Excerpted from Black Hills Pioneer (Dec. 7, 2023) Michelle believes everyone craves community and independence. That belief, she hopes, will shape her leadership of Northern Hills Training Center (NHTC).
NHTC is a community-based support system for adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Founded in 1976, the organization’s goal is to offer Spearfish residents an alternative to institutional care. Today, NHTC serves more than 130 people with supportive day programs, job training and employment pathway programs, shared living communities, and housing assistance.
“You don’t come to work here because you want to be wealthy. You come here, because you care about the people,” Mulholland told the Black Hills Pioneer in September. “Their (NHTC’s) goals really resonate for me because I have a daughter who is on the spectrum. She’s approaching aging out of the school system,” Powers said. “I’ve always done work with the field of disabilities. This is my first foray into adult services in terms of a vocation.”
Powers worked in special education and school administration, serving with the State of South Dakota for more than a decade.
“Policy and advocacy have been a part of my life forever, going back to my state government days, and also as a parent. I’m also active in a variety of organizations,” Powers said.
“We all network together … the family support council supports individuals and families that have developmental disabilities, to receive services, and that kind of work is to me just a really easy transition into this work. We’re supporting our families; we’re supporting our individuals in whatever they need,” Powers said.
At NHTC, Powers said she’s looking forward to bolstering and building out services, and working on a team to further the mission of supporting adults with disabilities.
“That’s what I say I bring to the table, is that excitement for working on teams. I really, really enjoy bringing out and watching people bring their best to the table,” Powers said.
Powers added, the non-profit’s board of directors has a vision for the future, and she hopes to be the person to make that vision a reality.