Nearly 50 seniors attended the Hayes Senior Wellness Center for the DCOA Senior Employment Fair. Seniors had the opportunity to meet with recruiters from Costco, CVS, Safeway, Staples and Walmart, submit their resumes and collect business cards.

DCOA’s Older Workers Employment and Training Program (OWETP) assists District residents 55 years of age and older with job-hunting skills that can lead to finding a job. The older worker gains additional income, an expanded support system and personal growth.

To learn more about the DCOA employment and training program, call (202) 724-5626 or visit www.dcoa.dc.gov.

Aweke Wudineh, Management Assistant, Money Follows the Person, ADRC

Aweke Wudineh, has a Masters of Art degree in Economics, and a B.S. in Business Education. He has more than 12 years of management and quality assurance work experience. Wudineh has an extensive background working in the Head Start Program serving low income children and families. In October 2014, he joined the Money Follows the Person Demonstration Project.  

Ekundayo Akinola, Transition Coordinator, Money Follows the Person, ADRC

Ms. Akinola served as an early childhood educator in Nigeria before relocating to the United States to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of The District of Columbia. Also, she received a Master’s degree in Social Work from Howard University. During her experience in the human services field, Ekundayo has reached people across the continuum of the disabilities spectrum. Her varied experience includes work with individuals who have intellectual and physical disabilities through the Art & Drama Therapy Institute as well as with the aging population at the Barney Neighborhood House, and most recently, Terrific, Inc.

Emma Baxter, Transition Coordinator, Money Follows the Person, ADRC

Emma Baxter comes to the D.C. Office on Aging from the Department of Healthcare Finance as a Transition Coordinator. She has a diverse background in healthcare field.  Emma has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology /Life Science with specialization in Cytology, board certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology; Master in Health Services Administration (MHSA) and recently completed a NHA certification as a Phlebotomy Technician. Baxter enjoys the different faces that science can provide from work in the area of pathology, mortuary science, and cytotechnology from hospital to private settings.  Furthermore, she formally received deputy directorship and directorship of a community clinic and currently appointed as a transition coordinator for the D.C. Office on Aging.

Lolita White, Transition Coordinator, Money Follows the Person, ADRC

Ms. White, a native Washingtonian, is an alumnus of the Catholic University of America National Catholic School of Social Services. She began her career in the field of human services as a teen peer counselor. Since then, she has worked in a range of human service positions from low-income housing programs in Montgomery County, to developing and training foster parents in Prince George’s County, and supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in residential settings. Most recently, Lolita worked with residents at the Washington Center for Aging Services.

Sakena McWright, Program Coordinator, Money Follows the Person, ADRC

With advanced degrees in social work and industrial relations, Sakena has an extensive background working with, and on behalf of, adults with varying disabilities in areas of community integration. Since moving to the District in 2004, she continuously worked for the protection and advocacy system on outreach to underserved communities, intake and short-term assistance, along with disability competence. In 2008, Sakena joined the Money Follows the Person Demonstration Project at the Department on Disability Services.

Lea Girma- Mengistu, Finance and Grants Specialist, ADRC

Mrs. Lea Girma Mengistu is the new Finance and Grants Specialist, working as a liaison between the Aging and Disability Resource Center, and the Programs and Budget Department. She is a certified Public Accountant with the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy. Mrs. Girma Mengistu graduated from Addis Ababa University with a BA in Management, and has experience working in both private sector and non-profit organizations in Accounting and Finance. For the last four years, she worked as a Senior Auditor in a DC audit firm, mostly working on financial and compliance audits of government agencies and quasi-government entities.

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