Wendy L. Hersh

Wendy L. Hersh is the President of the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association (RIDA), whose mission is to enhance the quality of life of the disabled population.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the scope of RIDA’s work increased over the past year, not only to include the disabled, but seniors, and those at risk, and in need within the Roosevelt Island community. Under Ms. Hersh’s leadership, RIDA has continuously addressed food insecurity, providing food and PPE, while following government safety protocols. As the pandemic began, Ms. Hersh and her team organized a meal delivery program with food provided by the NYC Department of Education. As they saw a need outside of their membership, within a few months, more than 180 individuals and families on Roosevelt Island were receiving meal delivery.

As the pandemic continued, more Island residents suffered from food insecurity. In mid-August 2020, RIDA started a food pantry in place of deliveries, providing a week’s worth of fresh produce, meats, dairy, canned goods, and shelf stable food for Island residents in need.

Ms. Hersh is a National Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She is a former President and board member of both the Metro chapter of the National Rehabilitation Association and New York State National Rehabilitation Counseling Association. She has been working as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for New York State Education Department, Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) since 2004, and since 2016 as a Senior Rehabilitation Counselor, and is President of the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association. She also oversees a vocational program for kids and young adults at risk in her community.

Ms. Hersh has worked as a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for Bailey House, working with individuals with HIV/AIDS. As a Supervisor at ACCES-VR, she specializes in individuals with a wide range of disabilities. She has spearheaded a Downstate Reentry Pilot since 2016 for those involved in the criminal justice system, although she has been working with these individuals since 2009. Her unit at ACCES-VR engages people with disabilities who are incarcerated, prior to their release from prison, as well as those engaged with criminal justice agencies. She works to encourage and motivate them to take advantage of vocational rehabilitation services in order to help prevent recidivism. She created the Brooklyn Reentry Consortium and a resource guide to enable criminal justice agencies to work together more effectively for the success of their clients.

Ms. Hersh received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Psychology from the University of Hartford in 1973 and a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from New York University in 2001.