Lauren’s Institute built a workplace where employees feel supported

Justin Travillion feels pretty fortunate to have such a cool place to work. But as the COO and CFO of Lauren's Institute for Education he also knows that he and his team have a big mission to fulfill.

Founded in 2007 in Gilbert, Arizona, by Justin's mother, Margaret Travillion, and Carrie Reed, Lauren's Institute for Education is a nonprofit organization providing education, therapy and general support for those with developmental disabilities.

This includes a private school that serves students from pre-school to high school; wide-ranging therapy services from occupational and physical therapy to behavioral, feeding and speech therapy; employment programs; community services; an adult day program and more.

"Basically, any service that somebody with a developmental disability has, we want to be able to meet that need all through one organization at one location, where they can all collaborate together on best treatment for the people we serve," says Travillion.

It's challenging work, that often requires a lot of hands-on, physical demands from employees at all levels.

"We're not in offices all the time behind screens," he says. "We try and make our presence felt and seen. Most of our leadership team actually started from being people that were on…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/