Zaccheus James Ahonle

Zaccheus Ahonle , PhD, CRC, is an assistant professor and coordinator of the CACREP accredited graduate in rehabilitation counseling program at Mississippi State University. He has about 10 years of experience working as a certified rehabilitation counselor, rehabilitation counselor educator, and researcher. Dr. Ahonle is also a Research Affiliate with the Veteran Rural Health Resource Center-Gainesville (VRHRC-GNV), Office of Rural Health, the United States Department of Veterans Affair (VA). As part of the VA Tele-Rehabilitation Enterprise-Wide Initiative Evaluation Team (TR-EWI), Dr. Ahonle completed a study that explored the use of tele-mediated technologies in improving access and utilization of Community-Based Supported Employment Services to Veterans in rural areas. Dr. Ahonle' s research addresses the unique needs of special populations such as Veterans, transition-aged youths, and racial and ethnic minorities with cognitive impairment and neurological disabilities such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). He is also interested in research that explores the use of technologies to advance equity through increased access and utilization of vocational rehabilitation services and in improving the rehabilitation and health outcomes for persons with disabilities. Dr. Ahonle has a background in information technology with expertise in big data analysis. He has served as both PI and Co-PI or Co-Investigator in a number of grants. Dr. Ahonle has authored a number of professional publications, including scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles, a book chapter, and presented papers at various local, regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Ahonle is an active member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), National Rehabilitation Counseling Association (NRCA), National Rehabilitation Association (NRA), Rehabilitation Association of Mississippi (RAM) and a former board member at-large of Florida Rehabilitation Association. Dr. Ahonle has also served the rehabilitation community at the national level. For example, he served on the ACRM career development networking group mentoring taskforce and was part of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling Certification (CRCC) Code revision taskforce for the 2023 New Code of Ethics for the rehabilitation counseling profession. He is currently serving as an elected member of the Item Writing Sub-Committee for CRCC. . Dr. Ahonle has also received several awards. For example, in 2018, he received a faculty recognition award from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin for positively contributing to the academic endeavors of students with disabilities and for creating an inclusive environment for all students. In 2022, Dr. Ahonle received a service commendation certificate award from American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) as ACRM’s Leadership Mentoring Program 2022 Faculty.

Publications

Underserved Disability Populations in Rural Communities: Cultural Competence and Social Justice Imperatives
Underserved Disability Populations in Rural Communities: Cultural Competence and Social Justice Imperatives
Eugenie Joan Looby, Zaccheus James Ahonle, Tinmuk Li, Lindsey Donald, Kimberly Tillman Gray, Shayna Carter, Abdullah Almutairi. © 2023. 33 pages.
This chapter (a) examines rehabilitation challenges faced by underserved disability populations in rural communities (UDPRC); (b) explores barriers encountered by three large...