About Our Bloggers

Susan Berta
R.N, LNHA, Eden Educator and Culture Change Guide

Susan is an Eden Alternative Educator who provides consulting and training to long-term care facilities in the Western New York area. She is a licensednursing home administrator, has served as director of nursing for facilities in upstate New York and was an Eden Alternative Regional Coordinator. She attended Columbia University School of Public Health and is currently working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and economics with a focus in health care administration from Empire State College.

Diane L. Dixon, EdD

Diane L. Dixon is a leadership and organization development consultant and educator.  She has over 25 years of experience in the field of human and organizational learning focused on strategic change and planning facilitation, leadership development, team development, and meeting facilitation in organizations of all sizes and complexity. Diane wrote a leadership column for the long-term care publication, Caring for the Ages, for eight years.  She has contributed chapters to three books focused on leadership and change in health care delivery. And she has written articles for health care practitioner publications such as Hospitals and Health Networks. 

As an educator and professional faculty at Johns Hopkins University, Diane has taught leadership and organizational behavior for the former Business of Medicine Program and behavioral decision making for the Carey Business School.   She has given numerous presentations on leadership as it relates to managing change and transitions as well as team development.

Diane holds a Doctorate in Education from the Executive Leadership in Human and Organizational Learning Program (formerly Human Resource Development) at George Washington University (research focus-transformational leadership and hospital chief executives); a Master of Education degree with a concentration in administration from Loyola University Maryland; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology with a psychology minor from Howard University.

Carmen Bowman 
Owner, Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change

Carmen Bowman is the owner of the consulting, training and public speaking business Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change, turning her former role of regulator to educator.  She is a nationally-recognized expert in culture change, and is a frequently invited speaker at national and state long term care and culture change conferences including the Pioneer Network.

Carmen was a Colorado state surveyor for nine years and is a former policy analyst with CMS Central Office where she also taught the national CMS Basic Surveyor Training Course.

Carmen now serves as a contractor to CMS on culture change projects.  She was a facilitator for the CMS and Pioneer Network co-sponsored national Creating Home symposiums on culture change.  For CMS, she also co-developed the Artifacts of Culture Change measurement tool with Karen Schoeneman.

Carmen was the first certified activity professional to become a state surveyor and served on the four year CMS panel rewriting the interpretive guidance for Tag 248 Activities and Tag 249 Qualified Activity Director. She is a Certified Validation Worker, Certified Validation Group Practitioner, Certified Eden Associate and Eden Mentor.  She also co-founded the Colorado Culture Change Coalition and she has authored seven culture change workbooks for Action Pact, Inc.

She holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Systems with an emphasis in eldercare from Denver University. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Social Work and German from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Carmen hosts a monthly web talk show for Action Pact called Conversations with Carmen where a guest who is an expert on a relevant culture change topic is interviewed along with “Culture Change in the News” and “Words to Consider” features.

Anthony Cirillo
Professional Speaker, Performer, Healthcare Expert

Anthony is a 25+ year health care executive who fell into long-term care when he went and entertained residents in a nursing home. Anthony is passionate about elders and those who care for them. Through his company, Fast Forward, he is a consultant to healthcare organizations in patient/resident experience and strategic marketing. He is a professional speaker, popular blogger and industry thought leader and the author of Who Moved My Dentures? a book that dispels myths about aging and long-term care. A Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Anthony knows healthcare from the inside out. An accredited business communicator of the International Association of Business Communicators, he is able to translate his healthcare knowledge into conversational and informative articles and blogs for readers Anthony holds a Masters Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Drexel University, both in Philadelphia, PA. More at www.4wardfast.com 

Nancy Fox
Chief Life Enhancement Officer, Piñon Management

Nancy Fox, BAAS, LNFA is the Chief Life Enhancement Officer for Piñon Management in Lakewood, Colorado.  In her role at Piñon, Nancy oversees the organization’s culture change efforts and develops and provides education and consulting in person-directed care, the Eden Alternative, leadership, conflict management, and team building.  Prior to her current position at Piñon, Nancy served as the Executive Director of the Eden Alternative, Inc, a not-for-profit culture change organization.  In this role, she brought the organization to national and international prominence, enlarged the Eden network of Educators and Mentors, and expanded the influence of the Eden philosophy to impact Elders living at home, and those requiring life-long supportive living environments.

Nancy is a well-known speaker and educator and has presented at many major conferences. She is the author of a book, The Journey of a Lifetime: Leadership Pathways to Culture Change in Long-Term Care, published in March, 2007.  Her greatest achievement and most important role, however, is grandmother to Nicolas, age four.

Bonnie Kantor-Burman
Sc.D., Director of the Ohio Department of Aging

Bonnie Kantor-Burman, Sc.D., was appointed director of the Ohio Department of Aging by Governor John R. Kasich in January, 2011. As director, she is helping to lead the state’s effort to transform health care and long-term care for its citizens. Director Kantor-Burman Before has advocated for new approaches that emphasize quality, person-centered care while realizing cost savings. Her goals are to reform and enhance the quality and efficiency of our health care system, and to strengthen long-term care options that give elders more choices about their care. She believes in the concept of preventive gerontology, a wellness and behavioral driven model of life and care across the lifespan.

