Commissioner Lynda Collins

Appointed by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma.

In the beginning, Lynda Collins was a teenager facing cancer treatment and barriers to employment because of her disability.

With help from the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), she got career counseling, encouragement and her first job -- as a rehabilitation technician at the agency that provided her services.

Hiring Collins turned out to be a good decision as she worked her way up through the ranks to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) administrator, retiring after 33 years in 2005. Her previous DRS positions include field service coordinator, program manager, vocational rehabilitation counselor and vocational rehabilitation evaluator.

In Aug., Gov. Mary Fallin asked her to return to DRS as a member of the Commission for Rehabilitation Services.

Collins is the first woman and first Native American ever appointed to the three-person governing board for the agency. Her three-year term began in Aug.

She was elected commission vice chair at her first meeting on Sept. 12.

As a product of DRS, and she believe in this agency, the staff and what it what it stands for, what it does.

Collins, who lives in Mannford currently works as a certified case manager with Daysprings of Tulsa. She visits clients’ homes to provide mental health services two days each week.

Collins understands the needs of our clients and of our agency. Her life has been devoted to people with disabilities, and she will continue to make a difference in this state.

Collins, who is a native of Ada, earned a bachelor’s of science in psychology and sociology from East Central University and a master’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in vocational rehabilitation from Oklahoma State University.

She holds a national Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) license and is recognized by the state as a Certified Public Manager (CPM).

Collins has been recognized with many professional awards, including the DRS Vocational Rehabilitation Lifetime Achievement Award, National Rehabilitation Association Southwest Region’s Voyle C. Scurlock Award and Oklahoma Rehabilitation Association Hubert E. Byrd Award. She was twice named DRS Vocational Rehabilitation Manager of the Year.

Contact Information:

The Honorable
Lynda Collins
3535 N.W. 58th Stree, Suite 500
Oklahoma City, OK 73112

405.951.3471 Office