Untitled Document

Comments from Alumni



Andy Simpson

Organization: Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 (TIU 11), Community Education Services Department

Job Title: Training Specialist

Duties : I work on the Pennsylvania Distance Learning Project, the South Central Professional Development Center, and the Pennsylvania Family Literacy Training Project. All are funded through the Bureau of ABLE (Adult Basic Literacy Education).

“The ACE program has empowered me to take charge of my personal growth and professional development within the field of adult and community education. It was a pleasure to learn from, and with, the best and brightest from the field. The experiences with students and faculty were utterly enjoyable and fantastic!”

Eric Chverchko

Organization: KCRS, Inc.

Job Title: Manager of Training

Duties:     As Manager of Training for KCRS, Inc., I coordinate the design, development and delivery of training programs to large corporate vendors of our integrated Productivity Improvement Health Management Systems (PIHMS) product.

"As a young person in the field, ACE provided me the ability to win the trust of working professionals with my solid foundation and understanding of the educational process. On a daily basis I work with corporations to ease their transition on new product roll-outs by designing, developing and delivering training to various audiences on a product that is specifically tailored to their needs while incorporating industry best practices."

Jolene Formaini, RN, MA, CT

Organization: VNA Hospice, Western Pennsylvania ( Butler, PA)

Job Title: Certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying, & Bereavement - Bereavement Coordinator and Grief Educator

Duties: I coordinate bereavement services for 500 hospice families a year and facilitate community grief education/support programs for 3 counties. I also hold a current part-time position as the owner of Healing Hearts Grief Education & Support Services. I provide private pay grief support/counseling for individuals and facilitate an educational program for parish bereavement ministries entitled “…For They Shall Be Comforted”.

" I initially struggled with my choice of the ACE program rather than an advanced nursing degree program. I soon realized that, through ACE, I could “re-create” myself within the field of nursing….and that has made all the difference. Thanks Gary and Trenton!"

Laura DiMuzio-Jurich

Organization: Harbor Point Housing, Inc.

Job Title: Director

Duties: I supervise two supportive housing programs that assists people with mental illness in finding housing in the community and provides case management and support services.

"The program gave me the skills necessary to pursue other opportunities within the realm of my current position to develop a continuing education workshop for human and social service professionals. Through my internship I developed a life skills preparation program for people with mental illness and currently teach those workshops. "

Patricia L. Kirkpatrick

Organizaton: Armstrong County, Pennsylvania

Job Title: Chairman, Board of Commissioners

Duties: I am currently serving my first four year term as a Commissioner for the County of Armstrong.

The ACE program played a pivotal role in both my personal and professional development at a critical time in my life. At the age of 37 I decided a career change was appropriate and that I would need to expand my skills and abilities to reenter the job market. Little did I know then that my career path would lead me to be the first woman elected as a Commissioner in the 204 year old history of Armstrong County.

The ACE program has helped me to better understand critical issues regarding the people who work and live in the communities I serve. I believe I am well equipped to serve the residents of my county because the ACE program helped to broaden my knowledge base.

Susan Stumpp

Organization: Columbus State Community College in Columbus, OH

Job Title: Director of Grants

Duties: She assists faculty and staff in developing proposals and managing funded awards that benefit teaching and learning.

"I bring a program planning approach to my work. I think in terms of goals, desired outcomes, and how to get there. It works in developing grant proposals as well as many other projects. Working with lifelong learners in any setting is interesting and challenging - I value all that I understand because of the ACE program."

Nancy J. Lake

Organizaton: Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, PA

Job Title: Clinical Coordinator of the School of Radiologic Technology

Duties: Correlates clinical education with didactic education in a hospital-based two year radiologic technology program. Executes a competency-based clinical education system while conducting routine assesment of the program. Facilitates didactic learning in areas such as pathology, medical ethics, radiographic procedures and positioning. Supervises students' clinical experiences and evaluate students' clinical progress. As the clinical coordinator, I am responsible for the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of the program's entire clinical component.

"The ACE Program provided me with the skill and knowledge needed to enhance and improve my performance in my present position. In addition, this continuance of my education enabled me to foster through example "life long learning" in all the students I have touched." Thank you Drs. Dean, Ferro, and Ritchey!

Tom Dyniec

Organizaton: ARIN Intermediate Unit
Armstrong and Indiana Counties

Job Title: ARIN Adult Programs Assistant Coordinator

Duties: At ARIN, the Adult Education and Family Literacy programs are called Adult Programs. The office for these programs is located at the ARIN Center for Education here in Indiana. My responsibilities include managing the building, coordinating programs, writing the grants, managing the budgets and all other aspects of coordinating certain programs.

