Kimberly Osmani

Kimberly Osmani is a Senior Extension Associate and Program Director for Transition and Postsecondary Vocational Advancement at Cornell University's Yang-Tan Institute within the ILR School. She holds a PhD in Special Education with a focus on secondary transition from the University of Oklahoma, plus K-12 teaching and Principal certifications.

Her expertise spans:

• Vocational rehabilitation systems and policy
• Disability-inclusive workforce development
• Transition services for youth with disabilities
• Culturally responsive special education practices

She leads the Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth), a federally funded initiative enhancing employment outcomes through state capacity-building. Additionally, she directs Cornell's involvement in Oregon's Inclusive Career Advancement Program (ICAP), facilitating postsecondary access for people with disabilities.

Her publications (12+ articles) consistently address vocational rehabilitation effectiveness, interagency collaboration, and transition programming, with recent work (2023) examining systemic coordination of youth services and transition under supervision contexts. Earlier scholarship explored cultural competence in transition planning (2020) and ethical WIOA implementation (2017).

She has received national recognition for developing innovative transition programs, including Oklahoma's statewide transition conference which she chaired and implemented for 16 years. Prior roles include Oklahoma Transition Coordinator (9 years), State Department of Education administrator (4 years), and special education teacher (10 years).