Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization focused on rehabilitation research, disability inclusion, and employment opportunities for people with neurological and other disabilities.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Kessler Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization dedicated to rehabilitation research and to improving the lives of people with disabilities. Established in 1985, it developed from the work and institutional legacy of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, which Henry H. Kessler, MD, founded in 1949. The Institute was created to improve medical outcomes and quality of life for people with physical disabilities, including veterans and civilians affected by brain and spinal injuries. The Foundation later became a distinct organization centered on research, education, grantmaking, and disability employment initiatives. The Foundation's research agenda addresses the consequences of neurological and musculoskeletal conditions and injuries. Its work covers cognition, mobility, motor control, gait, neuropsychology, neuroscience, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, rehabilitation engineering, outcomes assessment, and long-term participation in community and working life. The organization's stated purpose is not limited to treating impairment: it also examines whether rehabilitation enables people to function more independently, return to work, advance in careers, and participate more fully in society. Research activities have included investigations into memory rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis, the cognitive and physiological effects of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders, and technologies intended to support mobility. Robotic exoskeletons, virtual-reality applications, gait analysis, and related rehabilitation-engineering tools have been among the areas associated with its work. The Foundation has also studied traumatic brain injury and behavioral health, including issues affecting military personnel and veterans. In 2022, it added a Center for Autism Research, broadening its institutional scope to include autism-related research and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic children. Kessler Foundation also operates as a grantmaker. Its employment-focused grants support nonprofit organizations developing job opportunities, work-readiness programs, career advancement pathways, and inclusive workplaces for people with disabilities. Programs have included Community Employment Grants in New Jersey, which support pilot projects and practical solutions intended to improve employment outcomes for state residents with disabilities. Other supported initiatives have included training in food service and hospitality, hydroponic greenhouse work, and programs for young adults with special needs. The Foundation's historical relationship with the Kessler Institute changed in 2003, when the Institute was sold to Select Medical Corporation. In 2007, Kessler Foundation merged with the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation and Research and Education Corporation, consolidating its research and education functions. The Foundation now presents itself primarily as an independent nonprofit research and grantmaking institution rather than as a hospital operator. Its brand is associated with evidence-based rehabilitation science, translational research, disability employment, and practical efforts to increase independence and inclusion. Publicly available reference material describes a staff of almost 200 people working across research disciplines, although the exact current headcount may change over time.
History
Kessler Foundation's institutional history is rooted in the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, founded in 1949 by Henry H. Kessler, MD. The Institute emerged in the post-World War II period, when rehabilitation services were urgently needed by disabled veterans and civilians living with physical disabilities. Kessler's experience as a physician and as a United States Navy captain in the Pacific theater informed an approach that combined medical rehabilitation with practical attention to independence, work, and quality of life. From its beginning, the Kessler tradition treated vocational participation as an important rehabilitation outcome. In a 1956 discussion, Henry Kessler emphasized that vocational education should be matched to an individual's interests, abilities, previous work experience, and capacity to manage the demands of different occupations. This perspective connected clinical recovery with education, employment, and social participation rather than viewing rehabilitation solely as a medical process. Kessler Foundation was established in 1985 as a nonprofit organization associated with the broader Kessler rehabilitation and research enterprise. Its role developed around research, education, and programs aimed at improving function and participation for people with disabilities. The Foundation's research areas came to include neuropsychology, neuroscience, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, rehabilitation engineering, gait analysis, motor control, and outcomes assessment. These fields allow the organization to study both impairment and the practical consequences of disability, including cognition, mobility, independent living, and employment. A major institutional change occurred in August 2003, when the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation was sold to Select Medical Corporation. The transaction separated the hospital operator from the Foundation's nonprofit research and grantmaking identity. In 2007, Kessler Foundation merged with the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation and Research and Education Corporation, bringing related research and educational functions together under the Foundation's structure. The Foundation continued to combine laboratory and clinical research with external grantmaking. In 2008 it co-sponsored an international conference on behavioral health and traumatic brain injury, with attention to injuries experienced by soldiers serving in the Iraq War. Its employment grants supported nonprofit projects intended to expand work opportunities for people with developmental, neurological, and other disabilities. Examples included the Arthur & Friends project, which received support in 2008 and 2009 for training developmentally disabled workers in hydroponic greenhouse production. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, the Foundation's grantmaking expanded across employment inclusion and work-readiness initiatives. It supported Community Employment projects in New Jersey, programs for young adults with special needs, and hospitality training. It also partnered with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation on Signature Employment Grants for the Hospitality Pathways program in 2022 and 2023. By 2022, the Foundation's scientific work included studies of neurological and musculoskeletal conditions, robotic exoskeletons, virtual reality, memory rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic children. The addition of a Center for Autism Research that year broadened its research profile. Across these developments, the Foundation's continuing identity has been that of a nonprofit rehabilitation-science organization seeking measurable improvements in cognition, mobility, long-term outcomes, employment, and inclusion for people affected by brain, spinal-cord, and related conditions.
