Maya Huber
Maya is on a mission to help people with disabilities develop meaningful careers
- Age: 32
- Field: Occupational Therapy
- Lives in: Tel Aviv
- Married with two children
My Research: Validation of an intervention model for the career development of people with disabilities
A Life-Changing Experience: I am lucky to have a supportive and loving family that has always believed in me and in the fact that with hard work and faith, anything is possible. My family is the supportive anchor that allows me to dream and to achieve my goals. My first introduction to disadvantaged communities was during my army service as a welfare non-commissioned officer. The experience was life-changing, and from that moment, it was clear to me that my goal is to work with people and for people.
“At the beginning, it is difficult to tell where a path will lead you or when you will get to your destination, so we must always remember why we set out on the journey in the first place.”
A Career, Not a Job: People with disabilities are excluded from the open and competitive job market and deal with high rates of unemployment as compared with the rest of the population. Even those who are integrated into the job market earn low wages and work in less professional occupations compared to the normative population. Existent occupational rehabilitation services focus on recruiting people with disabilities into the workforce, but do not emphasize the career development processes that could help this population take on a more meaningful and equal role in the job market.
Travel and Research: I am the professional manager of a company that develops and implements models for the career development of people with disabilities, and I see every day the need for research that promotes the integration of people with disabilities into the greater community. After taking a break and traveling, I plan to use the theoretical and practical knowledge from our research to help advance people with disabilities in Israel and around the world.
Maya is a PhD student at the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions in the Sackler Faculty of Medicine in cooperation with the Department of Educational Counseling at the Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education.
