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 Nancy has a BS degree in Medical Technology and a MS degree in Allied Health Education. As a microbiology and hemotology instructor, her early "activities" involved working with test tubes, pipettes, and bunsen burners. While taking some timeoff to raise her three children, she discovered her interest in helping seniors. When Nancy returned to the work force, she did so as an assistant activities director for a full-service community. She became the activities director a year later and began a consulting career in 1996, specializing in innovative program development.
Nancy has created activity curricula and authored six manuals for national companies in the senior care industry. Her novel ideas and creative approaches to activity development have made her a much sought out resource. In the spring of 1999, after a busy year of development, Nancy took her consulting business "live" to the Internet with Activity Connection.com. And, as they say, the rest is history!
Nancy resides in Westerville, Ohio, with her husband, Bob.
To contact Nancy, call 614-327-4982.
 Lynne is a registered nurse with a long (we won't say how long) and varied career in a number of diverse settings from emergency room and oncology nursing to hospice care and quality improvement. She has had the good fortune to care for and work with many wonderful and inspiring people along the way. She believes that, even though health care is a serious business, large doses of creativity and humor help to provide balance and support to those who serve in the field.
Lynne's creative endeavors include writing and drawing. She resides outside of Baltimore in Owings Mills, MD, with her blended, ever-expanding family and menagerie of dogs, cats, and birds. Lynne's husband, Jeff, is an organizational psychologist who, in his spare time, serves as chief editor and technical advisor for the Front Porch Travelers as well as a number of other Activity Connection articles.
 Originally from Battle Creek, Michigan, Julie has worked in the field of activities for about 15 years all combined. She is a certified activity director and has worked almost every angle from developmentally disabled to Sub-Acute and everything in between. Julie was the Director of Activities at the former John Douglas French Center in Los Alamitos, California for 4 years. It was the first of it's kind exclusively for Alzheimer's residents, in the country. Since it's closure in 2005 she has been the Director of Activities at Bel Vista Convalescent Hospital in Long Beach, California (a beautiful, privately owned, warm and intimate facility) and has been there for 2 1/2 years.
Julie has dabbled in many different occupations from stand up comedy to selling cemetery plots. She finally found her calling when she began working in the field of activities. An admitted ham with a love of big band music and old TV shows makes it a perfect fit. Julie lives with her husband Brent, their 2 dogs, Lucy and Shadow and their four birds, Hobart, Beaky, Benny Blue Butt and RJ, in Long Beach, California. Julie credits her knack for activities to the residents. When you listen to their interests and base your activities on what you hear, you can't go wrong.
 Sharon is a fine artist and crafter from Columbus, Ohio. She has been making creations of all shapes and sizes from the time she could hold a crayon. She's thrilled to have two children who seem to follow in her footsteps even though the piles of craft supplies and scraps generated in their household is sometimes mountainous. Sharon received her B.S. from The Ohio State University with a major in Textiles and Clothing. Besides designing art and craft projects for ActivityConnection.com, she has been showing paintings and sculptures in galleries around Columbus and elsewhere.
To see some of her work, you can visit her site at sharonhbell.com.
 Ted Boretti has a MA in Education and has taught English language and literature in high school for the past six years. He grew up in Boston, persevered through four years of all-boys Catholic high school, attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut, worked in book publishing and as a Park Ranger in New York City, moved to Seattle to be closer to the mountains, became a teacher, got married, adopted a dog, bought a house, sold the house, left Seattle to move to Washington, DC, bought another house, became a stay-at-home dad, and now loves writing for Activity Connection. Whew!
 Hank Bruce & Tomi Jill Folk are a husband and wife team residing in New Mexico. They follow an active schedule, speaking with groups all over the United States on hunger, horticultural therapy, environmental and peace issues. Together they have written over 20 books and hundreds of articles and information sheets on hunger, fagardening, diabetes, school and community gardens and more. They initiated a horticultural therapy showcase, the Opportunity Garden, as a part of the annual International Flower & Garden Festival at EPCOT in 1999 and spoke at EPCOT from 1999-2002 on horticultural therapy.
Hank is a writer and the Program Director of Hunger Grow Away. Hank is also a food security advocate and has done extensive research on micro-intensive gardening systems, home grown nutrition programs and global food resource diversity. Current projects include research into underused vegetables for arid lands, family gardens as a means of improving nutrition, dietary disease prevention and control and the cultivation and use of indigenous resources for today's dinner table. He has taught courses at the University of New Mexico Con-Ed Dept. on Horticultural Therapy, Hunger Solutions and Writing. He was awarded the American Horticultural Therapy Association's Humanitarian of the Year Award in 1999, and the Florida chapter's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Hank & Tomi have just completed their latest HT book, Windowsill Whimsy, Gardening & Horticultural Therapy Projects for Small Spaces.
