Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement Award 2007 Recipient
James R. Michaels
Bosma Industries for the Blind
Indianapolis, Indiana

James Michaels traveled a long road to reach his current position as Director of Counseling and Rehabilitation Services at Bosma Industries for the Blind. He was just five years old when diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration. That diagnosis changed to rod cone dystrophy when his vision continued to deteriorate. Soon after graduating public high school, James pursued his dream to work with people with disabilities and landed a job at the Indiana School for the Deaf. Within two years, he was promoted to home supervisor and was responsible for supervising staff and students in a residential setting. During that time, he completed his Bachelor of Social Work degree at Indiana State University, graduating with a grade point average of 3.74, and then set a more impressive record completing his masters' degree in one year with a 3.91 grade point average. From there, he landed a position as a counselor at the Bosma Rehabilitation Center for the Blind, a state-run center for people adjusting to vision loss.

James came to Bosma Industries for the Blind in 2002 as a mental health counselor, handling individual and crisis counseling and community outreach work. When Bosma Industries assumed operations for the Bosma Rehab Center, James' former employer, James was a natural choice to head up the project and was promoted to Director of Counseling and Rehabilitation Services.

Today, James, 43, serves as the Chair of Indianapolis Mayor's Advisory Council on Disabilities and is an advisory Board member for Indiana Reading and Information Disabilities. Active in sports, he is captain and two-time MVP of the Indy Thunder Beep Baseball team, has volunteered as the intramural wrestling coach at the Indiana School for the Deaf, and has taught weekly sign language classes at the Indiana School for the Blind and Bosma Industries. He is the recipient of an award from Indiana University's School of Social Work for his commitment of service to people with disabilities.

By demonstrating strong leadership skills and outstanding career progression, James is a very worthy recipient of the Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement Award.