About Us
Our Mission
Cleveland Learning Connection is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation with the mission of empowering people with workplace challenges by providing a rich training experience in which to learn modern office technology skills while also learning any needed assistive technology. In doing so, we also strive to provide Ohio's employers with a better qualified and more diverse workforce.
Who We Are
We are a team of teachers who will work with you in a technology-rich environment to help you gain new workplace skills including Microsoft 365 (Word, Outlook, and Excel). We have a minimum of ten and a maximum of 34 years of experience providing training services to consumers from
OOD, BWC, DOL, and VA.
Our Services
We currently offer Work Adjustment, Short Term Computer Skills Training, and Situational Assessment services. Our programs can be completed online, at our location in Cleveland's Asia-town, or as a hybrid. We are a 501 C3 non-profit organization and we have plans to offer much more to help our community. Leave a message below to stay informed about our new programs when they become available.
About Our Staff
Van Bray
Christina Higgins
Christina Higgins
Van holds undergraduate degrees in Engineering and Education, an M.Ed. in Adult Learning and Development, and is a State of Ohio certified educator. Van's 35 year history of helping people with disabilities includes working with Chapter 31 veterans with service-connected disabilities and serving as Coordinator of E-learning and Assistive Technology at Case Western Reserve University.
Christina Higgins
Christina Higgins
Christina Higgins
Christina's teaching career spans some of Greater Cleveland's most meaningful and overlooked classrooms. It began, after she graduated from The University of Wisconsin, when she moved to a small-town Illinois, where she taught high school writing, speech, and debate — and a love of finding the right words has followed her ever since. Mak
Christina's teaching career spans some of Greater Cleveland's most meaningful and overlooked classrooms. It began, after she graduated from The University of Wisconsin, when she moved to a small-town Illinois, where she taught high school writing, speech, and debate — and a love of finding the right words has followed her ever since. Making good use of her minor in criminology, she launched a volunteer literacy and humanities program for incarcerated adults at the Cuyahoga County Jail and the Women's Northeast Pre-Release Center, an early signal of where her heart was headed. She went on to teach fourth and fifth grade, lead a school-wide Pre-K through 8 reading program, coach Power of the Pen, and teach vocational academics at Cleveland Job Corps before spending 13 formative years at Townsend Learning Center, where she discovered firsthand the extraordinary resilience of injured workers. As a licensed Phono-Graphix reading instructor, she now coordinates curriculum, leads student orientations, and ensures that every person who walks through CLC's doors feels genuinely welcomed and supported. For adults rebuilding their lives after injury or illness, Christina believes work adjustment isn't just job training — it's a runway to make sure every student takes off.
And for the record, she's the proud Nebraskan trainer of a two-time Thursday Thirsty Turtle champion.
Brian Handke
Lindsey Mulac
Lindsey Mulac
Brian is a State of Ohio certified educator and graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Operations Management and Purchasing. Throughout his career, he has worked with diverse populations, including veterans, students, and individuals with disabilities, helping people overcome barriers and access new
Brian is a State of Ohio certified educator and graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Operations Management and Purchasing. Throughout his career, he has worked with diverse populations, including veterans, students, and individuals with disabilities, helping people overcome barriers and access new opportunities through education, advocacy, and storytelling.
His experience includes aiding veterans in sharing their stories, supporting injured workers through upskilling and return-to-work initiatives, and helping hundreds of students improve their SAT and ACT scores, expanding their pathways to higher education. Brian brings a unique combination of operational expertise, educational leadership, and a strong commitment to advancing opportunity and inclusion for individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.
Lindsey Mulac
Lindsey Mulac
Lindsey Mulac
Lindsey brings extensive leadership, organizational, and instructional experience to her work with students. As a former manager in the retail sector, she developed strong skills in team leadership, training, customer service, and operations management. Her proficiency in Microsoft Office and administrative systems supports effective prog
Lindsey brings extensive leadership, organizational, and instructional experience to her work with students. As a former manager in the retail sector, she developed strong skills in team leadership, training, customer service, and operations management. Her proficiency in Microsoft Office and administrative systems supports effective program delivery and student engagement.
