NW Works in Profile: Flora Moats

Flora Moats

Meet Flora! Flora serves as a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS), or job coach, for individuals receiving employment services through NW Works. As a VRS, Flora serves as a support for individuals at their place of employment and encourages them to advocate for themselves, increase their skills & confidence, and maximize their independence as they work in the community.  

Flora has been with NW Works for just over three years and was drawn to the organization through our mission statement. In her heart, Flora knew she was always meant to pursue disability services and since finding NW Works, she has felt satisfied with that decision. With Flora’s role as a VRS, or job coach, she has taken direct action with our mission. Flora’s job is to assist in bridging the gap between an employer and the employee and cultivate a relationship between all parties involved. Flora has watched many working relationships develop between the individuals she supports and their employers, and she is happy to play a small role in each person’s career journey. As a VRS, Flora has many clients she supports and often times individuals will phase out of services once they, along with their employer, feel comfortable enough handling their role by themself. Flora will check in with clients to ensure they’re still comfortable at their employment site, and she enjoys seeing the growth in everyone she supports, especially after they’ve been apart for a while.  

Flora’s favorite part of her role is watching the individuals she supports learn a skill while at a job site and then carry the task out successfully. “The instant gratification that you see on that individual’s face is just priceless”, Flora shared. In addition to watching the people we serve succeed, Flora thoroughly enjoys the culture and work environment at NW Works, describing it as “family-oriented” and “close knit”.  

For individuals who are on the fence about taking the steps to join the NW Works Team, Flora’s words of encouragement were to just go for it! Flora shared that she has grown significantly both personally and professionally in the past three years at NW Works, and admitted she grew more than she thought was possible at her age. As Flora remarked, “You are going to grow and blossom into something that you never thought you could grow into.” Through her time & growth at NW Works, Flora felt encouraged to pursue full-time education and receive her bachelor’s in social work. Although Flora doesn’t have much free time between school and her full-time job at NW Works, she takes pride knowing that she’s continuing to grow, and she gets to share those moments with her daughter, who is also pursuing her degree at the University of Virginia! 

If you, like Flora, are looking for a job where you can grow personally & professionally, visit our “Join Our Team” page today!