Greetings from Chicago! I currently work for The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. In my role as Education Director for the Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations I plan and coordinate a new hire curriculum, certification process, distance education program, and annual conference for Joint Commission field representatives.

My Ithaca College education was worth every penny. Classes like Designing Learning Systems (thanks Gordon Rowland) helped me appreciate the art and science of improving performance. I find that I approach nearly every task, large or small, with a design and performance improvement mindset – it’s ingrained! I also realized through my experiences in the graduate program the value of contextualized learning. Implementing this as an instructional strategy is a challenge and always fun, and pays dividends in terms of relevance and meaning for participants. It’s also worth noting that, in the same way that Ithaca College profs weren’t “easy” graders – more like genial in their critique – I find that being critical of my own work motivates me to produce quality work