Carol A. Courtney works as a Recreation Therapist at the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center on two of the Community Living Centers (Long-term care units).
In her career as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Courtney, who has a master’s degree, has worked with participants in an adult day health program, active seniors in the community, Veterans in acute psychiatric distress and served, for a short time, as a professional fundraiser for the University of Illinois.
In addition to her regular duties, she also serves as co-manager of the Hispanic Employment Program at Canandaigua and the VA Outpatient clinic in Rochester. Nationally, VA is committed to recruitment and retention of Hispanic employees to ensure VA has a diverse, high-performing workforce. VA is actively partnering with affinity groups and minority serving institutions to strengthen these efforts. Locally, the Canandaigua VA Medical Center supported Courtney’s membership in the RHBA and had a booth at this year’s Expo.
For the past two summers, the Medical Center also hosted two students through theHispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) intern program, one from California and one from Puerto Rico. Efforts are underway to establish a partnership withEverest Institute to encourage qualified Hispanic graduates to apply for jobs with VA. Last March, Courtney and a representative from the VA’s Human Resources department participated in a job fair on the Damon campus of Monroe Community College. Next Spring, the Hispanic Employment Program hopes to bring students from the Puerto Rican Youth Development program to the Rochester VA outpatient clinic to learn about health related careers.
Courtney is married with an adult daughter who lives in North Carolina.
To see current VA jobs in Western New York:
http://www.http://www.visn2.va.gov/visn2/hr/jobsvisn2.asp
For Veterans seeking federal employment:
http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx
Carol A. Courtney
Recreation Therapist
Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Phone: 585 393-7798
Carol.Courtney@va.gov
www.canandaigua.va.gov