This month, we would like to introduce you to Gwendolyn Msolomba. Gwen has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Business from Carlow University and a Masters in Education from Ashford University. She is a supervisor for our AmeriHealth team and our Community Health Workers.

Gwen was born and raised in Johnstown, PA. Family means a lot to Gwen! She has three brothers and a loving mother, Jackie who is her biggest fan and supporter. She is also a fun and adventurous aunt and godmother to her three nephews, a great-niece, 3 goddaughters, and 4 godsons. Gwen is the glue that holds her family together. She also has a dog, Zack, and a turtle, Versace.

For hobbies, Gwen enjoys braiding hair and dancing! She teaches West African Dance at Saint Francis University and a free class at the Bottleworks in Johnstown, PA. One of her greatest passions is to see all children succeed. In fact, her biggest goal in life is to open a recreational center in Johnstown to create a safe place for youth to hang out and learn the skills they need to live on their own.

Gwen has been with AUCP for 5 and a half years.  She says she loves the team approach that we have transitioned to over the last few years. She enjoys the teams that she is a part of and the flexibility that this job offers. The most challenging part of her position is the process to match participants with the things that they need, sometimes it takes longer than we want it to. If Gwen did not work at AUCP, she would like to be a Behavioral Specialist Consultant.

All of us here at AUCP love working with Gwen! She has a great sense of outspoken humor and is able to maintain her cool in the toughest of situations. Gwen makes work fun and we are so glad that she’s part of our family.

This month for our Staff Highlight, we are featuring one of our new Community Health Workers, Christy Berzonski. Christy was the HUB spotlight for the 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health. Below are some excerpts from her interview. You can read the full article on their website.

Tell us about yourself: I am a mother of three with a boy and two girls. I was a young mother at 21. I always wanted to be a mother but never knew what I wanted to do with my life. I was a nursing assistant for a year and then did retail for over 20 years. I went back to school in my 30’s and got a certificate in coding and billing. My real passion, though, all these years has been helping people. My husband had cancer when he was in his early 20’s, and I learned real fast what a great community I had living in Somerset County. Friends and strangers came together to raise money for my family since my husband couldn’t work. People we didn’t know were sending us gift cards and dropping off food. It was then that I decided Cancer was my main outreach. I wanted to give back to the community that helped me, that was also going through this terrible disease. So I started fundraising. I have helped kids with cancer and adults by organizing bike runs, basket parties, spaghetti dinners, Walmart Heart program, and painting parties. I enjoyed searching for resources and meeting new people and learning their stories. We all have a story or a purpose and I believe mine is to help others. I encourage my daughter, Analeigh, to do the same by taking her for volunteer opportunities with Johnstown Food Truck and Windber Community Kitchen. I also love to scrapbook because I feel they tell your family story and I love capturing memories.

What drew you to the CHW position in the first place? When I learned of this position, I was drawn to it. They wanted someone from the community for the community. It didn’t require a degree. They wanted someone who has walked similar walks and that could pull experiences and relate to the participant. I am a mother, so what better way to relate! I also had to use a lot of the same resources when I had my first two children and again when my husband got cancer. I am excited to make an impact and empower these women. I loved that we aren’t telling them what to do, but listening to them and putting them in charge of their own life plan. We are just there to give them the tools to accomplish the things they want.

What is the most challenging part of being a CHW so far? The hardest part of this job is hitting a roadblock: To find a gap in resources or have a safety concern and not be able to instantly protect them.

We would like to introduce you to Lindsay Vogt, a Lead Service Coordinator on our Amerihealth team. She’s been a Service Coordinator for almost 5 years, first with UCP Central and then with us after the merger. Lindsay is from Lewistown, PA, and serves Mifflin and Juniata counties. She has a Human Development and Family Studies degree from Penn State.

Lindsay and her husband have been together for 15 years and married for 10 years. Together they have 2 children. Their daughter, Quinn (6) does gymnastics, ballet, tap dance, and recently started kindergarten. Their son, Quay (4) loves wrestling, WWE, hanging out with his daddy, and goes to preschool. As a family, they enjoy watching and hosting football parties, especially Notre Dame.

Lindsay says that her biggest goals in life have always been to have a job she loves that pays well and to be a good mom to her kids. If she didn’t work at AUCP, she’s not sure what she would do. When she graduated college she worked in a nursing home for 3 years, but it became more about money and less about quality. Lindsay says that she likes the flexibility and trust she receives from her Supervisors at AUCP. The most challenging part of her job is when she has relay hard news to participants and dealing with difficult people.

Lindsay is dedicated and passionate in ensuring her participants get what they need.  Her supervisor says that she has a huge heart and shares her compassion with her participants and staff. Always diligent to get her work done in a timely manner and is quick to assist other staff with work, offer training, and support.