Meet The Activity Connection.com Team

Nancy Ewald
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 time off 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 and Jeff Grip
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.

Cindy Castillo
Cindy has worked in Long-Term Care since 1998. For several years she worked as an Activity Director in East Texas. Cindy left East Texas upon moving to Hawaii. While in Hawaii she worked at an Assisted Living facility as the Marketing Director and later was promoted to Administrator of the same facility.

After a few years of living in Hawaii and moving back home to Texas, Cindy wanted to return to her true calling in the activity field and find her special niche. One night before going to bed she prayed that God would show her a direction to take. Later that night she dreamed of a product that attached to the top of a cart and has a fabric canopy. Activity director’s use carts on a daily basis to carry their supplies. When the product was tested it brought many smiles and positive comments from all who saw the new Cart Canopy. Departments such as activities, nursing and even marketing can all benefit from using this product.

Today, Cindy lives in Texas and is the owner of Pineapple Princess Designs which custom designs Cart Canopies and offers additional activity products and services to facilities across the country. Cindy also enjoys sharing her knowledge and accumulated programming ideas to activity professionals and speaks at activity conferences upon request. Activity Directors have a wonderful job since they are able to be creative, bring smiles and make a huge difference in so many people’s lives on a daily basis. This continues to be the reason that Cindy stays in this field.

Jody Courtney

Jody Courtney has a BS in sociology with minors in political science, religious studies, and interpersonal relationships from Ball State University.  Jody currently resides in Muncie, Indiana, where she is a freelance writer and a disability advocate. More information can be found about Jody Courtney at www.jodymichele.xbuild.com.

Sylvia Hall

Sylvia has a Master’s Degree in Education, as well as her certification as an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher. She has been an educator for 22 years and has taught regular education classes as well as classes for children with disabilities. Trained as a grief counselor, she has also counseled students and adults when tragedies have happened at schools. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in the West Indies from 1992-1994 and worked with deaf students at the School for Children with Special Needs in the island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Proficient in ASL (American Sign Language), she has taught parents and grandparents a course she designed called “Survival Sign Language”.

For three years she placed foreign exchange students with families and taught conversational English during her time off from school in the summer. She loves learning about different cultures and has traveled extensively in Thailand, India, the West Indies, England, Ireland and Scotland.

A lifelong reader, Sylvia enjoys writing poetry, book reviews and short stories. She was Editor of the Peace Corps Newsletter and currently writes a monthly newsletter for families of children in her program. She also enjoys creating craft ideas for students and adults.

Sylvia currently resides in Keizer, Oregon, along with her yellow Labrador Retriever Lily.

Susan Hirsch
Susan Hirsch attended the Kansas City Art Institute and Indiana University.  Her training is in ceramic sculpture, but her best work is two dimensional.  Her works have been shown in Kansas City, Savannah, Bloomington, IN, and Indianapolis.  She currently works on art for this site from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while raising her baby boy, Rainer.  More of her work can be seen at mudflowers.com.

Mark Laker
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, M.A.
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 Layman
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 Mahoney
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 charitableorganization 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.

Neil Moran
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.

Cherie Renae
Cherie has always had a strong personal interest in seniors.  She grew up in a loving Syrian-Lebanese community in Portland, Oregon.  “My grandfather was 70 when I was born, and he lived to be 99 years old,” relates Cherie.  “Our community never had ‘generation-gap’ issues.  I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and their friends.”  She credits her grandfather for her creative writing skills.  “When he died, we got calls from across the nation and the world, and everyone talked about what a great story-teller he was.  I think my ability to weave a tale comes from growing up listening to the world’s best!”

Her grandmother died at age 93 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, and her mother-in-law currently struggles with the disease.  “I did a lot of research when my mother-in-law was diagnosed, and I communicate regularly with the rest of the family, keeping them informed about her abilities, as well as her disabilities.”

She has a Bachelor’s degree with a double-major in Mathematics and English.  Her interests are eclectic, ranging from scientific philosophy to classic literature, from baseball to gardening.  She currently resides in Salem, Oregon with her teenage son, working as a freelance writer, photographer, and as creative director for a fine-art photography studio. 

Barb Ruess
Barb has spent her career helping people communicate. Often that’s taken the form of marketing communications work but it has also included project management, product development, website management and copywriting.

Today you’ll find Barb working amid piles of toys as she runs her own consulting practice and raises her three young children. She has a varied practice ranging from helping small businesses with marketing communication needs to researching and writing articles. Barb lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with two daughters and a new son who teach her all sorts of creative ways to communicate!

Jessica Yun
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 teaches beginning group string classes through the Northern Kentucky University Music Preparatory Department. She also gives private violin lessons ranging from beginning to advanced students.

In addition to teaching and writing for Activity Connection, she often performs with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Claremont Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in Indiana. Like many struggling musicians, she is constantly searching for a perfect, ringing sound. Jessica currently lives in Cincinnati with her new 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 a final read-through.” ~Jessica