Susan L. Chase, Executive Director

Susan L. Chase of Natrona Heights has spent 26 years as a Speech Pathologist. She is all about helping others. In the midst of a successful career she made a decision to go beyond the clinical approach and reach out to disabled persons with a new and innovative approach that has proven to help their lives.

Her credentials are noteworthy and impeccable, having grown in a career that led to managing the largest United States study of traumatic head injury survivors. She also was the primary author of the Functional Assessment of Community Transit Skills (FACTS), used nationally to assist in determining individuals’ needs for paratransit. Add to that managing two series of internationally broadcast video seminars on functional assessment and treatment approaches for psychologists and vocational counselors, you can see that she is not only helping others, but highly skilled in her profession.

Yet, in the midst of these crowning achievements of her career, she made a decision ten years ago that changed her life and those she wanted to reach. Meeting with a mother of a 19-year old she was working with, she observed that her patient, a trained transcriptionist, was not only home bound, but also room bound. She began to think why couldn’t she go beyond her room and home with her skills. That thought is what changed Susan’s life.

True to her characteristic of not letting grass grow under her feet, Susan began to put a plan together to assist disabled people by creating businesses and meaningful work for them. Her number of years in speech pathology and background in directing programs, participating in research projects, clinical administrator, training coordinator, and project director had prepared her for this moment.

Susan Chase goes beyond the protocols and clinical treatment for disabled persons. Her compassion led her to explore new ways to help others by moving out and doing more than their apparent limitations permitted. Taking the first step meant leaving a well paying position and an advancing career. She began by putting together a non-profit organization to fulfill her innovative concept of creating businesses and employment. Moving into the non-profit world meant never knowing if funding is going to be there or not. As daunting of a task this seemed to be, she began calling on her colleagues and friends to help her pave the way. And within six to eight months she began to see the beginnings of her concept.

It’s ten years later and Working Order, the organization she founded in Sharpsburg, has created a number of successful businesses and employment for many disabled persons. These participants have found hope, fulfillment and employment through Susan’s passion to see more done for them. They now offer a number of business services such as database maintenance, mailing list services, graphic design and illustration, professional photography, photo archiving, note card designing and many other entrepreneur avenues. The participants, faced with multiple disabilities, mental health issues, physical restrictions and cognitive impairment, now are able to work and gainfully contribute to society. Businesses needing help can contract skilled persons at reasonable rates and at the same time help disabled persons as part of their community service.

Working Order is a unique organization and possibly the only one of its kind in the United States. Its uniqueness is in the innovative approach of using entrepreneurship skills to develop businesses for disabled persons and having Working Order act as a business incubator. This permits their participants to use Working Order’s office to facilitate their business and work out of their homes as needed. The majority of individuals with disabilities want to work and Working Order is a creative alternative that will not only train and support them, but also provide the necessary tools.

Josua Forsyth is being helped by Assistant Business Coach Elaine Wilson on technical aspects to his publishing business. He is the son of Stephanie and David Forsyth of Indiana Township.

Working Order uses a unique process to help disabled persons when they come for help. Their coaches help participants consider a wide range of employment possibilities including self-employment. First, they identify the person’s interests, abilities and goals. Next, feasibility planning evaluates a business idea or employment goal. From this point, the person moves to a series of steps, some of which are trial work experience and community work assessments.

If a person goes into business, Working Order helps develop a business and marketing plan, gives technical assistance in structuring a business, develops necessary supports and accommodations, offers shared office space and equipment and skill building. The fruit of all this has produced a number of businesses in administrative support, multimedia services, corporate and personal gifts and consulting fields.

Many of Working Order’s participants have been through other employment programs without success. More than half of those coming to Working Order are successful in starting a business, finding employment or a new technical skill. The reason behind this success is Susan’s overview of providing a complete training and support system to each individual. Each coach has an area of expertise. Personal relationships are built encouraging participants to succeed. This is probably why Syracuse University Center on Human Policy chose Working Order as one of the five most innovative service programs in the United States.

Susan L. Chase stands out as an example to all of us. Her compassion for others and passion to make a difference proves that one individual can make a difference. There are many who have benefited from the innovative and creative ways she pioneered to help them that stand as testimony of her labor of love.

Working Order is located at 1650 Main Street in Sharpsburg, PA 15215. You may call them at 412-782-5344 or email at entre@workingorder.org.

Watch the video interview with Susan Chase and hear her story at: http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/1633

You can visit Working Order on the web at www.workingorder.org