- 2022
Center for Autism Research is added
[1]The Foundation adds a Center for Autism Research to its organizational and scientific portfolio.
- 2008
Behavioral health and traumatic brain injury conference
[1]The Foundation co-sponsors an international conference addressing behavioral health and traumatic brain injury, including injuries affecting Iraq War soldiers.
- 2007
Merger with Kessler Medical Rehabilitation and Research and Education Corporation
[1]Kessler Foundation merges with the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation and Research and Education Corporation.
- 2003
Kessler Institute is sold to Select Medical
[1]The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation is sold to Select Medical Corporation, distinguishing the hospital business from the Foundation's nonprofit research and grantmaking role.
- 1985
Kessler Foundation is established
[1]The nonprofit Foundation is established as part of the Kessler rehabilitation and research tradition.
- 1956
Vocational rehabilitation principles are articulated
[1]Henry Kessler describes the importance of matching vocational education with a person's interests, abilities, work history, and tolerance for occupational demands.
- 1949
Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation is founded
[1]Henry H. Kessler, MD, establishes the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation to improve medical outcomes and quality of life for people with physical disabilities.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit rehabilitation-research and disability-inclusion institution connecting clinical science, assistive technology, outcomes research, and employment programs for people with neurological and other disabilities.
Research · 1985
Rehabilitation research programs
Kessler Foundation conducts research into rehabilitation outcomes for people with neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Its fields include neuropsychology, neuroscience, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, gait, motor control, outcomes assessment, and rehabilitation engineering. The work is intended to improve cognition, mobility, independence, participation, and employment rather than focusing only on impairment-level measures.
Assistive technology research
Rehabilitation technology research
The Foundation studies technologies that may improve mobility and participation for people with disabilities. Areas described in reference material include robotic exoskeletons, virtual reality, gait analysis, and related tools for evaluating or supporting movement. These are research activities and technology investigations rather than a conventional commercial product line.
Grantmaking
Community Employment Grant program
The Community Employment Grant program supports nonprofit projects, pilot initiatives, and creative solutions designed to improve employment and career advancement for New Jersey residents with disabilities. Grants are described as one-year awards generally ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, with funding directed toward practical employment inclusion rather than general-purpose charitable activity.
Grantmaking
Signature Employment Grants
Signature Employment Grants support larger or strategically significant employment initiatives for people with disabilities. In 2022 and 2023, the Foundation provided grants to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation for Hospitality Pathways, a work-readiness and hospitality-training initiative.
Research center · 2022
Center for Autism Research
Added in 2022, the Center for Autism Research extends the Foundation's work into autism-related research. Reference material connects the organization's research portfolio with questions concerning autistic children, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and broader issues of functioning and participation.
Education
Kessler Foundation Learning Center
The Kessler Foundation Learning Center is an educational channel associated with the Foundation. The available reference material identifies it as an external resource but does not provide enough detail to characterize its full curriculum, audience, or current program structure.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023Hospitality Pathways grant renewal
United States
The Foundation provided a second Signature Employment Grant to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation for Hospitality Pathways.
Outcome. The renewal continued support for work-readiness training for people with disabilities; no consolidated outcome data is supplied by the reference.
- 2022Hospitality Pathways employment training
United States
Kessler Foundation awarded a Signature Employment Grant to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation to strengthen work-readiness training for people with disabilities through Hospitality Pathways.
Outcome. The grant supported disability-inclusive hospitality training; the cited material does not report a final outcome measure.
- 2021Workplace inclusion grantmaking
United States · New Jersey
Kessler Foundation directed approximately $2 million toward initiatives promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace, including approximately $1 million through its Community Employment grants program.
Outcome. The funding supported nonprofit employment and inclusion initiatives; the available reference does not provide a consolidated outcome evaluation.
- 2021Woodbridge cafe employment training
New Jersey
The Foundation funded a cafe in Woodbridge, New Jersey, designed to train young adults with special needs in food-service work.
Outcome. The initiative created a practical food-service training setting; a quantified employment outcome is not provided in the reference material.
Brand decisions
2022
Expansion into autism researchStrategyBackground
The Foundation's established research portfolio covered neurological disability, cognition, mobility, and participation, while autism-related research needs were also highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Action taken
The organization added a Center for Autism Research.
Aftermath
The move broadened the Foundation's research scope to include autism and related participation and developmental questions.
2007
Merger with Kessler Medical Rehabilitation and Research and Education CorporationM&ABackground
The Foundation sought to consolidate related rehabilitation research, medical research, and education functions.
Action taken
Kessler Foundation merged with the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation and Research and Education Corporation.
Aftermath
The merger strengthened the Foundation's integrated research and education structure.
2003
Sale of Kessler Institute for RehabilitationM&ABackground
The Kessler rehabilitation system included a hospital operation as well as nonprofit research and education activities.
Action taken
Kessler Foundation sold the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation to Select Medical Corporation.
Aftermath
The transaction separated the hospital operator from the Foundation's continuing nonprofit research, education, and grantmaking identity.
Sources2 sources
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