Sheila Fesko

Program Manager

BS, Rehabilitation Services, Boston University MS, Rehabilitation Counseling, Boston University PhD, Rehabilitation Administration and Special Education, Boston College

Sheila L. Fesko is the Associate Dean and Director for the School of Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD) and a Senior Research Fellow at the ICI. Sheila has 35+ years of experience working on the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace. She is the project director for the ICI’s online curriculum for employment service professionals, the DirectCourse College of Employment Services. Areas of Sheila's research include employment outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities, disclosure of HIV status in the workplace, the aging workforce, and universal strategies to support inclusion of all employees in the workplace. As the director of the National Center on Workforce and Disability, she coordinated technical assistance to One-Stop Career Centers to create inclusive programing and partnering with disability entities. In her academic work, Sheila has responsibility for all academic units of SGISD as well as the ICI and the Institute for New England Native American Studies. She has been the graduate program director for UMass Boston’s rehabilitation counseling program, which prepares students to work with individuals with disabilities in finding employment. Sheila has also managed a Rehabilitation Services Administration long-term training grant that supported students in the rehabilitation counseling program. She previously worked at the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and as a program manager for a community-based employment program, and is a certified rehabilitation counselor.