As both an educator and a mother, Lindsey understands the importance of creating supportive learning environments that foster confidence, growth, and achievement. She is dedicated to helping students develop practical skills, overcome challenges, and reach their academic potential and personal goals.
A Little More About Us
Cleveland Learning Connection (CLC) has deep roots in this community. Its management team bonded and developed its skills at a prominent, for-profit, learning center founded in 1969 that served students across the region for 57 years. As the organization grew, the for-profit model eventually gave way to a new vision as a nonprofit. In 2022, the management team created a nonprofit called Cleveland Learning Connection, reaffirming a commitment to accessible, community-centered education and workforce preparedness.
This transition was guided by the goal of increasing service accessibility, strengthening community impact, and ensuring that individuals with disabling workplace injuries, such as spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and other functional limitations, could receive high-quality vocational rehabilitation and workforce preparedness regardless of financial circumstance. This is a niche program due to its trauma-informed, individually tailored programming meeting students where they are, work preparedness, and offering a renewed sense of purpose after suffering a work injury.
More about our services
Situational Assessment
Situational Assessment
Situational Assessment
Structured evaluation and hands-on observation that helps identify each participant's transferable skills, work behaviors, and vocational strengths following their injury. This process allows us to better understand individual capabilities and design a personalized training plan that aligns with realistic employment goals.
Work Adjustment
Situational Assessment
Situational Assessment
A structured program that focuses not only on computer skills, but also on work behaviors, job performance and social skills needed to facilitate successful return to work. Offered at different levels of participation.
Short Term Training
Short Term Training
Short Term Training
Provides a remote individualized training program tailored to each learner’s goals. A major strength of STT allows learners to complete a customized program from home while building essential work-from-home skills. STT also supports students preparing to begin or return to college by strengthening their confidence with online platforms,
Provides a remote individualized training program tailored to each learner’s goals. A major strength of STT allows learners to complete a customized program from home while building essential work-from-home skills. STT also supports students preparing to begin or return to college by strengthening their confidence with online platforms, classroom technology, assignment management, and the study habits needed to succeed in both virtual and live college settings.
Remedial Training
Short Term Training
Short Term Training
Individualized curriculum, based on need, to enhance skills that are crucial to learning and workplace applications. Most Remedial Training services are for high school equivalency completion-GED or HiSET, and math courses required for higher education.
Why We're Here
A serious injury doesn't just affect someone's ability to work—it can change every part of life. The loss of a job often means the loss of confidence, routine, financial security, and a sense of purpose. Many people find themselves wondering, "Where do I go from here?"
At the same time, the workplace has changed. Even entry-level jobs often require computer skills, digital communication, and the confidence to learn new technology. For someone rebuilding after an injury or other employment setback, those expectations can feel overwhelming.
Case managers and vocational rehabilitation professionals work tirelessly to support the people they serve, but growing caseloads often leave little time for the individualized teaching and hands-on skill development that lasting success requires.
That's where Cleveland Learning Connection makes a difference.
We provide personalized vocational rehabilitation, workplace readiness training, computer and digital skills instruction, and real-world work experiences that help adults regain confidence, develop marketable skills, and move toward meaningful employment, independence, purpose, and a new horizon they can believe in.
It's about helping people, all people
Non-Discrimination Policy
Cleveland Learning Connection welcomes all people to work and learn at our center. We will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, the appointment to and termination from its Board of Directors, hiring and firing of staff or contractors and vendors, selection of volunteers, and providing of services.
Contact Us
Give us a call!
Voice: 216-245-2447
Fax: 888-631-1714
Cleveland Learning Connection
3631 Perkins Avenue 3A2, Cleveland, Ohio 44114-4705