Ashlea Lantz

Ashlea Lantz is the Senior Policy Advisor on Disability Employment at The Harkin Institute (THI) for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University.  At THI Ashlea helps lead efforts in advancing disability employment specializing in business consulting, rehabilitation services and benefits planning. Ashlea’s insightful thinking and background in rehabilitation counseling, supported employment and accessibility help her support businesses in accessing an underutilized talent pool and pipelines.  Ashlea delivers high-level, boutique consultation to corporations on increasing disability hiring initiatives.  

Prior to work at The Harkin Institute, Ashlea was a consultant with Griffin-Hammis Associates focusing on Customized Employment, Supported Employment, Benefits Planning and agency capacity building.  Ashlea has worked on various federal grant projects in the United States including grant initiatives through the Rehabilitation Services Administration and the Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.  Through that work Ashlea has worked across the United States in various states including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Utah, New Mexico and Maryland. 

Previously, Ashlea Lantz was the Director of Employment at Candeo in Johnston, Iowa, a community-based rehabilitation provider.  While at Candeo Ashlea more than tripled their supported employment both in the number of employees and number of employment seekers supported.  Ashlea is the past president of Iowa APSE; she is part of Iowa’s Employment First State Leadership Mentor Program leadership team and a member of the Olmstead Consumer Taskforce.  Ashlea also has served as the Secretary and current Vice President of Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators (ACRE).  In 2021 Ashlea helped to organize the Iowa Harkin Summit on Disability Employment as the committee chair and facilitated peer to peer business mentoring to businesses to diversify their hiring practices. Ashlea is a certified benefits planner through Virginia Common Wealth University, and she completed the Certified Employment Support Professional certification in 2013.  In addition, Ashlea completed her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Drake University.