About Us
Founder and CEO, Rachel Knight
Rachel is a Maine native and has an undergraduate degree from UMaine Orono in International Studies. In 1986, after graduating from UMO she moved to Portland where she has stayed ever since. In her late 20s, she started horseback riding and volunteering with a therapeutic horseback riding program for people with disabilities. From that experience, she set on a career course in special education.
In 1996, she received her master’s from the University of Southern Maine and taught content area subjects (History and English) to students with disabilities and logged many hours helping students explore options for post-secondary opportunities, a.k.a Transition Planning. It is from this experience that the idea of Destination Occupation was born. Teachers spend countless hours arranging visits to local businesses, colleges, and other activities. The purpose is to create opportunities to explore careers or post-secondary options for students, to open their horizons. But the reality is, there are way more opportunities and options for students than can be covered from high school field trips. So the idea of creating a library of videos for students to “visit” a variety of businesses and educational programs from their high school felt like a deal changer, a “no brainer,” especially in a state as geographically challenged as Maine.
Rachel believes that education, whether it is learning your three R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) or learning about career options, is critical to independence. We want our students to go out into the world with a good plan, with good skills and a good chance to succeed. Education is a means to independence, self-reliance, self-worth.
This applies to adults who are looking for a career change or who have been left out of the workforce for a number of reasons. Rachel loves Maine and wants it to continue to be the “way life should be” for those who choose to live and work here, because there are opportunities and options. You just have to know about them.
Dick Dyer, born in Belfast, Maine, graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 1972 with degrees in Speech, Theater and Art. He taught communications in both public and private high school settings and began his career in public relations with a position at the Maine Department of Conservation, followed by positions at the Department of Human Services and the Maine Arts Commission.
In 1990, Dick received his national accreditation, APR, in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America. In 1991, he was recruited to work for the national public relations and management consulting firm, Jackson Jackson & Wagner, and in 1993, he established Dyer Associates. He has also held posts as Director of Marketing, Development and Production at the Waterville Opera House, Director of Marketing for Waterville Creates!, and Director of Marketing & Promotions for Mix Maine Media.
Dick Dyer, Co-Founder, APR
Sonic Pictures
Mike Boucher of Sonic Pictures
With over 20 years of Emmy award-winning experience in film and television, Michael Boucher launched Sonic Pictures in 2005. Throughout his career, Mike has been director of photography for numerous commercials, television programs, independent films, and documentaries. His work has appeared on: National Geographic Channel, OWN Network, Discovery Channel, ABC, PBS, TBS, BBC, NESN, QVC, Outside Television, The Food Network.
Corporate credits include: AAA of Northern New England, American Red Cross, Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Bowdoin College, Choice Literacy, Fairchild Semiconductor, L.L. Bean, Maine Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Mitchell Institute, Portland Convention & Visitors Bureau, Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, Sabre Yachts, Stenhouse Publishers, UNUM, Wright Express and many others.
Sonic Pictures is a full service video production company offering our clients a complete range of cutting edge HD video production and post-production services. We work in partnership with a pool of talented producers and film technicians, enabling us to easily manage projects of any size or budget. From pre-production concept to broadcast or Internet streaming, Sonic Pictures provides award-winning video production services for all our corporate and broadcast clients.
Vision Design Creative Services
Jen Libby, Owner
Vision Design Creative Services is a creative design studio based in Winslow, Maine with more than 20 years of marketing and design experience. They specialize in graphic design (both digital and print) and responsive website design and development. Their belief is that great design begins with a good relationship and owner Jen Libby is always focused on the most effective strategies to support the next step in her clients’ development.
Proficient in HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript, Jen’s working knowledge of Web coding along with her passion for designing detailed, creative, and modern websites and designs makes her an invaluable part of the Destination Occupation team. Her knowledge of Web development ensures that the designs she creates consider not only how the design will be coded, but also how visitors will interact with the site. She works hard to stay up to date on the latest trends and technology, while keeping an open and amenable attitude so that she may continually learn more about businesses, concepts, applications, and futuristic marketing endeavors.
To see some of their work visit https://visiondesigncs.com/.