Pat Downing
E is for encouraging us to change
N is for new core beliefs developed
L is for the love we have for being DCWs
I is for I believe in myself
G is for all the good changes we can make
H is for our hearts of gold
T is for teambuilding skills we learned
E is for effective advocating
N is for all negative beliefs left behind
I is for inspiring us to change
N is for new friendships made
G is for our growing edge as leaders
Pat Downing
Voices Institute NLP Class of 2009
D. Alex Chuang
T – It’s about tolerance and inclusion
E – It’s about effectiveness with less efficiency
A – It’s about Acts of Congress and the legislature
M – It’s about message crafting and staying on point
W — It’s about wages and top-line revenue
O – It’s about opening minds and wallets
R – It’s about respect with results
K – It’s about kinships and the human kindred spirit
D. Alex Chuang
Voices Institute NLP Class of 2009
Brenda (L) with Jackie Merkel at the 2008 Voices Institute National Leadership Program
A is for the award-winning experience
W is for a wonderful, worthy cause
E is for exposure to new ideas
S is for soothing smiles and soul
O is for the overwhelming openness of my newfound friends
M is for meaningful memories
E is for everlasting
Brenda Nachtway
DCA Direct Care Worker Specialist and graduate of the 2008 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program
Tracy Dudzinski
I is for the inspiration I received from the other workers
N is for the newfound confidence that I have in myself
C is for the catalyst of change I have become
R is for the roar I have developed
E is for the extra friends I’ve made
D is for the defining moments that have changed me as a person
I is for the insight I have about myself
B is for the belief I now have in myself
L is for the lion I’ve become
E is for the endless memories I took home with me
Tracy Dudzinski
DCA Board member and graduate of the 2008 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program
Angel Saylor (R) with home care aide Kelvin Jefferson at a DCA focus group
The Direct Care Alliance’s signature program, the Voices Institute, is about to hold its second National Leadership Program. The week-long retreat is an intensive learning journey, and this year’s class is another remarkable group, which will surely join the pioneers from the VI inaugural class to leave its mark on the direct care worker movement. We are returning to the DeKoven Center, where the roots that were planted at the first Voices Institute National Leadership Program will again thrive.
This year, we are welcoming men and women who care for people of all ages in a variety of settings, including nursing homes, hospice, group homes, day programs, assisted living, and home- and community-based programs. Consistent with the DCA’s objectives to build a broadly inclusive movement of empowered direct care workers, the class of 2009 represents a wide spectrum of direct care workers. Continue reading »
Brenda (L) with Jackie Merkel at the 2008 Voices Institute National Leadership Program
In a few short weeks, the direct care worker movement will grow stronger and more unified when direct care workers come together in Racine, Wisconsin for the Voices Institute’s second National Leadership Program (NLP).
The workers in this year’s class will share their stories and learn from one another. They will also learn from a training team that includes graduates of last year’s Voices Institute NLP. I’d like to introduce you to one of them, my treasured colleague Brenda Nachtway.
Brenda will be one of the first people that the class members will meet. She will welcome the class as they arrive on Sunday evening and get settled in and coordinate an evening program where the class will get personally acquainted, after long-distance exchanges on web seminars and orientation and community-building conference calls. Since she is one of the most joyful, humorous, and warm people you will ever meet, it is safe to say that the class will find a week-long home away from home in Brenda’s company. Continue reading »
In this video, nurse aide and DCA Direct Care Worker Specialist Brenda Nachtway discusses her years as professional direct care worker and her commitment to her profession. Please share this moving story with anyone who might benefit from hearing a direct care worker talk about her profession.
Newly chosen members of the Voices Institute’s 2009 National Leadership Program were recognized at the 12th annual Celebrating Nursing Assistants event in Charlottesville, Virginia, on June 16.
Two hundred and thirty-seven CNAs from Central Virginia attended the event, which opened with a musical selection by the Charlottesville Threshold Choir. The choir sings at the bedsides of people who are ill or dying, for their caregivers, and for others in need of musical healing.
Following a buffet dinner and a talk by Dr. Wendi El-Amin, a family practitioner from the University of Virginia, certificates were awarded to Voices Institute inductees Geraldine (Liz) Rush and Robert Stevens and to Angel Saylor, who was on a waiting list at the time. Ms. Saylor has since been accepted.
Awards were then given in recognition of the CNAs with the most years of service and to the Nursing Assistant of the Year in each of five settings: hospital/acute care, community/home health, nursing home, assisted living, and companion/sitter.
Bridget Siljander
A conference call isn’t usually an easy way to get to know someone, but there was a lot of laughter, sharing, and mutual support last week when the 2009 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program took part in a long-distance direct care worker exchange.
I was excited about getting to know these impressive leaders, and it seems they were eager to meet each other too. The energy and sense of community I felt within our virtual gatherings, and the sense of easy familiarity that quickly built between us, were exhilarating.
This was not the first time I have had this experience. The same positive spirit percolated in the first interactions of the 2008 inaugural class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program. I will never forget how it captured my heart and my imagination. I’d found my way into my niche, into the group of people I most identified with. It was a profound connection: I was home.
Last week, I heard the next class began to make that same connection.
There’s something special in direct care workers that we respond to when we meet, an element that I both witness and dance with. It is beautiful, and it reflects our inner strength.
The Direct Care Alliance got the right person for the job this week when direct support professional Bridget Siljander moved into the newly created position of Coordinator of the Voices Institute.
A graduate of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program’s first class, Bridget has provided care and supports to elders and people with disabilities for the past 12 years. She has worked in hospitals, group homes, and nursing homes, but most of her work has been in home care. For the past nine years, she was the primary aide for one home care client.
In addition, she chairs the Direct Support Professional Association of Minnesota and writes curriculum for the National College of Direct Support. She is also a member of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals board of directors’ Advocacy and Legislation Committee. On top of that, she is a member of the Alliance for Full Participation – and, until she moved into her new position, she worked half-time as a direct care worker specialist for the DCA.
“Bridget’s proven leadership abilities, professionalism, commitment to excellence and personal knowledge of the direct care workforce made her an ideal choice to lead our signature program,” says DCA Executive Director Leonila Vega. “Her addition to the DCA staff marks a historic expansion and validation of our nationwide leadership development initiative. With her leadership, we will achieve our goal of expanding our state and regional Voices Institute leadership programs.”
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