"I first started out as a History teacher in the business, but was drawn to Adult Education. Enrolling in ACE and meeting Gary Dean reinforced my love of Adult Education. ACE and Drs. Dean and Ritchey have taught both quality theory and practice that has made me a better teacher and coordinator, and hopefully a better person."

Kathleen Cowles Paul

Organizaton: PA Center for Environmental Education (PCEE)

Job Title: Director

Duties: My job is to develop the PCEE as a resource to help all Pennsylvanians find whatever environmental information or resources they need for their personal or professional lives. Our website (www.pcee.org) receives over 3 million hits/year and provides users with information about environmental facilities, events, resources and educational materials relevant to many professions.

"I had been "doing" community education for years before Gary Dean helped me give it a name! ACE gave me new tools and insights to improve my delivery of community education as well as exposure to research and exciting
innovations in the field. Thanks for a great career!"

Ilene Greenstone

Organizaton: Jewish Community Center

Job Title: Division Director, Early Childhood Development Center

Duties: I am the Division Director of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Early Childhood Development Program, which serves 200 children as young as 6 weeks old. In this capacity, I am responsible for the overall operation of Family Place, childcare, preschool and Kindergarten programs, as well as staff development and parental support.

"Adult and Community Education ? Early Childhood Education, educational backgrounds that appear to be different, but really aren’t. As the director of an early childhood program with 45 staff, working with adults is as important as working with children. Who adults are, how they think and learn and their ways of professionally interacting strongly impact their colleagues and their children. My ACE studies enhanced my ability to effectively influence teachers."

James Kinneer

Organizaton: Indiana Regional Medical Center, Indiana, PA

Job Title: Director, People & Organizational Development

Duties: I am responsible for leading a number of organizational development initiatives that contribute to a culture of performance excellence. This includes orientation, leadership development, teambuilding, and customized training programs.

" I was attracted to the ACE program because I aspired to be a training
and development professional. The ACE experience fueled my enthusiasm
and passion for adult learning. During the process, I discovered a great deal about myself as a lifelong learner and today I still use what I gained from the ACE program on daily basis, supporting the education and training needs of a community medical center. I am fortunate to be doing my dream work and it is due in a large part to the ACE program."

