Kayla J Richard, MS, DISB

Program Manager, Country Roads Program

Organization:

West Virginia University Health Sciences Center

Department:

Center for Excellence in Disabilities (CED)

Classification:

Staff

Program Manager of Disability Studies

Organization:

West Virginia University Health Sciences Center

Department:

Department of Disability Services (SOM)

Classification:

Staff

Kayla Richard joined the Center for Excellence in Disabilities in 2021 as the Education and Employment Coordinator for the IMPACT WV program where she worked with families of infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) to secure employment, complete their high school education requirements and go on to received education on a college level. Prior to this she spent just short of a decade in public education in the state of Indiana where she taught Family and Consumer Sciences to Middle and High School students specializing in Food Science, Hospitality and Tourism, Nutrition, Child Development and Preparing for Colleges and Careers. Upon graduating from West Virginia University in 2011 with her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Extension Education and Master of Agriculture with emphasis on research and curriculum development she moved to Indiana to work with Purdue University Extension where she has pursued her love of teaching ever since.

She has been the program manager of the WVU Country Roads program since August of 2022 where she works to ensure inclusive opportunities on and off campus for all students enrolled and to prepare them for successfully transitioning from college upon graduating the program. In 2026 she became the Chair of the Inclusive Post-Secondary Education program regional alliance for inclusive higher education across the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that covers WV, VA, MD, DE, NJ, PA and DC. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, theater, movies, thrifting, playing with her dog and cat and the occasional comic con.