WEST ORANGE, N.J., May 24, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kessler Foundation recognizes that the graduates we bring on board are essential to achieving our mission – to change the lives of people with disabilities. We don’t just hire the best and brightest. We offer the tools and opportunities to help them reach their full potential as they explore their new careers. That’s why we’re delighted to announce that consulting firm Great Place to Work® and Fortune magazine have ranked Kessler Foundation #5 on the country’s 50 Best Workplaces for Recent College Graduates.

The ranking involved evaluating roughly 600 companies Certified as Great Workplaces by Great Place to Work®. The list winners earned consistent praise on topics relevant to new graduates. These are workplaces where new hires can count on a fair, supportive and meaningful environment as they make the transition into the workforce.

“This award is especially meaningful to us,” said Rodger DeRose, president and CEO of Kessler Foundation, “because employment is fundamental to the Foundation’s mission. Through our research, we find new ways to help people recover from disabling illnesses and catastrophic injuries. But for us, restoring function is just the first step.”
 
“Our studies include vocational research aimed at keeping people active in their communities and the workplace. Achieving this kind of independence depends on workplaces that are truly inclusive,” noted DeRose. “That is why the Foundation’s grant making supports innovative programs across the nation that expand job opportunities for people with disabilities. ”   
 
For many years, Kessler Foundation has been awarded substantial external funding for training future rehabilitation researchers. Last year, Kessler Foundation expanded its funded research programs, which meant hiring 35 new employees, including 16 research assistants and six postdoctoral fellows.
 
“Through their new positions, these recent graduates share in our mission while growing personally and professionally in a most rewarding field,” DeRose remarked. “In addition to training with scientists who are leaders in their fields, we offer a diverse, inclusive work environment and opportunities for collaboration within the Foundation, as well as with our partners in health care, business, and academia. We are very pleased to be among the 50 best places for recent graduates. This new distinction reinforces our consistent placement among the Best Places to Work and Best Non-profits in New Jersey.” 
 
Kessler Foundation and its peers on the list set themselves apart in the eyes of their employees for being welcoming and supportive of professional development, while also offering meaningful work and fair promotion practices. The ranking considered co-workers’ responses to the Trust Index®, Great Place to Work’s employee assessment survey. The 50 Best Workplaces for Recent College Graduates list also took into account job growth and graduates’ share of new positions. Kessler Foundation came in #5 on the list.
 
“Every company’s future is built by the people it hires today,” said Kim Peters, Executive Vice President of Great Place to Work®. “The Best Workplaces for Recent College Graduates inspire their newest team members to fully invest their talents in the workplace, knowing that their leaders are committed to employees’ personal and professional growth.”
 
The Best Workplaces for Recent College Graduates is one of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work® and Fortune based upon employee survey feedback from Great Place to Work®-certified organizations.
 
Kessler Foundation was ranked 13th in the Best Nonprofits national ranking this year, and 6th in the medium category (50-249 employees) for Best Places to Work in New Jersey.
 
About Kessler Foundation:

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities.

For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org. Follow the Foundation on social media: Facebook, www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation; Twitter, @KesslerFdn; YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/KesslerFoundation.
 
About The Best Workplaces for Recent College Graduates

The Best Workplaces for Recent College Graduates is a “best of the best” ranking. The winners come from the universe of companies who are certified this year by Great Place to Work® as great workplaces and have published Great Place to Work Reviews, meaning they are serious about creating a great workplace and comfortable with transparency. To create this list, Great Place to Work® surveyed employees at these companies, who answered a detailed questionnaire considering everything from the meaning behind their work, to their development opportunities and whether they receive a fair share of the company’s profits.
 
The workplaces that appear on this list are not only actively hiring college graduates – they also have great cultures. To create the rankings, we considered employees’ survey feedback on the workplace experiences that matter to recent graduates, as well as the company’s job growth and the extent to which they hire recent college graduates. These three elements result in a total score for each company, with those companies receiving the highest scores earning a place on the list.
 
About Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work® produces the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For®” and a series of Great Place to Work® Best Workplaces lists, including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industries.
 
Follow Great Place to Work® online at www.greatplacetowork.com and on Twitter at @GPTW_US.

CONTACT: Carolann Murphy 
         Phone: 973.324.8382 
         Email: [email protected]