Current work
2021 – present Lincoln Square Coaching LLC
Founder and Chief Executive Officer · New York, NY
Founded and lead a vocational rehabilitation company serving more than 350 youth and adults with disabilities each year across New York and New Jersey, under a Core Rehabilitation Services contract with ACCES-VR and through New Jersey's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Provide Pre-Employment Transition Services, vocational evaluations, transferable skills assessments, and labor market analyses. Developed operational systems, evaluation tools, and staff training. Supervise a team of eleven.
2025 – present Big Apple Coaching LLC
Founder · New York, NY
Founded the practice that launched The Grove, a community enrichment program in Midtown Manhattan built on an active-learning approach and open to all.
No entries in this strand.
Previous experience
2012 – 2025 QSAC, Inc.
New York, NY
- Director of Career Development and Communications, 2023–2025
- Senior Director of Strategy, 2019–2023
- Senior Director of Development, 2017–2019
- Director of Development and Special Assistant to the CEO, 2012–2017
Directed transition services and vocational rehabilitation programs for youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and mental health conditions. Conducted vocational assessments, community-based work assessments, and transferable skills analyses. Placed participants with employers including Calvary Hospital, Barnes and Noble Education, Koeppel Auto Group, and Wells Fargo. Directed workforce development initiatives funded by the New York State Department of Labor, FEMA, and the Empire State Development Corporation. Earlier in my tenure, led organizational development and fundraising, including securing the largest philanthropic grant in QSAC's forty-year history ($500,000).
2011 – 2012 PowerMyLearning
Development Manager · New York, NY · formerly Computers for Youth
2010 – 2011 Marist College
Phonathon Supervisor · Poughkeepsie, NY
2008 – 2009 New York State Dental Foundation
Development Coordinator · Albany, NY
No entries in this strand.
Teaching
2014 – 2016 St. Francis College
Adjunct Lecturer, Political Science · Brooklyn, NY
Taught undergraduate courses in metropolitan politics (comparative) and state and local government.
No entries in this strand.
Education
Expected 2027 Doctor of Education, Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign · Concentration: Human Resource Development
All coursework completed.
2022 Master of Science, Rehabilitation Counseling
University at Buffalo · CACREP-accredited
2014 Master of Public Administration
Marist College
2010 Master of Arts, Political Science
University at Albany
2008 Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies, summa cum laude
University at Albany
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Research interests
Current How workers build and sustain careers within organizations, with particular attention to workers with lived experience of mental health challenges and, more broadly, to disability and work. My doctoral research approaches this through Mad Studies as a critical analytic lens. The study is qualitative, centered on workers' career histories. Related interests include organization development, psychological safety, and the responsibility of human resource development for building workplaces where more people can sustain a career.
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Certifications
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC)CRCC · since 2021
Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist (CVE)CRCC · since 2022
Board Certified Coach (BCC)Center for Credentialing & Education · since 2025
Certified Case Manager (CCM)CCMC · since 2022
Certified Career Counselor (CCC)NCDA · since 2022
Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP)APSE · since 2019
Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD)ATD · since 2021
SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP)SHRM · since 2021
No entries in this strand.
Honors and awards
2024 – 2025 Fabac-Tomlinson Scholarship for Human Resources Development
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Supports graduate students who study human resource development through the Education Policy, Organization & Leadership program.
2020 – 2022 RSA Long-Term Training Scholar
University at Buffalo
Awarded under a federal Rehabilitation Services Administration Long-Term Training grant supporting graduate study in rehabilitation counseling.
2014 Pi Alpha Alpha, Honor Society for Public Administration
Marist College
No entries in this strand.
Grants and funding
2012 – 2025 Over a fourteen-year tenure at QSAC, Inc., secured competitive grants and contracts from foundation, corporate, state, and federal sources, including the largest philanthropic grant in the organization's history and workforce development initiatives funded by the New York State Department of Labor and the Empire State Development Corporation. Also secured funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (2012) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) to support emergency response; managed all interactions with state liaisons at the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) including reporting and compliance.
No entries in this strand.
Publications
- Amodeo, J. (2010). Medical refugees and the future of health tourism. World Medical & Health Policy, 2(4), 65–81.
No entries in this strand.
Presentations
- Amodeo, J. (2025, October). The power of trust: Building psychological safety in case management. Commission for Case Manager Certification 2025 Virtual Symposium. Virtual.
- Amodeo, J., & Kwon, C-k. (2024, February). Connecting human resource development with vocational rehabilitation to facilitate the integration of people with disabilities in the workforce: A preliminary conversation. Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference, Arlington, VA.
- Amodeo, J., & Silvestri, S. (2021, June). The ABCs of self-care: Mindfulness through the lens of applied behavior analysis. Applied Behavior Analysis New York City (ABANYC). Virtual.
- Greer, S., Jarman, H., & Amodeo, J. (2010, September). Regulating goods, services, and people: Making markets in European healthcare. American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
- Greer, S., Jarman, H., & Amodeo, J. (2010, May). The politics of vigilance in international economic integration: Regulating goods, services, and people in the EU. Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
No entries in this strand.
Professional service
2021 – present Advisory Board, Rehabilitation Counseling Program
University at Buffalo
2024 Human Resource Development Conference Planning Committee
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
2021 – 2022 Council Member, appointed by the Board of Regents
New York State Rehabilitation Council
No entries in this strand.
Professional memberships
No entries in this strand.