Dr. Marianne Mooney is currently a Research Associate at TransCen, Inc. She represents TransCen on three national projects - the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET), the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Y), and the National Center on Workforce and Disability for Adults (NCWD/A). Prior to her tenure at TransCen, Dr. Mooney had research positions with the Center on Education and Work (CEW) and the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the National Center for Vocational Education Research (NCRVE) at Virginia Tech. Dr. Mooney was also a special education teacher in Virginia for 14 years.
During the past five years, Dr. Mooney has worked extensively within Wisconsin and Florida to connect families, schools, and youth-serving organizations/agencies with workplaces (employers) and other community resources so that youth with disabilities can become better prepared for postsecondary learning and careers. In Wisconsin, she conducted research that examined: effective educational practices for youth with disabilities in the general curriculum, accommodating youth with disabilities in rigorous work-based learning programs, family and employer contributions to work-readiness and preparation, and general school-to-work issues. Dr. Mooney also worked directly with employers providing youth apprenticeships to assist them in identifying and accessing services for their young employees with disabilities. Recently, Dr. Mooney directed a project for TransCen with the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. Dr. Mooney and her TransCen colleagues facilitated the identification of the transition issues facing Florida, and the development of a four-year strategic plan to improve the transition outcomes of youth with disabilities in Florida. Dr. Mooney has published several journal articles, guidebooks and information briefs related to her research interests.