Shakira Abdul-Ali

NY Training & OD Specialist
(718)928-2061
SAAli@PHInational.org

Shakira Abdul-Ali is a Training and Organization Development Specialist based at PHI’s New York City office. Shakira provides support to New York-based long-term care employers who are seeking to improve the quality of jobs for direct-care workers and the quality of support for consumers. She works with managers on leadership and supervisory skills needed to direct a change process and create a more supportive work environment.

For more than twenty years, Shakira has provided consulting, training, and facilitation services for public sector and non-profit housing and child services organizations, community development and social services agencies, and corporate employers. She has also delivered dozens of workshops in prejudice reduction and diversity training for numerous organizations. Shakira holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and urban studies from Wellesley College and a master of science in organization development from the American University/NTL program. She also received a leadership development certificate from the National Coalition Building Institute.

MariaElena Del Valle

NY Training Manager
(718) 928-2039
MDelValle@PHInational.org

MariaElena Del Valle is a New York Training Manager for PHI. She works closely with employers who are implementing innovative strategies to recruit, train, mentor, and supervise direct-care staff. She also works with direct-care staff to develop leadership, advocacy, and mentoring skills. MariaElena offers expertise in organizational development, participatory management practices, and leadership skills building for managers and workers.

MariaElena has over 20 years experience in adult education and organizational development and brings a wealth of experience as an independent consultant, cultural performer, and public speaker to her work with PHI. In her previous role as senior staff consultant for the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, she traveled nationally and internationally to support organizations in improving communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and cross-cultural relationships. MariaElena is a graduate of the College of Mt. Saint Vincent.

Francine Fineman

Pennsylvania TOD Specialist
(215) 735-3313
FFineman@PHInational.org

Francine Fineman is PHI’s Pennsylvania Training and Organizational Development Specialist. She works closely with provider, worker, and consumer partners to develop training and workplace practices designed to improve the quality of direct-care jobs throughout Pennsylvania.

Francine has over 20 years of experience as a psychologist. She has also served as the director of an adult day health center and as assistant administrator of a continuing care retirement community in Los Angeles. She represented adult day services on Pennsylvania’s Intra-Governmental Council for Long-Term Care and sat on the board of the Pennsylvania Adult Day Services Association. Immediately prior to joining PHI, Francine was the Practice Coordinator for Better Jobs Better Care-PA. She holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Temple University.

Patricia Hillebrand

TOD Specialist
(724) 422-2880
PHillebrand@PHInational.org

Patricia Hillebrand is a Training and Organizational Development Specialist for PHI. For two years before joining the staff, she conducted coaching supervision seminars and served as a team facilitator of the train the trainer seminars in coaching supervision. She now serves as site coordinator for one of the Center for Coaching Supervision and Leadership sites.

A nurse who has spent her professional career as a healthcare administrator and educator, she recently retired from her position as vice president for patient care services at Sharon Regional Health System in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Throughout her career, Pat has spent a good deal of her time conducting seminars for health care facilities, teaching staff how to work as a team and managers how to lead. Pat is a past president of Pennsylvania’s Organization of Nursing Leaders. She received her nursing education from Temple University and her masters in counseling education from Pennsylvania State University.

Sara Joffe

National Director of TOD
(215) 248-2248
SJoffe@PHInational.org

Sara Joffe, PHI’s National Director of Training and Organizational Development, designs and implements our education efforts for direct-care staff and their supervisors. She has developed unique approaches to teaching direct-care workers communication and problem-solving skills, while also introducing PHI’s peer mentoring and supervisory practices to home care agencies and nursing facilities. Through presentations, workshops, and “train-the-trainer” programs, Sara is bringing these innovative educational programs to providers in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, and Maine.

Sara brings 25 years of experience in community development, education, and training to her work. She has focused primarily on empowering low-income women through learner-centered education and “soft-skill” development. She directed PHI’s HeartWork project, a theatre and video production celebrating the work and lives of direct-care workers. She has also taught coaching supervision skills to home care supervisors at New York City’s Lehman College. Prior to joining PHI, she was Director of Education and Workforce Development for our Philadelphia affiliate Home Care Associates. Sara holds a master’s in education from Temple University.

Renya Larson

TOD Specialist
(718) 928-2068
RLarson@PHInational.org

Renya Larson is a Training and Organizational Development Specialist. Her primary responsibility is supporting individuals and organizations selected to participate in PHI’s Center for Coaching, Supervision and Leadership.

Renya has over ten years experience as a trainer and educator. After beginning her career in educational and participatory theatre she shifted her professional focus to become a certified trainer of the TimeSlips storytelling method for people with dementia. As Associate Director of the National Center for Creative Aging, she designed and implemented trainings for healthcare professionals around the country. She also consulted with the New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in its long-term care culture change initiatives and worked in the department of Training and Organizational Development at Continuum Health Partners, a network of hospitals in New York City. She has published numerous articles, chapters and manuals in the fields of gerontology and the arts. Renya holds a BA from Brown University and an MA from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study of New York University.

Kathy McCollett

Organizational Culture Change Specialist
(603)285-2279
KMcCollett@PHInational.org

Kathy is an Organizational Culture Change Specialist for PHI. She works closely with home health care agencies, nursing homes, and other long term care employers supporting their efforts to improve the quality of jobs for direct care workers through training and technical assistance that also improves the quality of care for consumers.

Prior to joining PHI, Kathy provided leadership to an organizational culture change initiative in a Portsmouth, New Hampshire nursing home where she worked for the last eleven years. In 2006, Kathy became involved in PHI’s Northern New England LEADS (Leadership, Education, Advocacy for Direct Care and Support Staff) project. During this grant funded initiative, Kathy gained experience in teaching and implementing PHI’s coaching supervision, peer mentoring, and communication skills curricula. Kathy has a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Granite State College and is certified in case management.

