Rahnee Patrick is the Director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services at the Illinois Department of Human Services.[1] She is the first Asian American in this position. Patrick is an award-winning author and has 105 books published on Goodreads. In 2008, Patrick received an award from the American Association of People with Disabilities as a leader.[2] She received the Paul Hearne Award.[3] [4]

Early life

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Patrick was born in South Bend, Indiana.[1] Patrick was raised in the small town of North Liberty, Indiana. She has psoriasis and arthritis, which don’t let her use her arms or hands.[5] Her parents met during the Vietnam conflict. Her mother, Ubonwan Patrick is originally from Thailand.[2][4]

Education

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Patrick graduated from John Glenn High School in 1992.[4] She graduated from Indiana University at South Bend in 1996.[4] She co-founded Students Together Active and Respected at Indiana University, where she met others with disabilities.[4]

Career

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Patrick graduated from Illinois University at South Bend in 1996.[1] She then started becoming involved in the independent living and disability rights movements as well as the group ADAPT.[1] In 2007, the Governor of Illinois had her start working for the Illinois State Advisory Council on the Education of Children with Disabilities.[1] Then, in 2008 she was awarded the Paul Hearne award.[3] Patrick graduated from Adler University with her Master's in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.[1] She currently lives in Chicago with her husband and 2 dogs.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Patrick, Rahnee (17 January 2023). "Rahnee Patrick". Linkedin.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "State Rehabilitation Council Members". Illinois Department of Human Services. 17 January 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Borlik, Kathy (15 February 2008). "Certificate Recognizes Service to Agriculture". NewsBank.
  5. Bello, Marisol (6 August 2010). "States cut funds for disabled - Recession-battered budgets may push some out of homes". NewsBank.