Ellice Switzer is a Senior Extension Associate and Program Director for Inclusive Workplaces at the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability (YTI) at Cornell University’s ILR School. Since joining YTI in 2012, her work focuses on advancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities through research, program evaluation, training, and technical assistance to promote evidence-based policy and practice.
Switzer leads initiatives that support disability inclusion in the workplace, strengthen employer engagement, and improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Her areas of expertise include employer practices that promote disability inclusion, strategies for building partnerships between employers and disability service providers, state-led initiatives to improve employment outcomes, and evidence-based approaches to supporting successful transitions from school to employment.
She serves as principal investigator for the evaluation of New York State’s Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) demonstration project and leads research on effective policies and practices among states with high rates of employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through these initiatives, she works with state agencies, service providers, employers, researchers, and other interest-holders to identify effective strategies for expanding access to competitive integrated employment and advancing Employment First goals, with a particular emphasis on supporting interagency efforts in the state of New York.
Switzer also contributes to national disability employment initiatives, including the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN), where she develops resources and provides training to help employers recruit, hire, retain, and advance employees with disabilities; and the Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation and Research Center in partnership with Syracuse University’s Burton Blatt Institute. Her work translates research and policy into practical tools and strategies for employers, workforce professionals, and disability service systems.
Through her work at YTI, Switzer advances Cornell ILR’s mission of improving the world of work by promoting more inclusive workplaces and expanding meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. She holds a certificate of advanced study in nonprofit management, and a master’s degree in public and social policy from The State University of New York, Empire State College. Over the last 25 years, she has contributed to the missions of many local nonprofits through extensive board service and leadership. Prior to Cornell, Switzer spent 15 years leading programs in nonprofit organizations that support the right of people with disabilities to live, learn, and earn a competitive wage in their communities.
Switzer resides in Ithaca, New York, with her husband Joel and enjoys spending time with their adult children, Jack and Eleni.
Publications
Saleh, M., Bruyere, S., Switzer, E. (forthcoming). Disability policy and law. In: Disability policy and law. The professional practice of rehabilitation counseling, 4th edition. Springer Publishing Company, LLC. Danvers, MA.
Switzer, E., Brindli Brown, K. (in press). Disability and work: workforce development gaps, competitive integrated employment, and transdisciplinary research considerations. In: Research handbook on disability and society. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK. Susanne M. Bruyere, Matthew Saleh.
Strobel Gower, W., Rudstam, H., Switzer, E. (2021) Elements of effective job development: environmental trends and the work of rehabilitation professionals. In Career Development, Employment, and Disability: From Theory to Practice. Springer Publishing Company, New York, NY. David Strauser.
Golden, T., Saleh, M., Switzer, E. (2019). U.S. disability and employment policy framework: competing legislative priorities, challenges and promising practices. In employment and disability: issues, innovations and opportunity. Labor and Employment Relations Association, Champaign, IL. Susanne M. Bruyere.
Tamburo, J., Strobel-Gower, W., Switzer, E. (2019). Lessons from the Diversity Partners Project: Using knowledge translation to strengthen business engagement strategies and improve employment outcomes for job seekers with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. 50 (2019) 291–299. DOI:10.3233/JVR-191010
Harris, C., Switzer, E., Strobel-Gower, W. (2016). The diversity partners project: multi-systemic knowledge translation and business engagement strategies to improve employment of people with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 273-285, 2017
vonSchrader, S., Bruyere, S. Switzer, E (2016). Translating knowledge to practice and the way forward. In Disability and Employer Practices. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. Susanne M. Bruyere.
Rudstam, H., Golden, T., Gower, W., Switzer, E., Bruyere, S., Van Looy, S. (2014). Leveraging new rules to advance new opportunities: Implications of the Rehabilitation Act Section 503 new rules for employment service providers. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. Vol. 41 Issue 3, p193-208.