Heather Hagen

Heather Hagen (she/her) proudly serves as the Director of Employment Services at DDRC in Colorado. Like many colleagues, Heather fell into the world of supported employment in 2010 by chance and found a passion for helping people pursue their career goals. Heather has had the privilege of experiencing employment services evolve significantly over the past 15 years and is enthusiastic about Colorado’s commitment to Employment First! In her work, Heather is especially passionate about developing highly competent Employment Support Professionals who approach their work with a historical understanding of disability services and a passion to cause “good trouble” in pursuit of equity and true inclusion for everyone. A person with invisible disabilities, Heather is a recipient of the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) Wendy M. Wood Emerging Leader award, DDRC’s Charlie Allinson award, and Arvada Chamber's 2024 Future 20 leadership award. Heather seeks to move the needle in the day-to-day work that we do with career seekers, and to ask for big change in state and national policies.

Heather enjoys life in the Colorado mountains with her husband, son and three dogs. In her free time, you can find Heather hiking, baking, cross stitching and planning fun vacations with her family!