2:30 – 2:45      Meet with Exhibitors

                              Refreshments

2:45 – 4:15      SSA Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel Update

                                                                  Ms. Shirleen Roth

                        Senior Analyst, Social Security Administration, Office of Program Development and Research,  Occupational Information Development Team

6.0 CEUs for: CRC, CCM, CDMS, CCWAVES have been applied for. In addition, attendance verification will be provided to those seeking education credits from other licensing or certification bodies.

Gale Gibson is Founder and President of VERTEK, a software application program development organization.  His company develops, publishes and supports OccuBrowse+, OASYS and other computer software that facilitates transferable skills analysis, access to occupational, wage, employment, training program information, nationwide job openings and nationwide business listings.  Gale has been involved with the design and development of software products that utilize occupational information databases since 1979.  He organized VERTEK in 1983 and he holds a BS from Iowa State University, along with BA and MA degrees from the University of Washington. 

Jeff Truthan has served the rehabilitation and disability management industry since 1973.  He earned a Master's Degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1975 in Rehabilitation Counseling.  Jeff spent nine years as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and Vocational Evaluator. Using this "knowledge from the trenches”, he served in a variety of support, sales, training, administrative and product management capacities at Ability Information Systems / CAPCO: The Capability Corporation / JobQuest where he designed and supported a variety of PC and online products.  Now President of SkillTRAN, Jeff continues to spearhead a multi-year effort to re-engineer these classic services into a web-based format. Jeff has designed a revolutionary new approach to the interpretation of labor market information that is rapidly achieving industry acceptance.  Jeff is highly attuned to the needs of vocational rehabilitation and disability management professionals. 

Shirleen Roth, Senior Analyst, Social Security Administration, Office of Program Development and Research, Occupational Information Development Team.

Shirleen recently joined the Occupational Information Development Team in the Office of Program Development and Research to assist with the research and development of occupational information tailored to SSA’s disability programs and with research on the vocational factors of age, education, and work experience.  She has 23 years of SSA experience beginning her career as a Claims Representative, adjudicating title II claims for retirement, survivors, and disability benefits as well as title XVI claims for aged, disability, blindness, and child’s benefits as well as Operations Supervisor.  She has been on the staff of the Federal DDS as a Disability Examiner and Program Analyst.  She was a Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Disability Programs (ODP), working on occupational information references and analysis, on policy issues related to SSA’s use of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, and on SSA’s medical‑vocational policy.  She also was a participant in SSA’s Advanced Leadership Development Program.  From July 2007 to April 2009, she worked in ODP’s Office of Vocational Policy, first as a Branch Chief and then as the Deputy Director.