In 2019, Kim Riley founded The Transition Academy (TTA) with a mission to make economic inclusion a reality for youth with disabilities, especially for young people of color who have been historically failed by systems. As the mom of a young adult son who was not adequately prepared to be successful after high school, she designed this organization as a solution to this problem impacting her family and others like hers. She gathered families, teachers, counselors, employers, colleges and universities, Social Security Benefits counselors, and others to form The Transition Academy (TTA), where mostly African American students with disabilities in the Kansas City, Missouri Public School system could participate in actively creating their paths forward beyond graduation and to close the opportunity gap that existed.

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