After a successful career providing vocational services to individuals with disabilities, our founding director, Ms. Virginia Kerensky was inspired to establish a nonprofit committed to providing highly individualized, person-centered, and community-based services. Thus, she incorporated Project Genesis, Inc. as a 501(c)3 organization in September 1991.
In the early days of Project Genesis, Ms. Kerensky worked on her own, providing job development and coaching skills with funding from the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS). She worked in the community and from her kitchen table, helping each consumer secure competitive employment in their field of interest.
People quickly recognized the value of Ms. Kerensky’s approach. As demand for job development and coaching services increased, Ms. Kerensky hired employees and opened a business office in Willimantic.
It also became clear that individuals with a range of disabilities could benefit from working with Project Genesis. In 1992, the organization began providing special education transition services to Ellington Public Schools. And in 1999, it began providing extensive services to adults with acquired brain injuries (ABI) under the Medicaid Waiver Program.
Project Genesis has continued to deepen its practice and widen its reach within these three main offerings: The Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Program, Special Education Support Services (SESS), and R.I.S.E. (Reaching Individual Success & Employment).
- The organization has grown to serve more than 225 adults and students throughout Connecticut each year.
- In addition to services received through Project Genesis, our ABI Program consumers are connected to community activities and support networks that help them build personal resiliency, strong friendships, and enriched lives.
- SESS has expanded to work with over 40 area school districts and several colleges.
- In 2016, our Jobs services expanded to include BRS “Level Up” transition services to help students with disabilities prepare for “the workplace, college and life.”
Project Genesis now has over 230 employees, each of whom is carefully selected based on one of Ms. Kerensky’s core principles—that when trust develops, consumers feel safe to grow, learn, and change. Their shared dedication to our mission is clear and has helped create an award-winning workplace culture:
As we look to the future, we invite you to help us embrace change, advance inclusive communities, and empower the best in each and all of us. We are on this journey together—And together, we are Project Genesis.
After a successful career providing vocational services to individuals with disabilities, our founding director, Ms. Virginia Kerensky was inspired to establish a nonprofit committed to providing highly individualized, person-centered, and community-based services. Thus, she incorporated Project Genesis, Inc. as a 501(c)3 organization in September 1991.