How a Chevron Corporation employee’s family history drives her passion for brain injury research
For Erin McGregor the link was deeply personal.
McGregor, senior employee experience advisor for the Chevron Corporation, says her family’s background is key to her ongoing commitment to research in the field of brain injuries.
As the daughter of a special education instructor, the niece of a teacher of adults with disabilities, and the mother of a child with a rare brain disease, it felt like the right fit, she says.
As such, it came for someone to help guide her employer’s partnership with Mt. Diablo Adult Education School’s (MDAE)’s disability education programs, she found her name quickly rising to the top of a short list for MDAE’s On Track Advisory Board
The On Track Program is a part of the Mt. Diablo Adult Education’s (MDAE) Adults with Disabilities Program (AWD) for adults with acquired or traumatic brain injuries. The school also offers the Life Skills Program for adults with developmental disabilities, the Transition Options Program for adults with Autism who have completed high school and the Workplace Essential Skills Internship Program that offers hospitality internships to prepare students for careers with local businesses.
“You’re directly able to work with the participants, at the other ones, the people that benefit from our volunteering are usually at a distance. It’s a pleasure to go back year after year.”
Erin McGregor, Senior Employee Experience Advisor, Chevron Corporation; On Track Advisory Board Member
McGregor has served on the board since 2015.
“It was a good tie in with my personal experience,” she says.
Chevron has volunteered with On Track as a part of its volunteer initiative, Humankind, which accounted for 95,829 volunteer hours from Chevron employees and retirees in 2023, according to its website.
“It’s my favorite volunteering event out of all the ones I’ve done through Chevron,” McGregor says. “You’re directly able to work with the participants, at the other ones, the people that benefit from our volunteering are usually at a distance. It’s a pleasure to go back year after year.”
In April, Chevron hosted its most recent volunteer event as a part of National Volunteer Month; there, volunteers were able to have lunch and play games with students of the On Track Program.
“Because the students get to be so familiar with the volunteers, they’re able to make such an impact with them,” McGregor says.
In addition to volunteer hours, Chevron also offers its employees a donation match for those who wish to donate funds to the On Track program, and Chevron has helped the program pay for additional workbooks in the past, McGregor says.
McGregor, a member of a local rotary club and a past board member of the Concord Chamber of Commerce is a frequent community volunteer but always tries to bring her connections to On Track. By introducing friends and colleagues to the program, she says, they can witness its impact up close.
“When people volunteer they see how great the program is,” McGregor says.
For more information on Mt. Diablo Adult Education School’s Adult with Disabilities On Track Program visit https://mdae.mdusd.org/programs/awd
Written by Chris Woodard
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | Life Skills |