 Deborah has a BA degree in English and Fine Arts, as well as her certification in therapeutic recreation. She has worked in skilled care, adult day care, senior centers, and assisted living. In her "spare time" she has served as a counselor for troubled youth, a Brownie leader and third grade Hebrew School teacher.
Deborah's creative outlets include sculpting with polymer clay. She enjoys working with this versatile medium because of the endless possibilities it presents. She is a member of the Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild and sells her work locally and on e-bay. You can see photos of some of here projects on her site.
Another passion is computer technology, having managed to upgrade herself from a manual typewriter at the age of 47. She has designed a walker for her future complete with a laptop, cell phone, remote control, bookshelf, and a craft basket.
Deborah resides in Hamden, CT, with her husband, 15-year-old daughter and their cockatiel, Cuico.
 Sarah Gray is our graphic designer as well as illustrator designing everything from the bingo cards and birthday set, to the calendars and clip art. Starting off studying nursing, she quickly realized she needed something more creative to hold her attention and changed to a degree in Visual Communication from Otterbein College. She worked doing freelance work for several years focusing on logos and business identities before working with Activity Connection. With her strong computer skills and extensive knowledge in design and illustration, she brings creativity and energy to her work. Along with being a designer, she is a wife and mother of a beautiful little girl and draws inspiration and imagination from her family.
Yits Jimenez has a BA in Communication and a Teaching degree on ESL/EFL. Her educational backgrounds have given her the opportunity of working in many different areas: as an advertising executive, marketing director, freelance copywriter, English teacher...
She took a sabbatical year off her advertising job in order to work as a Spanish teacher at a French High School located 40 kilometers away from Paris, and to benefit from this overseas experience. In January 2007, when she went back to her Mexican hometown, Guadalajara, she started her own business - a translating company offering a wide variety of services that are explained in her website: www.ytraducciones.com
Nowadays she's a part time college professor teaching about marketing and advertising, in the Mexican Colonial city of Guanajuato where she lives with her husband Francisco, a mathematician who applies his knowledge to computer programming innovation.
 Mark has a Masters degree in Therapeutic Recreation and is currently the Assistant Director for the Indiana State Department of Aging. He worked for the Indiana State Department of Health as a Health Educator for 29 years. Mark has taught the Nursing Home Activity Director's Course over 100 times and has trained over 5000 individuals. He is a past Chairman for the National Alzheimer's Association Annual Conference and served as the President of the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Indiana. Mark currently does presentations on Wellness and Aging, Alzheimer's Disease, and Humor: It Works Wonders. He is still teaching and training through ActivityDirectorsCourse.com.
On a more personal note, Mark is married and has a 13 year old daughter. "I was blessed to have a Mom who laughed a lot even during the most difficult of times in raising 9 children. I carry on her philosophy by using a lot of humor each and every day." ~ Mark
 Kathy Laurenhue is CEO of Wiser Now, Inc., a company focused on publications, product development, and multi-media training related to brain aerobics, life story sharing, older adult sensitivity, and dementia.
She is the author of three books and is working on two others. The first two books (listed below) are available directly through her website: www.wisernow.com, and the third is available from Health Professions Press (www.healthpropress.com):
- Alzheimer's Basic Caregiving - an ABC Guide
- Activities of Daily Living - an ADL Guide for Alzheimer's Care
- Getting to Know the Life Stories of Older Adults: Activities for Building Relationships
Kathy has given training seminars throughout the U.S. and Australia, and developed multi-media training materials for national companies such as Marriott Senior Living Services and Sunrise Assisted Living as well as the national Alzheimer's Association and the Commonwealth of Australia.
Kathy has a master's degree in instructional technology and an undergraduate degree in English and journalism. She began putting these skills to work in the field of dementia care while serving as the primary caregiver for her ever-cheerful mother, who died of AD in 1996. Kathy is based in Bradenton, FL, and can be reached at laurenhue@msn.com or 800-999-0795.
 Mary Ellen credits her grandmother as her inspiration for becoming an activity director. As an assisted living resident, she was never in her room because she was so busy attending activities. Mary Ellen wanted to be the person responsible for helping to create fun things for seniors, like her grandmother, to do.
