Supporting Board Members

Bev Kroeger

Family member, Owner of Communicating on Purpose
Social Media/Family Committee Chair
Bev is passionate about making life better for those in care, their family members, and the staff who care for them. Her desire stems from her personal experience alongside her mother on her dementia journey. As a result, she used a communication tool she developed that became her mom's voice, informed care partners, and provided peace of mind for her and her family. She is thankful for the opportunity to serve on the Ohio Person-Centered Care Coalition to help others.

Charles de Vilmorin

Charles de Vilmorin is the CEO and Co-founder of Linked Senior, Inc, a resident engagement platform for senior living based in Washington, DC.
He believes Old People Are Cool and has trust in #ActivitiesStrong

He serves on the board of:
-The Validation Training Institute: The Validation Method is a proven method of communication developed by Naomi Feil that helps improve the connection between caregivers and older adults experiencing dementia. He holds a Master's Degree in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, and a Master's Degree in International Management from Dauphine University, Paris.

David Zack

David has served the senior housing profession for over 15 years and in various settings including life plan communities, assisted living communities and skilled nursing centers. His strengths include community operations, strategic planning, regulatory compliance and financial management. During his career, he has seen significant improvement in person centered care and services,and is inspired to continue the journey to benefit older adults.

Teresa Youngstrom

Teresa is an RN, Dementia Specialist, and a PAC Certified Independent Trainer under Teepa Snow. She is the owner of A Better Approach to Memory Care and has extensive experience as a Speaker, Staff Trainer, Family Counselor, and CE Provider in addition to working as a Marketer, and Account Executive. Her reputation as a competent care manager is another reason why she is called upon as a trusted colleague and consultant.

Susan Strutner

CEO, LNHA, CDAL, CADDCT
St. Joseph Senior Living

Samuel McCoy, Sr. Vice President Elder Rights

Matt Volansky PT, DPT, Ph.D., MBA, FAMIA

Associate Professor | Program Director
Augustana University
Department of Physical Therapy

Maria Sady, ADC, Memory Care Director

Stephanie DeWees HSE, LNHA, LPN

Business Owner, Squared Business Solutions
sdewees@squaredbusinesssolutions.com
Quality & Regulatory Specialist ~ LeadingAge Ohio

Julie Bizzarri, LNHA, OnShift Senior Solutions Consultant

Tanya Gustafson

Tanya Gustafson, LISW has been a hospice social worker for almost 5 years. She received her Master of Social Work from Eastern Michigan University in 2014 and has been licensed in Ohio since 2016. Tanya also received her Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Eastern Michigan with a concentration in Dementia. Her passion is helping her patients and families during the last days and providing support throughout their time on hospice.

Gregg Gorzelle

Associate Director of Research for the Hearthstone Institute, has spent the past 20 years as a researcher and professional in the field of applied gerontology. His expertise is in the area of nonpharmacological psychosocial interventions for persons with dementia. dementia programming, caregiver education, project management, adaptive technology, mobile app design, and course creation. As a Principal Investigator, Gregg has been awarded multiple SBIR grants from the National Institutes of Health (IC: National Institute on Aging). He also serves as a trainer for the Hearthstone Institute, delivering training on dementia care to professionals in the field. In addition to these duties, he was also the founding director of a program dedicated to providing seniors with the most cutting-edge assistive technology possible. Gregg is an author of multiple journal articles, a textbook chapter on assessment in dementia, and a manual on Montessori-based dementia programming. Another of Gregg’s research interests is Mindfulness, in which he holds a certificate from the University of New Hampshire.

Amy E. Elliot

Amy E. Elliot, Ph.D., is a long-term care policy and evaluation consultant. Prior to her work as a consultant, Amy served as the Director of Research and Evaluation for Pioneer Network, a national leader in the culture change movement. She currently works with advocates and providers to evaluate and illustrate the positive outcomes of culture change and person-centered care at local, state, and national levels.

Eric Kennerk, MBA

Business Development Manager
Premier Therapy

Eric has over 25 years of experience in Business Development and Sales, including 17 years in Long Term Care / Healthcare. He is also a Professional Educator, in his 6th year as an Adjunct Professor for the College of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. In addition to his Collegiate teaching career, he has developed and presented numerous programs to lay and healthcare specific groups on subjects including interpersonal communication, managing workplace conflict, and stress management. Eric serves as a board member for several state and local organizations. Eric received his undergraduate degree in Communications from Ohio University, and his MBA from Grand Canyon University.

Genevieve Gipson RN MEd RNC Director

National Network of Career Nursing Assistants
Career Nurse Assistants Program, Inc.

3577 Easton Rd.
Norton, OH 44203
330-825-9342 ph 330-319-7737 fax cnajeni@aol.com
Web - www.cna-network.org
Facebook - www.facebook.com/groups/118681892980/#

Rachel Abshear

I’m Rachel Abshear, a certified activity consultant, Mendability (sensory enrichment coach), and laughter leader. My experience includes working 20+ years in a variety of care settings for older adults, teaching the activity director course at Sinclair, and writing for an activity-related magazine. My background includes training, leadership, writing, and speaking. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on supporting resident and family choice, teamwork, and collaboration. I’m currently the president and owner of Ohio CEUs, a continuing education company primarily for healthcare professionals. Being passionate about serving my community, I serve as a member-at-large on the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association Board of Directors, a parent representative to the Montgomery County Family and Children First Council, and a member of the Dayton Children’s Parent and Family Advisory Committee.

Darren Horrigan RN, BSN, MBA

My experience includes a long history of working with Home Health Care organizations (including Nursing Resources in Toledo, Home Care by BlackStone in Cincinnati and then Almost Family in Cincinnati) as a clinician, marketing growth specialist and organizational management for 20 years. I also have extensive experience in both the BPCI (Access Innovations in Columbus) and BPCI-Advanced (Archway Health in Boston) programs as a consultant over the years. With my combination of clinical nursing and business management background, I assisted with organizational structure development and market expansion for multiple organizations. These businesses included SNF’s, HHA’s, Cardiac and Ortho groups, and also hospitals. During these times I often conducted clinical and financial data analysis, clinician BPCI program training, organization BPCI performance presentations, patient contact and care coordination activities, preferred network builds, a variety of bundled payment workflow designs, software implementation, etc. I currently work with Dedicated Senior Medical Centers in Cincinnati, a national Primary Care Physician office branch, as a Membership Growth Consultant. Dedicated is focused on caring for the senior population patients that are 55 years or older on Medicare or on Medicare/Medicaid.