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Karin Grandon

Karin Grandon

Senior Program Manager

Headshot: Karin GrandonKarin joined IEL in 2018 as a technical assistance liaison for IEL’s Vocational Rehabilitation Youth Technical Assistance Center (Y-TAC). Prior to joining IEL as a staff member, Karin worked with Y-TAC as a subject matter expert on programs for youth who are blind or have low vision, providing assistance to a wide range of state and local youth service professionals in workforce development agencies, postsecondary institutions, special education transition programs, state education and vocational agencies, and other human service agencies.

Karin is also currently working with several other local and international agencies in the area of youth transitio, including First Place—providing community building and housing and independent living skills to individuals who have Autism and other special abilities—and as the ombudsman for the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

Karin previously worked for the Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) as deputy administrator and governed the programs related to individuals with low vision and those who are blind, deaf-blind, and deaf and hard of hearing. From 2000 to 2016, during her tenure at the Arizona RSA, Karin also served as a certified rehabilitation counselor, supervisor, regional program manager and statewide coordinator for independent living services. In each of these roles, she established a relationship with the tribal vocational rehabilitation programs and many other state, regional, and national partners. Prior to working for RSA, Karin worked in special education in the public school system and as a private provider and employee of the Arizona state agency for individuals with developmental disabilities. In 2005, she co-founded The Scenic Route, a nonprofit agency that provided social and recreational activities to adults with developmental disabilities, with a focus on long-distance bicycling activities and international travel opportunities.

Karin has a B.A. in Education from Prescott College, an M.A. in Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Arizona (UofA), with completed coursework toward a doctoral degree in Rehabilitation Counseling through the UofA, and a certificate in Rehabilitation Administration from San Diego State University.