variety of employers, funders, community partners, and job-seekers. She shapes many of the programs that are offered and works to ensure the Career Services program is in compliance with various funding requirements and federal regulations.
In addition, Helen directs various marketing, communications, and promotional efforts for the Center. She serves as the Creative Director for Access Magazine, the Center's annual feature publication, developing content and directing art and photography. Helen served as the lead developer for the new Ann Arbor CIL website, working closely with the web team to make this website possible, and continues to serve as the lead author and content developer for all material and stories published through the website. In addition, Helen designs and produces the Center's graphics and promotional materials, and she also provides presentations to a wide array of audiences around the community about the Center.
Helen serves as the Director of the A3BLN, or Ann Arbor Area Business Leadership Network, a business-to-business networking and training initiative fostering positive dialogue about disability and diversity in our local business community. More information on the A3BLN can be found at www.annarborcil.org/services-for-businesses.
Prior to working at the CIL, Helen worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., where she worked in the Civil Rights division providing legal advice for the administration of federal special education and vocational rehabilitation programs, the same programs which fund Centers for Independent Living and the Career Services program. At the Department of Education she oversaw grants administration processes and worked on two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court involving special education rights. She completed her clerkship with the Honorable Roxanne Bailin in Boulder, Colorado, and worked in private practice doing employment litigation and government contracting law before joining the CIL.
Helen graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and received her undergraduate degree with honors in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toledo.
