Diana Beckley

Diana is an RCEP trainer and resident expert on SSA work incentives benefits planning. She has developed an extensive handbook and companion website on SSA work incentives (see Projects listings). As an RCEP trainer, Diana helps develop continuing education training curriculums and conducts trainings on a wide variety of subjects within Region 7. Diana joined the RCEP at the University of Missouri in 1992. Prior to that she was a senior vocational rehabilitation counselor in the Mid-Missouri region. Before that she owned her own business in Shelbyville, Missouri. She currently works out of her home office in north-central Missouri. She is a Tribal Member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and is a Charter Member of both APSE-MO (the Association for Persons in Supported Employment, Missouri Chapter) and MO-TASH (the Association for People with Disabilities, Missouri Chapter).

A graduate of Northeast Missouri State University (Truman University), Diana began her career in the field of rehabilitation as a vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselor, providing services in seven northeast Missouri counties. During these years, she developed lasting relationships with local, state, and federal resources. With this diverse support, she was able to learn from the best and most dedicated specialists available, refining her skills on the implementation of accurate and timely identification and utilization of work supports in the employment process. In 1992, she left the state VR system and began a career in rehabilitation education and training at RCEP 7. Since that time, she has continued learning and teaching about the positive effects benefit-planning services have on employment outcomes. From 2000 to 2006, Diana assumed the position of Project Director of the SSA Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center for the Benefit Planning Assistance and Outreach programs (BPAO) for Regions in the Great Plains, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest. Currently she is providing training and technical assistance for the new Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Programs (WIPA). Her areas of interest and expertise include benefits planning, vocational counseling, and community-based vocational assessments.

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Diana Beckley, MA, CRC