Marie Dionne graduated from UMASS Amherst with a BS in Wildlife Conservation, but decided that wasn’t the route for her. She began working with the disability population as a therapeutic horseback riding volunteer in 2007, where she quickly fell in love with supporting her riders. In 2008 she became an employer for someone supported by the Arc of Orange County at a coffee shop and was introduced to the joys of DSP work by the job coach who worked there. In 2012 Marie became a full-time DSP with The Arc of Orange County and then moved into an Exceptional Children’s Teacher Assistant role, while continuing as a part-time DSP. Then in 2016 she was hired as an Individual Services Supervisor (QP) with The Arc of the Triangle, which she loved. After a couple of years, she was promoted to Assistant Director of Individual Services, and then to Individual Services Director after a few more years. 12 years spent in Service Delivery with The Arc/Triangle Disability & Autism Services. And then, in the fall of 2023, Marie embarked on a new journey; moving over to Human Resources, where she found that her years of experience in the disability field, and her in-depth knowledge of the agency, were valuable assets to her new role of supporting the entire workforce. Since then, Marie has met with new challenges and new rewards; she’s confirmed her love of supporting all employees in whatever ways they need. To seek out more HR knowledge, Marie attained her Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certification in July 2024. She looks forward to continuing to grow in the HR realm while supporting the people who are both providing and receiving services at Triangle Disability & Autism Services. When she’s not at work, Marie can be found streaming old sitcoms with her two cats, Winter and Finn, and caring for a small herd of horses on the farm where she rents.
