Meet Breanna Wilson, Employment Program Coordinator
The Arc of Cape May County is excited to be spotlighting one of our dedicated staff members, Employment Program Coordinator Breanna Wilson. To learn more about Breanna’s work with the Arc and how she is building up the Employment Services programs, we sat down with her for an interview.
Breanna’s journey with the Arc started just short of a year ago, when she joined the team in September of 2024. She was a social services implant originally from Cape May County and had only recently moved back. Despite this being such a new chapter in Breanna’s life, her experience with people with disabilities goes back much further. Previously a CNA, she spent around fifteen years working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. When asked what inspired her to work at the Arc, Breanna’s first answer was her youngest child, who has disabilities.
She knows firsthand what questions arise for people with disabilities, their families, and their caregivers, especially when those individuals reach the ages of 18-21. As a mom, she felt the need to better educate herself and engage the community to understand more about intellectual and developmental disabilities and how she could help as individuals age out of many types of assistance.
Memorable Experiences with the Arc
The Arc as an organization has been around for so long, according to Breanna, that even when she left New Jersey, it was the place you heard most about when it came to assistance for individuals with disabilities. She came into the Arc of Cape May County having heard great things about their work, and the experiences she has had since starting a year ago have cemented for her that she made the right choice joining this team.
Breanna’s first time matching an individual with a job showcases how she stands out as an Employment Program Coordinator. She is not just looking for local businesses who are hiring. She is taking the time to understand and form connections with each person, finding out what they want to do. Whether they want to work at a grocery store or sell their art, she encourages it because she knows it is something they love doing.
Right now, Breanna has four or five individuals who want to be entrepreneurs and have their own businesses where they can sell their work. This varies from physical products such as artwork and fashion accessories to services like cinematography and video editing. Regardless
of their interests, she is ready to go out into the community and find a place for each individual to thrive, a place where they are looked at for their abilities, not their disabilities.
Growing the Employment Services Program
“Doing this job requires you to be really connected with the community,” Breanna shared, and it is clear she has put in the work to make those connections. When she moved back to Cape May County recently, she realized how strong the sense of community is in the area. It can seem big, but really, it is small; people know each other, and once you start getting to know someone, your network broadly expands. This realization has sparked openings for employment for multiple individuals and helped make Breanna’s work possible.
As she continues her work with the Employment Services programs, Breanna has a goal to grow and expand opportunities for the individuals she helps. The first step of that is getting information out there about exactly what she and her team do. Not everyone understands
supported employment, and it can take many shapes and forms. If a client wants to make pizza but has no work experience or foundational skills, it the teams’ responsibility to assess their needs and provide the tools necessary for success. Breanna’s role isn’t just to place someone in a job, it’s to ensure they’re equipped to thrive in that environment, whether that means building basic skills, understanding workplace expectations, or preparing for their first paycheck.
When the community gives to programs like the Arc’s Employment Services, those programs give back to the community. There are and will continue to be many individuals seeking a job opportunity, and a stranger in their community could be the one to help them get it through the work of specialists like Breanna and the two other members of her team. We are so grateful to have Breanna’s passion on board with us at the Arc. With how much she has already accomplished in her first year, we are excited to see how she continues to grow these programs, and we are ready to help her achieve those goals by getting the word out there. To learn more about the program, please contact Breanna Wilson by email at breanna.wilson@arcofcapemay.org or by calling 609-861-7100 ext. 113.