Stephen A. Wooderson


Chief Executive Officer
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)

Biography


Steve Wooderson was selected as the CEO of CSAVR on November 1, 2010. Prior to joining CSAVR, Steve was the administrator of Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services. He oversaw the state VR and independent living programs, as well as the disability determination services bureau.

His experience in VR spans over 35 years of service in the vocational rehabilitation program. Steve started as a VR counselor in south-central Missouri in January of 1981 and he enjoyed a 20-year career with the Missouri VR agency. In March of 2000, Steve moved to Iowa to become the rehabilitation services chief and then was appointed agency administrator in December of 2002. He has served at all professional levels in the public vocational rehabilitation program; which gives him a unique perspective of the local, state, and national implications of VR service delivery. During Steve's tenure in Iowa, he also was adjunct faculty in the Drake University rehabilitation counseling program.

Since his tenure with CSAVR, he has also led the way to an international partnership with allied vocational rehabilitation service providers in Western Europe and been a featured trainer and speaker with the European Platform for Rehabilitation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Steve also has represented CSAVR and the US public VR program by presenting and meeting with members of the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, social services providers, and higher education officials in Hanoi, Vietnam.

He is a certified Dale Carnegie trainer and a retired Army Reserves Lieutenant Colonel.