Project SEARCH has worked with Marimor Industries, Inc., Employment Services, since the first year of the program (2013). They offer skilled employment specialists, job developers and more. We always have coverage with subs and they work excellent with the staff at Mercy Health/St. Rita’s, the Project SEARCH host site, and report the intern’s growth to Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.
Leigh Taylor, M.Ed., Instructor/Coordinator
Leigh Taylor is the instructor/coordinator of Project SEARCH. Since 2013, when the program was brought to Lima, OH, she has created a program that is unique and successful. She relates the learning to real life and gives the interns the opportunity to learn self-advocacy and independence and treats all the interns as her employees. Leigh has a Master’s in Education, Intervention Specialist from Bluffton University, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from The University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH), She has recently added the Transition To Work (TTW) Endorsement to her license through Bowling Green State University.
Skills Trainers
Since its inception in 2013, Project SEARCH has maintained a vital partnership with Marimor Industries, Inc. Employment Services. Marimor provides a dedicated team of skilled employment specialists and job developers
who ensure consistent coverage, seamlessly integrating substitute support when needed. Their specialists collaborate closely with the team at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s, the host site for Project SEARCH, to support daily operations and track intern progress, regularly reporting growth metrics to Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD).
Our skills trainers are the daily, hands-on support behind every Project SEARCH intern. With one skills trainer for every four interns, each intern gets focused, individualized attention. They work side by side with interns in their internship departments at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center, teaching job tasks step by step, offering real-time feedback, and gradually stepping back as each intern grows more independent. They partner closely with our instructor from Apollo Career Center, department mentors, and families so everyone is working toward the same goals for each intern. Because skills trainers know every interns strength, interests, and work habits so well, they also serve as job developers. They help interns build résumés, connect with local employers, and find positions that are the right fit. That means each intern has one trusted person guiding them from their first day of training through their search for paid, competitive employment.