Mary Ellen has a degree in Hospitality Management and has been a Certified Activity Director since July of 2001. She also took the World Laughter Tour, Inc. seminar and became a Certified Laughter Leader (CLL).
"I believe that I was called to be an activity director. I am incredibly passionate about what I do and why I do it. Making a difference in the life of a senior citizen is one of the greatest joys in my life." The other joys in her life are her husband, Joe, her daughter Carleigh and dog Gus!
Mary Ellen currently works at a Brookdale Senior Living property in Richmond Heights, Ohio. If you have comments or questions for her, you can reach her at happymeal7@sbcglobal.net.
 Joyce has had many years experience working with seniors in independent, assisted living, and long term care settings. She has her certification in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and has developed and implemented recreational programming for persons with mental illness. She is continuing her studies, majoring in Recreation Administration with a focus on Rehabilitation.
Joyce enjoys crafting and works as a volunteer with seniors and a charitable organization in her hometown. For adventure, she likes to do rock climbing and kayaking.
Joyce resides in Tinley Park, Illinois, with her husband and three children, ages 12 through 22.
 Lindy McClean (author, at left) is the owner of Senior Smart Puzzles. Please visit her website at Seniorsmartpuzzles.com. Lindy also works as a massage therapist in the coastal town of Brookings, Oregon and has a B.A. in Math from Fresno State University.
ActivityConnection.com is pleased to feature puzzles from Lindy's puzzle books in the "Alzheimer's Focus" and the "It's Puzzling" sections of the website. Lindy utilized the talents of James Cloutier and Niki Harris in preparing her puzzle books.
James Cloutier (illustrator, center) is a painter, cartoonist and graphic designer with a M.F.A. degree in photography from the University of Oregon. He has written, illustrated and published 11 books.
Niki Harrris (graphic designer, at right) has done graphic art all her life. She has loved working on books and magazines and various freelance projects since 1980, after a B.A. from Harvard.
 Neil Moran has a passion for gardening which culminated in a book he wrote titled, North Country Gardening: Simple Secrets to Successful Northern Gardening. In addition to certificates in horticulture, Neil has a B.S. in Psychology which he has put to use working with special needs groups including the handicapped. He currently works with inmates in a medium security prison where he is a horticulture trades instructor. He is also a regular garden columnist for the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News and Michigan Country Lines. He lives and gardens with his wife and two children in a rural setting near Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula. Neil would be happy to answer any gardening questions or you can purchase one of his books by visiting his website, neilmoran.com.
 Kristen received her B.S. degree in Art Education from Ohio Dominican University. She holds a state license to teach visual art K-12 and has been teaching art in various capacities to adults and children of all ages for the past six years. She deeply enjoys the creative process and has been making art in many different media for most of her life. For the past five years Kristen has been working mostly with textiles and creating art quilts. She enjoys the repetitive process of stitching and exploring the boundaries of quilt making. She also enjoys the symbolism of both deconstruction and reconstruction as represented in the process and project found in quilt making and is constantly seeking new techniques and innovative ways to utilize existing techniques to enhance her work.
For more information on Kristen, please see the sites below:
 "Kim is a writer who lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and two young sons. She's loved to read and write as far back as she can remember, but she only finally left her fields of study (business and law) to write for a living in 2004. Her dramatic and humorous fiction and nonfiction has been published over the last 5 years in print and online, in publications such as Adam's Media's A Cup of Comfort for Mothers to Be; Columbus Parent magazine, MommiesMagazine.com; Wild Violet online literary magazine; and ImperfectParent.com. Kim spends her writing time crafting skits and short stories for ActivityConnection.com and as a student of The Institute of Children's Literature. She's currently working on fiction in both the adult and children's genres, a professional website, and on sharing her love of books and story writing with her boys."
 Jessica is a violinist with three performance degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. During her eight years in college, she has written more than a few term papers. Her knack for writing directs creative energy elsewhere in between long hours of practicing violin. Jessica currently gives private violin lessons ranging from beginning to advanced students and peforms with other musicians at various public events.
Jessica also writes the "Music Matters" and "Morsels & More" pages for Activity Connection. Like many struggling musicians, she is constantly searching for a perfect, ringing sound. Jessica currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband Paul who is also a violinist.
"Writing is similar to playing an instrument in many ways. First you must make a rough draft, or play a piece all the way through without stopping. Then go back and revise some wording, or work on a few tricky spots. Once the tedious work is done, it is ready for a final read-through." ~Jessica |
