Jennifer is the Program Director and northern tier instructor of the Gerontology-Aging Services Professional Program at Northwood Technical College. She brings extensive experience as a human services and gerontology educator and practitioner. She spent 20 years working in the long-term care industry, most recently in numerous roles with Acts Retirement-Life Communities, Inc., a not-for-profit owner/operator of continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) on the East Coast. She has specialized training and experience in therapeutic recreation programming for individuals with dementia. Jennifer served on many committees throughout her tenure with the organization including multiple CARF reaccreditation teams. Most recently Jennifer was the volunteer coordinator and office manager for ACTS’ start-up hospice program focusing on end-of-life care in the CCRC environment. In addition to working in the field, she has taught at three institutions of higher education in the greater Philadelphia area at the community college, Bachelors, and Masters levels.
Jennifer has a Master's of Science degree in the Administration of Human Services from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, with a concentration in adult and aging services. Her master’s thesis was on culture change in long-term care communities, focusing on the movement from institution to home. She holds a certificate in Gerontology from Montgomery County Community College (Blue Bell, PA), a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology from the College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, MN), and an Associate of Arts degree in Pre-Physical Therapy from Waldorf University (formerly Waldorf College) in Forest City, IA. Currently, Jennifer is pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership in Gerontology at Concordia University – Chicago.
In 2010, she received her Board Certification as a Human Services Practitioner (HS-BCP). She was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and lived on the East Coast for 16 years prior to joining Northwood Technical College in May, 2015. She is a volunteer self-study reader for the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE), an organization that accredits human services programs throughout the United States. She is a member of the National Organization for Human Services, and serves on multiple caregiver coalitions and workforce development committees throughout the region. She is also on the advisory board for the Wisconsin Dementia Resource Network.
*Note: Northwood Technical College was formerly known as Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC).