Meet Anne

Integrated Employment

Anne is an accomplished professional and advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). As a Best Buddies Capital Region Jobs participant, she has been mentored and supported to excel in her career, advocacy, and personal growth.

“Before becoming involved with Best Buddies, life was challenging. I struggled in school and later had difficulty finding employment. I eventually found work as a receptionist,   but after a few years, I wanted to move to a different job with more responsibilities. I interviewed many times, but couldn’t understand why I wasn’t being hired. Then, in 2016, I was introduced to Best Buddies.

With the help of the Best Buddies Jobs program, I was hired as a full-time Operations Representative at Accenture Federal Services. I work in the Chantilly location where I help stock supplies and track census in the Parkstone building. I love making my rounds taking census because I get to talk to people in the building and now I have many, many friends! I continue to learn new skills at my job and I accomplish both professional and personal goals. One of my new duties is to give a presentation with a fellow team member to new hires. I am able to practice my public speaking skills and have the chance to meet others as the welcoming face of Accenture. I am grateful for Best Buddies because they helped me get a job when I couldn’t do it by myself. My job coaches continue to support me by coming in when I need help learning a new task or when I need help completing a training. I am very thankful for this level of support.

I have served as a walk team captain for the Best Buddies Friendship Walk: Capital Region, recruiting the help of my Accenture team members. We made a large donation on behalf of the team, but more importantly, shared the mission of inclusion and acceptance for people with disabilities. I also serve as a Best Buddies Ambassador, sharing my story with others and advocating for myself, my peers, and Best Buddies in their communities, workplaces, and government. My mother taught me to always stand up for myself and with Best Buddies I can continue doing that for all people with disabilities.”

“Working with Anne this past year has been a true pleasure! She has not only been a great asset to our workplace team, but to our AFS family as a whole. Anne is a key contributor to collecting our daily census data that ensures the proper utilization of our space; she keeps the conference rooms, copy rooms, and kitchens well stocked to ensure complete employee satisfaction. She is also quite the socialite around the office and has a following of folks that I affectionately call Anne’s fans. We can’t wait to see what great things she does in 2018.”- Karen Alexander and Bill Crisp, Accenture Federal Services