Derek is a certified Project Management Professional with twenty-eight years of experience in disability inclusion, accessibility and employment policy and programming. In 2014, Derek co-founded the National Disability Mentoring Coalition, a national organization committed to increasing the awareness, quality and impact of mentoring for youth and adults with disabilities. He now serves as the Coalition's Advisory Council Co-Chair and enjoys helping young people network from job search to job satisfaction. In this regard, Derek spends endless hours on the front lines of disability mentoring to help move this disability inclusion model forward. In 2016, he helped launch ForwardWorks Consulting, focusing on both private and government disability inclusion policies and programs. He serves as a project consultant for the California Transition Alliance on the Let’s Work! California initiative.