Comments from Alumni
	Andy Simpson Organization: Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 (TIU 11), Community Education Services Department Job Title: Training Specialist Duties : I work on the Pennsylvania Distance Learning Project, the South Central Professional Development Center, and the Pennsylvania Family Literacy Training Project. All are funded through the Bureau of ABLE (Adult Basic Literacy Education). “The ACE program has empowered me to take charge of my personal growth and professional development within the field of adult and community education. It was a pleasure to learn from, and with, the best and brightest from the field. The experiences with students and faculty were utterly enjoyable and fantastic!”
	Eric Chverchko Organization: KCRS, Inc. Job Title: Manager of Training Duties: As Manager of Training for KCRS, Inc., I coordinate the design, development and delivery of training programs to large corporate vendors of our integrated Productivity Improvement Health Management Systems (PIHMS) product. "As a young person in the field, ACE provided me the ability to win the trust of working professionals with my solid foundation and understanding of the educational process. On a daily basis I work with corporations to ease their transition on new product roll-outs by designing, developing and delivering training to various audiences on a product that is specifically tailored to their needs while incorporating industry best practices."
	Jolene Formaini, RN, MA, CT Organization: VNA Hospice, Western Pennsylvania ( Butler, PA) Job Title: Certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying, & Bereavement - Bereavement Coordinator and Grief Educator Duties: I coordinate bereavement services for 500 hospice families a year and facilitate community grief education/support programs for 3 counties. I also hold a current part-time position as the owner of Healing Hearts Grief Education & Support Services. I provide private pay grief support/counseling for individuals and facilitate an educational program for parish bereavement ministries entitled “…For They Shall Be Comforted”. " I initially struggled with my choice of the ACE program rather than an advanced nursing degree program. I soon realized that, through ACE, I could “re-create” myself within the field of nursing….and that has made all the difference. Thanks Gary and Trenton!"
	Laura DiMuzio-Jurich Organization: Harbor Point Housing, Inc. Job Title: Director Duties: I supervise two supportive housing programs that assists people with mental illness in finding housing in the community and provides case management and support services. "The program gave me the skills necessary to pursue other opportunities within the realm of my current position to develop a continuing education workshop for human and social service professionals. Through my internship I developed a life skills preparation program for people with mental illness and currently teach those workshops. "
	Patricia L. Kirkpatrick Organizaton: Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Job Title: Chairman, Board of Commissioners Duties: I am currently serving my first four year term as a Commissioner for the County of Armstrong. The ACE program played a pivotal role in both my personal and professional development at a critical time in my life. At the age of 37 I decided a career change was appropriate and that I would need to expand my skills and abilities to reenter the job market. Little did I know then that my career path would lead me to be the first woman elected as a Commissioner in the 204 year old history of Armstrong County. The ACE program has helped me to better understand critical issues regarding the people who work and live in the communities I serve. I believe I am well equipped to serve the residents of my county because the ACE program helped to broaden my knowledge base.
	Susan Stumpp Organization: Columbus State Community College in Columbus, OH Job Title: Director of Grants Duties: She assists faculty and staff in developing proposals and managing funded awards that benefit teaching and learning. "I bring a program planning approach to my work. I think in terms of goals, desired outcomes, and how to get there. It works in developing grant proposals as well as many other projects. Working with lifelong learners in any setting is interesting and challenging - I value all that I understand because of the ACE program."
	Nancy J. Lake Organizaton: Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, PA Job Title: Clinical Coordinator of the School of Radiologic Technology Duties: Correlates clinical education with didactic education in a hospital-based two year radiologic technology program. Executes a competency-based clinical education system while conducting routine assesment of the program. Facilitates didactic learning in areas such as pathology, medical ethics, radiographic procedures and positioning. Supervises students' clinical experiences and evaluate students' clinical progress. As the clinical coordinator, I am responsible for the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of the program's entire clinical component. "The ACE Program provided me with the skill and knowledge needed to enhance and improve my performance in my present position. In addition, this continuance of my education enabled me to foster through example "life long learning" in all the students I have touched." Thank you Drs. Dean, Ferro, and Ritchey!
	Tom Dyniec Organizaton: ARIN Intermediate Unit Armstrong and Indiana Counties Job Title: ARIN Adult Programs Assistant Coordinator Duties: At ARIN, the Adult Education and Family Literacy programs are called Adult Programs. The office for these programs is located at the ARIN Center for Education here in Indiana. My responsibilities include managing the building, coordinating programs, writing the grants, managing the budgets and all other aspects of coordinating certain programs. "I first started out as a History teacher in the business, but was drawn to Adult Education. Enrolling in ACE and meeting Gary Dean reinforced my love of Adult Education. ACE and Drs. Dean and Ritchey have taught both quality theory and practice that has made me a better teacher and coordinator, and hopefully a better person."
	Kathleen Cowles Paul Organizaton: PA Center for Environmental Education (PCEE) Job Title: Director Duties: My job is to develop the PCEE as a resource to help all Pennsylvanians find whatever environmental information or resources they need for their personal or professional lives. Our website (www.pcee.org) receives over 3 million hits/year and provides users with information about environmental facilities, events, resources and educational materials relevant to many professions. "I had been "doing" community education for years before Gary Dean helped me give it a name! ACE gave me new tools and insights to improve my delivery of community education as well as exposure to research and exciting innovations in the field. Thanks for a great career!"
	Ilene Greenstone Organizaton: Jewish Community Center Job Title: Division Director, Early Childhood Development Center Duties: I am the Division Director of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Early Childhood Development Program, which serves 200 children as young as 6 weeks old. In this capacity, I am responsible for the overall operation of Family Place, childcare, preschool and Kindergarten programs, as well as staff development and parental support. "Adult and Community Education ? Early Childhood Education, educational backgrounds that appear to be different, but really aren’t. As the director of an early childhood program with 45 staff, working with adults is as important as working with children. Who adults are, how they think and learn and their ways of professionally interacting strongly impact their colleagues and their children. My ACE studies enhanced my ability to effectively influence teachers."
	James Kinneer Organizaton: Indiana Regional Medical Center, Indiana, PA Job Title: Director, People & Organizational Development Duties: I am responsible for leading a number of organizational development initiatives that contribute to a culture of performance excellence. This includes orientation, leadership development, teambuilding, and customized training programs. " I was attracted to the ACE program because I aspired to be a training and development professional. The ACE experience fueled my enthusiasm and passion for adult learning. During the process, I discovered a great deal about myself as a lifelong learner and today I still use what I gained from the ACE program on daily basis, supporting the education and training needs of a community medical center. I am fortunate to be doing my dream work and it is due in a large part to the ACE program."