Susan Misiorski

Director of Organizational Culture Change
(603) 487-3260
SMisiorski@PHInational.org

Susan Misiorski is a Director of Organizational Culture Change. A registered nurse with over 20 years of experience, Susan provides technical assistance to nursing homes and home care agencies seeking to improve workforce retention through changes in institutional practices. She provides on-site assistance in evaluating an agency’s mission and values, designing a change project that incorporates institutional values, and implementing new training programs and caregiving practices. Her most recent work has been with the New Hampshire Culture Change Demonstration Project, which involves five nursing homes across the state. She is the author of Getting Started: a pioneering approach to culture change in long-term care organizations.

Susan is past president of the Pioneer Network, a group of innovative long-term care providers working to change the culture of aging. She speaks nationally on culture change in nursing homes, and in the last year has addressed the Association of Homes and Services and the American Health Care Association. In September 2002, Susan participated in a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) national webcast on transforming long-term care. Prior to coming to PHI, Susan held positions as Director of Nursing and Vice President of Nursing for Apple Healthcare, a small chain of New England-based nursing homes. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.

P. Afeefa Murray

Coaching & Organizational Develoment Specialist
(215) 518-4583
PAMurray@PHInational.org

P. Afeefa Murray is PHI’s Coaching and Organizational Development Specialist. Afeefa has also served as PHI’s Pennsylvania Practice Specialist and as manager of PHI’s Center for Coaching Supervision and Leadership. At CCSL, she managed and facilitated all activities including logistical details, data collection for project evaluation, and the provision of consultation and support to long-term care providers involved in the multi-state initiative. Afeefa currently coordinates PHI’s CCSL work and manages its large coaching contracts.

Throughout her career Afeefa has worked as a trainer and manager, providing program leadership for people working with socially challenged populations. For almost a decade she has worked in long-term care settings. She has taught coaching supervision to supervisors in residential care settings and developed a model welfare-to-work program, which provided life skills, job readiness, nurse aide training, and job placement and retention services to welfare recipients transitioning to work as CNAs. She has also directed and facilitated a peer mentor program for direct-care workers and served as director of training for a home care agency.

Peggy Powell

Director of Workforce Strategies
(917) 576-6531
PPowell@PHInational.org

Peggy Powell is Director of Workforce Strategies for PHI. Peggy works closely with the Cooperative Healthcare Network, developing PHI’s innovative strategies to recruit, train, mentor, and supervise direct-care staff. She also works with direct-care staff to develop leadership, advocacy, and mentoring skills. For our consulting clients, Peggy offers expertise in the areas of program design, curriculum development, adult education, and program evaluation. Peggy is the author of several PHI publications on recruitment and training, including Recruiting Quality Health Care Paraprofessionals and A Guide to Creating an Employer-Based Home Care Training Program.

Peggy has over 20 years experience in community economic development and adult education and training. She co-founded Cooperative Home Care Associates in 1985 and served as the agency’s Director of Education prior to joining PHI’s staff in 1991. For 15 years, she has planned, designed, and implemented employer-based education programs enabling low-income women to make the transition from welfare to work. A graduate of the City University of New York, Peggy has completed graduate courses in counseling and personal development at Fordham University.

Maureen Sheahan

Michigan TOD Specialist
(248) 358-2049
MSheahan@PHInational.org

Maureen Sheahan, is PHI’s Michigan Training and Organizational Development Specialist, providing training and consultation to long-term organizations, particularly in Michigan and the Midwest. She also provides support and technical assistance to workforce investment boards, community colleges, area agencies on aging, community mental health organizations, and other organizations working to create quality care through quality jobs.

Over the past 20 years, most recently as a national project coordinator with the Coalition of Unions at Kaiser Permanente, Maureen has supported workplace change efforts that were jointly led by labor unions and management. She has designed a score of training programs in topics ranging from leadership to lean production, consulted with worksites striving to build high performance practices, and written a myriad of publications about workplace and labor-management topics. She has also consulted with a few dozen non-profit organizations in their strategic planning and staff and board development efforts. Maureen received her BA in English and social sciences, with a certificate in secondary education, from Wayne State University. She has taken advanced coursework in adult education, organizational development, and industrial relations.

Kate Waldo

Organizational Culture Change Specialist
(603) 232-3623
KWaldo@PHInational.org

Kate Waldo is an Organizational Culture Change Specialist for PHI, supporting the training and consultation activities of PHI’s Northern New England LEADS Institute. She provides support to nursing homes, home health agencies, and other long-term care employers that are seeking to improve the quality of jobs for direct-care workers and the quality of care for consumers.

Prior to joining PHI’s staff, Kate held positions in adult day health, skilled nursing, and assisted-living settings and has spoken regionally and provided technical assistance on culture change in nursing homes. She has a bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy from Western Carolina University and is a Certified Recreational Therapy Specialist (CTRS) and a certified Eden Associate.

Makeeda Womack

Program Associate for PHI’s Center for Coaching, Supervision, & Leadership
(215) 735-3546
MWomack@PHInational.org

Makeeda Womack serves as the Program Associate for PHI’s Center for Coaching, Supervision and Leadership (CCSL), providing administrative and programmatic support to the team. She also plans and provides support for educational programs and conferences related to CCSL.

Makeeda worked for several years as a case manager with the Salvation Army, helping homeless families obtain housing. Just prior to joining PHI she was a program associate at Seedco, where she worked on projects designed to assist low-wage workers in connecting to public benefits. Makeeda received a bachelor’s in social work from Temple University and a masters in urban policy analysis and management from Milano Graduate School, a division of the New School University.