MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – As SUNY Orange employees and students gathered on Dec. 16 to celebrate those who completed their Direct Support Professional (DSP) microcredential programs during the Fall semester, the College was pleased to welcome Willow Baer, the Commissioner of the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).

In all, 25 DSP students were recognized at the ceremony for completing their coursework and obtaining the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals competencies. This achievement qualifies them to earn the Certification of DSP I or II. The students are employed by Access, ADAPT, Greystone Programs, the Center for Discovery, Hudson Valley DDSO (OPWDD), The Arc Greater Hudson Valley, and The Center for Discovery.

As commissioner, Baer leads the second largest state agency with more than 19,000 state employees and oversees services delivered by more than 400 not-for-profit service agency partners. She has spent her entire career protecting and advocating for underrepresented populations, and she continues the agency’s work to ensure that New York is an inclusive, supportive state where those with developmental disabilities live with meaningful choice and are proud to call it home.

She has held several executive-level human service posts in New York state government, including serving twice as Assistant Counsel to Governor Kathy Hochul, overseeing legal priorities and legislation across the fields of Human Services and Mental Hygiene. Additionally, she previously served as General Counsel to OPWDD, General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Children & Family Services, and as Counsel to the NYS Justice Center.

Joining the commissioner at the ceremony were New York State Senator James Skoufis; Assemblymember Paula Kay; Meghan Hurlburt (representing Assemblymember Brian Maher); Dr. Erika Hackman, SUNY Orange provost; Stacey Moegenburg, SUNY Orange associate academic vice president for the liberal arts; Christine Smallin, director of developmental disabilities for the Orange County Mental Health Administration; and Nolly Climes, SUNY Orange human services coordinator.

The SUNY Orange Microcredential program, which offers free tuition to students, is designed to help DSPs serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities enhance their careers and skills. Stackable microcredentials can also provide a pathway to a certificate or to an initial or advanced degree.

In addition to honoring the 25 completers from the program’s Fall DSP-I and DSP-II cohorts, the College recognized Jasie Buzzell, who becomes the first student to complete the College’s full sequence of three DSP programs. The College will formally roll out its newly approved DSP-III curriculum in the Spring, but Buzzell completed that sequence this Fall, while she simultaneously finished her human services degree coursework. Buzzell is currently a DSP for the Hudson Valley Developmental Disabilities Service Organization (DDSO), which is an OPWDD program in the region. Upon successful completion of all three microcredentials, students will have earned a total of 18.5 credits.

For more information about the DSP microcredential programs, contact Nolly Climes, LMHC and human services coordinator for SUNY Orange’s Behavioral Sciences Department, at nolly.climes@sunyorange.edu or call (845) 341-4139.

Caption:
Willow Baer (front row, third from left), commissioner of the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), and Nolly Climes (front row, far right), SUNY Orange Human Services program coordinator, pose with students who completed the College’s Direct Support Professionals (DSP) microcredential curriculum during the Fall semester. The students successfully fulfilled their requirements for either the DSP-I or DSP-II programs.