190 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine SOCIAL WORK, PUBLIC SERVICE, NONPROFIT AND HUMANITIES ROSE M. HANDON, PHD, LSW CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Empowerment Network Circle LLC Columbus, OH Dr. Rose M. Handon is the chief executive director of the Empowerment Network Circle, a consulting firm whose mission has included helping small business owners reach the next level of success and supporting people with disabilities in accomplishing their goals. Founded in 2009 with the original goal of assisting in business development, planning and launch, its mission pivoted after Dr. Handon became disabled and recognized the lack of support for people with disabilities in the business space. In addition to planning and development, the company now offers individualized career and life coaching, disability advocacy and community engagement consulting, and related services with a special emphasis on navigating life changes after stroke and spinal cord injury. A gifted student and early achiever, Dr. Handon completed high school in just two years and began college at the age of 16. Initially hoping to follow in her mother’s footsteps into a career in nursing, she enrolled at Capital University but faced systemic challenges as a minority student. Despite her impressive GPA, she was discouraged from pursuing nursing and instead pivoted to social work, earning a Bachelor of Arts and becoming a licensed social worker in the state of Ohio. She continued her education as an established professional, earning a Master of Science in administration and public policy at Central Michigan University. In 2010, she completed a Doctor of Philosophy in public policy and administration at Walden University. Dr. Handon began her social work career in 1979 as a child welfare casework supervisor for Franklin County Children’s Services, initiating 26 years of tenure with the department. In 2005, she was named bureau chief of the State of Ohio Office of Families and Children, a position in which she would remain for the next four years. From 2009 to 2014, she served as the lead consultant for the National Resource Center for Adoption’s regions IV and X, building on her decades of expertise in family and child services. In 2015, Dr. Handon was appointed the State of Ohio’s director of consumer advocacy, a role she held until 2020. In addition to this position, she spent eight years
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