Kristen Ballinger serves as Deputy Director for the Division of Employer and Innovation Services. She joined Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities as an Assistant Deputy Director for the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation in 2015.
Prior to joining OOD, Ballinger worked for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) in the Division of Policy and Strategic Direction, where she led implementation of Ohio’s Employment First initiative. In this capacity, she was named a 2015 Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program (EFSLMP) ambassador for the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). Prior to her role at DODD, she worked in a statewide leadership role with the Ohio Association of County Boards of Developmental Disabilities and for the Knox County Board of DD. Ballinger graduated from Ohio University.