Former NJ Department of Human Services Commissioner Michele Guhl Named as VP at Community Options

Today’s world of rising health care agendas and concern for the individual community have made it increasingly difficult for companies to secure employees up to the challenge of implementing programs for individuals with disabilities. As Community Options, Inc. welcomes new Vice President of Educational and Transitional Services, Michele Guhl, we welcome an exciting era of growth and development for our innovative programs.

As one of the fastest growing non-profits in the United States, COI has previously had on staff such names as Madeleine Will, former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services for the United States Department of Education, and have honored as their “Person of the Year” such individuals as Tom Bracken, Richard Billoti of the Trenton Times, Caren Franzini CEO of the NJEDA, and McCaffrey’s supermarket chain owner Jim McCaffrey.

Ms. Guhl is the Former Commissioner of the Department of Human Services. In this capacity, she commanded an $8 billion budget with over 25,000 staff and oversaw Medicaid, Youth and Family Services, and all institutions and community-based programs for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Previously appointed by Governor Jon S. Corzine as the Executive Director for the Commission on Rationalizing Health Care Resources, Ms. Guhl has been in charge of rationalizing, developing, and prioritizing the financial and support system for New Jersey’s acute care hospitals for the past ten years. While in the office of President for the NJ Association of Health Plans, she provided everything from advocacy to education to technical services. In her position as the VP of Educational and Transitional Services, Ms. Guhl will begin a regionally based cutting edge pilot project for transition services for students with disabilities that can be sustainable and duplicated throughout the state. She will also be working to increase awareness with local and state legislators, parent groups, child study teams, advocates and district and county administrators.