Julie Turtle, MS, CDMS
QRC #468
While in high school and college, Ms. Turtle worked in jobs focusing on the services industry including retail management, retail sales, and waitress/server. She can relate to workers in services industry and blue collar jobs. She is well prepared to deal with a variety of personalities and people.
She earned a Master of Science Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN; She accomplished a published Thesis: “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities: Challenges for the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor”. She also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Statistical Research from University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD; Ms. Turtle holds the license of Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant (QRC) in the State of MN. She has current/ongoing certification as a Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS), focusing on the world of work.
Ms. Turtle’s work experience includes 30 + years in careers focusing on successful return to work in some capacity. These include: 15 + years as a Senior Staffing/HR consultant, Workers; Compensation/Unemployment case manager for a large staffing service employer in Rochester, MN; 15+ years of experience as a Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant (QRC) in Rochester, MN. She also has several years running her own business, “Angel Arms” as a Job Advocate/Coach/Placement Specialist for Olmsted/Dodge/Fillmore County Community Corrections acting as a contract vendor; In addition to other referral sources, Ms. Turtle has developed word-of-mouth referral relationships as a QRC with many of her clients including the Somali and Bosnian groups in Rochester, MN. She is quite familiar with their cultural habits and ways to connect and engage them with the local medical facilities/employers.
Ms. Turtle has lived in the Rochester, MN area since 1991. Her office is 5 minutes away from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic where she does a majority of her medical management portion of her job. She is also very familiar with the other major medical venue in Rochester, MN - Olmsted Medical Center. She is well-vetted in navigating these local medical systems to assist with coordinating safe and successful return to work results for her clients at a lower cost because she is local to Rochester. She has also worked with clients/companies/medical facilities within a 4-5 hour traveling radius of Rochester, MN including but not limited to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; Lacrosse, WI; Albert Lea/Austin, MN; Mankato, MN; Owatonna, MN; Faribault, MN; Winona, MN, Red Wing, MN, Worthington, MN, and Sioux Falls, SD.
Nicholas Arend, MS, CDMS
QRC #1018
Mr. Arend grew up in Mankato, MN. His father being a mechanic, he grew up spending his time in shops and worked in the automotive field until he completed graduate school. He was also a musician and had planned to become a music teacher until a hand injury in his freshman year of college spurred a change of direction. He is no stranger to how quickly an injury can change a person's path in life.
He earned a Master of Science degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at St. Cloud State University. He earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology with an HR Management minor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. In graduate school, he co-founded and directed a student consulting group which served to assist organizations around the St. Cloud, MN, area while providing students with real-world experience.
He is a co-owner of Prism Vocational Serves L.L.C., founded in 2015, and has been licensed as a QRC since 2014. He holds an ongoing certification as a Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS).
Being familiar with the process of identifying which specific elements culminate to form the entirety of a job, as well as how to match them to an individual's skills, aptitudes, and abilities, he is well prepared to identify return-to-work solutions that succeed even in the most difficult of circumstances.
As a QRC, he has worked extensively throughout the Southern MN area as well as the Metro and has received referrals from a variety of sources including word-of-mouth.