Felicia Boone’s 25-year career helps NYC students with disabilities prepare for adulthood

Felicia Boone, a transition services specialist with the NYC Department of Education, has spent more than 25 years helping students with disabilities build workplace skills, connect with employers and move toward independent lives after high school. Her work spans special education, job placement, community partnerships and hands-on support for young people ages 14 to 22.

Why it matters: - Felicia Boone’s work affects students with disabilities who often need extra support to move from school into jobs, post-secondary options and independent living. - Her role links classrooms, employers, community organizations and families to create pathways that students may not access on their own. - Boone also extends that service into her community through volunteer work and caregiving efforts.

What happened: - Boone is a longtime educator and transition services specialist with the NYC Department of Education. - She has spent more than 25 years in education focused on special education, workforce readiness and transition planning. - Boone began in special education in 2001 after a career change and later moved into a job developer and transition team leader role in 2009. - She now works with students with disabilities ages 14 to 22.

The details: - Boone supports workplace readiness, post-secondary exploration, job placement and work-based learning. - Her responsibilities include coordinating employment opportunities and building partnerships with community agencies and businesses. - Boone also works with pre-employment transition services, summer youth employment and internships. - She focuses on communication, self-advocacy, professionalism, confidence and other soft skills tied to independence. - Boone says her early classroom years taught her patience, adaptability, organization and the need to treat each student as an individual. - She describes herself as a nurturer and says her organizational skills help manage paperwork, scheduling, communication and partnership development. - Boone emphasizes networking as a core part of creating real-world opportunities for students. - She stays present with students at worksites and other activities instead of observing from a distance. - Boone says many students she serves face difficult circumstances at home, and school can be the most stable environment in their lives. - She says resilience is necessary because the work can be emotionally demanding. - Boone has volunteered since 2009 at soup kitchens and prepares hygiene care packages for people in need about three times a year. - She reads the Bible, meditates, worships at church and journals. - Boone published a journal called “Gifts of Hope: Healing Journal,” which is designed to empower people seeking purpose after losing loved ones.

Between the lines: - Boone’s career reflects a shift from direct classroom teaching to a broader transition-services model that depends on outside partnerships. - Her approach suggests that career readiness for students with disabilities is not just about academics but about confidence, advocacy and practical life skills. - The emphasis on collaboration shows how much of this work depends on systems outside the school building. - Her message to young women entering the field centers on service, organization, stamina, drive and not letting others diminish their ambitions.

What's next: - Boone continues to focus on helping students build skills for adulthood, employment and independent living. - She says expanding community partnerships, advocacy and accessible transition programs could open more opportunities for young people. - Her work will likely remain centered on connecting students, families, schools, employers and agencies around long-term support.

The bottom line: - Boone’s career shows how hands-on transition services can help students with disabilities move toward brighter and more independent futures.