About Us

History

The Work Opportunities Unlimited story began in 1982.

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Our Leadership Team

Joe Leddy, Sr. – Chairman of the Board

Joe Leddy April 1982, Joe established Work Opportunities Unlimited, a multi-state, community-based employment program dedicated to individuals with barriers to employment. Under Joe’s leadership, the company has grown to more than 200 employees, and in 1994 Leddy Group spun off as a stand-alone staffing service. In 2004, Joe established Independence Works, Inc. providing employment services to individuals referred from Vocational Rehabilitation in Florida.

Prior to founding Work Opportunities Unlimited, Joe’s career included two years as the Director of Special Programs for the New Hampshire Department of Education and three years as the Director of Rehabilitation for the New Hampshire Department of Education. Joe has also held positions as the Coordinator for the Workshop for the Blind through the New Hampshire Department of Education, an Associate Professor at New Hampshire Vocational-Technical College, and the Acting Director and Blind Rehabilitation Specialist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Joe has a Master’s Degree in Administration from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Education from Keene State College. Joe has been active in his community. His volunteer positions include: a member of the Town Budget Committee; Selectman; Chairman of the School Board; Chairman of the School Building Committee; and member of the Town Planning Board. In 2000, Joe received the “Small Business Person of the Year” award for the state of New Hampshire from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Joe received the New Englander Award from the Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) in 1993.

Ryan Mountain – President

Ryan Mountain started with Work Opportunities Unlimited (Career Services Division) in October of 1994 as a Career Resource Specialist in Portsmouth, NH. In January 1996, Ryan became the Director of the Portsmouth office and in 1997 he opened an office in Rochester, NH. The programs he supervised included: Supported Employment in NH, a Vocational Rehabilitation program in Portsmouth, a Seacoast Youth Program for adjudicated youth, and vocational programs with area school districts.

In June of 1999, Ryan became the Director of Program Development serving all Career Service offices by marketing school services and securing contracts with school districts in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida.

In 2004, Ryan was promoted to Vice President of Program Development and expanded the services of Work Opportunities Unlimited to Florida, Maryland and Washington D.C. Starting in July of 2008, Ryan took on the management of the company Ticket to Work Program, which is a self-sufficiency program administered by the Social Security Administration; and in the Fall of 2009, as Vice President of the Career Services Division, he began supervising operations in Worcester, Greater Boston, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. In April of 2019, Ryan was introduced to the Independence Works, Inc. Board of Directors as the new President. Independence Works, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides employment services to individuals referred from Vocational Rehabilitation in Florida.

Ryan received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1994 and completed graduate study in Behavior Management at Notre Dame College. In his free time, Ryan enjoys spending his time golfing, skiing, and traveling with his family.

Steve Wood – Treasurer

Steve Wood Steve joined the company as Vice President of Planning and Chief Financial Officer in 1996, and was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer in 2000. Steve also serves as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. He also provides strategic planning and organizational development consulting to clients of Spectrum Consulting.

Prior to joining the company, Steve spent seventeen years in the banking industry where he rose to Senior Vice President and Senior Commercial Loan Officer. He spent five years consulting in the area of strategic planning and organizational development to a range of businesses in New England. Steve was an adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University from 1994 to 2013. He taught Leadership and Managing Organizational Change regularly at both the graduate and undergraduate level and periodically taught Strategic Management, Finance, Entrepreneurship, and other management courses. He also served on the University’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee.

Steve received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine in 1975 where he was a member of the Senior Skull Society, and his Masters in Business Administration from Northeastern University in 1987 where he was selected for both the Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Societies. He also graduated from the Williams School of Banking.

Steve is active in a number of regional charitable organizations and currently is Treasurer of the Portsmouth NH Rotary Club and Independence Works, Inc.; and serves on the Board of the Business and Industry Association of NH.

Sue Abel – Director of Broward County

Sue is Director of the West Palm Beach and Broward County regions of Florida, a position she has held since 2009. As Director, she enjoys supporting her team—whom she considers dedicated professionals with a passion for IW’s mission—in helping individuals with barriers secure employment in the division’s communities.

In 1987 Sue joined the Work Opportunities Unlimited team as an Employment Representative. Sue has held several positions during her tenure: Vice President of Field Services for six states; Vice President of WOU’s Maine division, where she developed four new offices in the state; and Director of WOU’s Portland and Biddeford offices. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of South Carolina and was formerly a member of Maine Rehabilitation Association.

Sue and her husband Scott are members of the North Palm Beach Yacht Club and enjoy boating and socializing with other members. They also enjoy competing in trivia and dog sitting for friends and family.

Lisa Jaloski – Director of Martin County

Lisa is Director of IW’s Martin County, which also serves St. Lucie County. She manages the team’s direction in providing the organization’s services to the local market, as well as cultivates and manages relationships with clients, area businesses, employers, and others to help connect the community with IW’s services.

Prior to joining IW, Lisa had an extensive career with the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida as a Medical Case Manager/Prevention and Education Coordinator. After joining IW in April 2014 as a Career Resource Specialist in the organization’s Palm Beach County office, Lisa became a Team Leader in 2015 and was promoted into her current position as Director in May of 2019. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a bachelor’s in psychology and has been awarded internally for her participation in IW’s Discovery Services program, requiring team members to surpass additional standards in helping clients find community-based employment.

Outside of work, Lisa volunteers back to the community in which she was raised and is deeply involved with her children’s activities. She serves on the board of her son’s high school baseball team and until recently was the president of her daughter’s softball team. In addition, she has been involved with the Junior League of the Palm Beaches since 1999.

Jenni Paine – Director of Palm Beach County

Jenni is the Director of the Palm Beach market. She is responsible for managing, coaching, and supporting her team to provide the best quality employment, adult, and student services to the clients served in greater Palm Beach County.

Before joining WOU in 2014, Jenni spent several years in the service industry. Her career growth at WOU includes Team Mentor, Team Leader, and Director in Training. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.S. in Psychology.

Jenni resides with her two sons and her German shepherd in Palm Beach County. She enjoys meeting and learning about new people almost as much as she enjoys giving treats to random dogs she meets throughout her travels!

Our Partners

We have enjoyed long and successful relationships with key state and local agencies throughout Florida. We currently partner with over 1,000 employers to create employment opportunities for those we serve.

We work closely with: