OARacle Newsletter

Jessica Newell, the recently hired Hire Autism associate, coordinates Hire Autism’s Navigator Program, which includes training and supporting the volunteer mentors who serve as navigators. “Navigators are paired with autistic job seekers to help with resumes, cover letters, and interview skills. If you fill out the contact form on Hireautism.org to volunteer as a navigator, most times, the response will come from me,” Newell said. In fact, Newell answers all inquiries that come in through the contact form. She also co-produces written and visual content for Hire Autism’s social media and newsletter and assists with OAR events.

“The direct connection with the community we serve makes this role fulfilling,” she noted “Every day, I engage one-on-one with navigators and job seekers to address their needs to the best of my ability. Helping someone develop professional competencies and get closer to securing employment increases their autonomy, which motivates and inspires me.”

She joined OAR in July, bringing seven years of experience in public outreach, event coordination, and research. After graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies in her home state of New Jersey, Newell earned a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication from American University. She has lived in the Washington, DC metro area ever since.

Settling into her new role has been made much easier, Newell said, thanks to the welcome she received. “The team is encouraging, adaptable, and genuinely enthusiastic about helping others, including their colleagues, so it feels like a healthy and friendly place to work.”

Newell is not the first in her family to serve the autism community. Her grandfather was a camp director with Easterseals PA for more than a decade, and her mother co-coordinated a program that provided volunteer opportunities on a local farm for high school students on the spectrum. Her grandfather’s and mother’s influence inspired Newell to coordinate crafts, school dances, and volunteer activities for students with cognitive disabilities as part of her high school’s Friends of OTP Club (occupational therapy program).

She continued advocating for people with disabilities during graduate school, in work she did helping to shape an inclusive and accessible classroom for undergraduates. As part of that work, Newell lectured on the topic of disability as part of a person’s identity, encouraging students to examine visible and invisible components of disability and the language used to describe physical and cognitive differences.

Newell hopes to grow the Navigator Program, specifically by increasing the number of navigators they train. “We have a rising number of requests for mentorship from job seekers each month,” she explained. She would also love to increase OAR’s outreach to higher education. “University-based engagement defined my early professional background, so promoting Hire Autism’s resources to autistic college students around the country would bridge my current and past expertise.”