Coming to the department, Director Kantor-Burman was the executive director of the Pioneer Network, a national center for the development of person-centered long-term care delivery systems. She drove consistent and creative public policy change at the highest levels of state and federal government. Prior to joining the Pioneer Network in 2007, Director Kantor-Burman was the director of the Office of Geriatrics and Gerontology at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Kantor-Burman earned her doctorate in health policy and management from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She currently resides in Gahanna, with her husband, Robert Burman.

Kathy McCollett

Organizational Culture Change Specialist

As part of the Training and Organizational Development team at PHI, Kathy provides technical assistance and consulting services to nursing homes, home care agencies, and other providers who are seeking to grow a workplace culture that ensures quality of life, quality of care, and quality jobs for everyone working or living there. She is particularly skilled at working with her clients to define specific desired outcomes in any training or consulting engagement, and then assisting them in taking the steps necessary to achieve them.

Kathy has facilitated national and regional trainings related to the PHI Coaching ApproachSM to supervision, communication, peer mentoring, relationship-centered care, and other topics related to culture change. She has worked with the Pioneer Network and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) on evaluating and improving the “dining experience” for elders in nursing homes across America.

Before coming to PHI, Kathy worked in the eldercare and disability services industry for 11 years as a social worker and manager, keeping an active LNA/CNA license during those years.She received her BS in Behavioral Science from Granite State College in New Hampshire.

Robert R. Meiss
Former Beechwood Continuing Care President/CEO

Robert R. Meiss is the former President/CEO of Beechwood Continuing Care of Amherst, N.Y., one of Western New York’s largest not-for-profit senior care communities.  He has served on many long-term care association boards including the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Past Chairman; the WNY Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Past Chairman; and the Network in Aging of Western New York, Past President.

Bob has served on numerous Western New York community boards including Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York, United Way’s Helping Seniors and Promoting Wellness Committee and the Millard Fillmore Ambulatory Surgery Center.

Susan Misiorski
BSN, National Director of Training and Organizational Development at PHI

Susan Misiorski, BSN, is the National Director of Training and Organizational Development at PHI. In her role, Susan leads a team of trainers and consultants who coach long-term care providers in their efforts to implement person-directed culture change. Susan has been a leader in the Pioneer Network, a national organization whose sole purpose is to serve the culture change movement, since its inception in 1997. She served as president of the network from 2000–2003, and was re-elected to the board in 2010.

Prior to PHI, Susan served as director of nursing for Genesis Health Care and then as vice president of nursing for Apple Health Care, Inc., where she spearheaded a corporate-wide culture change initiative. Susan has published several articles in addition to Getting Started: A Pioneering Approach to Long-Term Care Culture Change. The handbook is a resource to nursing home providers who are looking for information and tools on how to create a high-involvement process for transforming institutions into homes. Susan is a national speaker on topics related to long term care culture change, and participated in the CMS satellite broadcast titled “Innovations in Quality of Life.”

Leslie Pedtke

BA, LNHA, Administrator at Aviston Countryside

Leslie Pedtke, BA, LNHA, has been the Administrator at Aviston Countryside Manor since 1994. She is a member of the Illinois Nursing Home Administrators Association, Illinois Health Care Association, the Southwestern Illinois Pioneer Coalition Leadership Team and the Vice President of the Illinois Pioneer Coalition. Leslie has been the Illinois Pioneer Coalition Summit Coordinator since 2010. She completed the Certificate for Non-Physicians in Geriatrics in 2007.  In 2005, Leslie was part of the planning committee for the Metro-East Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk.  She has participated in the “Person-Centered Care Dementia Certificate Program” taught by the Alzheimer’s Association, St. Louis Chapter.

Leslie has been instrumental in incorporating culture change in the Aviston Countryside Manor community.  She was featured  in the Spring, 2011 LTC Today publication, “Consistent Assignments”, the April 2010 issue of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News in the article, “Empathy
Crash Course” and the April 9^th HCCI Members Only newsletter for her Intergenerational program, “Bringing Resident’s Stories to Life.”  She was named one of the Health Care Council of Illinois’ 2010 Heroes in Long Term Care.

Leslie graduated in 1994, from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication.

Rhonda Rotterman, BSN, RNC, LNHA

Rhonda is the former program director for the UB Institute for Person-Centered Care and the former executive director for the Western New York Alliance for Person-Centered Care, a grassroots collaborative of communal living environments funded by the Oishei Foundation. With a long history of geriatric leadership positions, prior to beginning her journey toward improving the quality of care for the frail and cognitively impaired, Rhonda worked as the administrator of Elderwood Health Care at Crestwood, Niagara Falls, and Harbour Health Multi-Care Center, Buffalo.  She has served as a long term care administrator, director of nursing and geriatrics professional since 1988. Board certified in gerontology, she also received a bachelor’s degree in nursing and an associate’s degree in psychology from Niagara University.