For June, we would like to introduce you to Amanda Urban as our staff highlight. Amanda is a Lead Service Coordinator on our UPMC Community HealthChoices team serving the Bedford and Somerset counties. She is from Berlin, PA, and is the oldest of 3 children in a family of five, plus 2 fur-children of her own (pictured).

Some of her favorite activities include going to farmer’s markets, thrifting and repurposing furniture, cooking, and baking. Her biggest goal in life is to simply love her life.
Amanda attended the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown to receive her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She says that if she was not in the social work field, she would work with dogs owning her own grooming business.

Amanda has been a Service Coordinator at AUCP for a year and a half. Her favorite part of working here is the people that she interacts with daily and that no day is ever the same. The most challenging part of her job is organizing the chaos that comes along with the job.

Her supervisors and coworkers always have wonderful things to say about her.  Amanda is diligent and organized. Always willing to go out of her way to assist her coworkers, serve her community, and provide well-thought feedback. We are so glad to have Amanda as part of our family.

June’s Staff Highlight is Tom Lawson, a Programs Manager here at AUCP for the OLTL and Adult Autism Waiver programs. Originally from Western New York, Tom moved to New Jersey when he was 21, and last June he relocated to Ligonier, PA. For college, he attended State University of New York (York) majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Law, Justice, and Society.

Tom and his “saint” of a wife, Wendy, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last month. They have a 19 year-old son, Jared, who just completed his Freshman year at the University of Alabama. They also have a 4 year-old husky named Truman who keeps them active.

Tom would describe himself as a sports “junkie,” specifically of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Indians and the Buffalo Bills. If he’s not watching sports on T.V. or live with his friends, he might be watching the Weather Channel or ALF. He is also a fan of music, both listening to and attending concerts. He saw Metallica twice last year in a three day span!

His biggest goal in life is to be the best father to Jared and husband to Wendy that he can be. He likes to make people smile and bring humor to as many aspects of life that he can. Tom also finds fulfillment in serving his community, whether it is serving meals on Thanksgiving, coaching youth hockey, or being active with a Bulldog Rescue.

His dream job would be  to work as the General Manager of a sports team and put together a group of players with a common goal of winning a championship. His favorite part of working at AUCP is being able to meet so many awesome people and to see great work done on a daily basis by our dedicated employees. Since relocating here from New Jersey, the biggest challenge has been getting to know all the nuances of the programs. Yet, he says he has great people to rely on for guidance!

Tom is a fun and energetic leader here at AUCP. He is always making us laugh and is willing to go out of his way to support staff and our participants. We are glad that he is part of our team and for his role in enhancing the quality and culture of our agency.

Our March Staff Highlight is Hollie Orris, a AmeriHealth Coordinator serving our nursing home participants in Cambria and Somerset counties. She has been with AUCP for 2 years working out of the Johnstown office. Hollie graduated from Mount Aloysius College with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

One thing you will quickly learn about Hollie is that she loves dogs, especially her own. Pictured to the right are her two rescue dogs: a German shepherd named Max (2) and a shepherd collie mix named Bowzer (9). Hollie enjoys reading, everything Harry Potter, spending time with her friends, and shopping and going on bus trips with her mom. She and her boyfriend like taking weekend trips, going to trivia, and trying new restaurants.

In her free-time, she manages fundraisers to help raise money for the St. Michael Fire Hall. Hollie is also on AUCP’s Fundraising committee where she attributes her time and talents to raising money for our Community Fund.

Her favorite things about working at AUCP are her coworkers and being able to assist our participants in living their best lives. The most challenging part of her position is that everyday is different. and sometimes you can’t provide an answer to the participants right away. If she weren’t a Service Coordinator, Hollie would like to work as a Vet Tech.

Hollie always works hard and goes out of her way to help others. We are thankful to have her as part of our team.

This month’s Staff Highlight is Corri McGinnis, from Team UPMC Healthchoices. Corri has worked with us for almost 3 year,

currently serving the Johnstown, Seward, and New Florence locations. She has a dual major in Public Health and Psychology from Slippery Rock University. One day, Corri would like to get a Master’s Degree in epidemiology and study the trends of diseases, as well as, our responses to public health concerns.

Corri lives in Strongstown, PA with her fiancé Jason, their 3 cats (Shadow, Foxy, and Mr. Fix It), and their two dogs (Gracie and Wrangler). Some things that Corri enjoys doing include going to concerts, seeing plays and musicals with her friends, as well as, being outdoors going kayaking, hiking, and biking. Her biggest goal in life is to travel as much as possible and experience new things. When they’re not working on house projects, Corri and her fiancé enjoy camping or planning their next vacation. This past June they traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee where they hiked a total of 35 miles and even got engaged!

Corri says that there are many things she enjoys about working with AUCP, but her top reasons include interacting with her participants and feeling like she is a part of a team that wants to make a difference in the community. The most challenging part of her position is the constant changes under the MCO’s.

There are so many wonderful things to say about Corri, she is truly a team player and cares about both her participants and her coworkers. With her cheerful personality and kind demeanor, Corri is a great benefit to our agency.

You might remember that about a year and a half ago we merged with an agency in the Hanover area. This merger gave us the opportunity to hire on some of their great staff, among them was Jessica Backus. Jessica now serves as our Office Manager and holds down the fort at our Hanover office.

Jessica is a graduate from Shippensburg University with a major in Psychology. Currently, she lives in Gettysburg, PA. A fun fact about Jess is that she is the youngest of five children! During her free time, she likes to keep busy by reading, watching movies and television, doing puzzles, and spending time with her family and friends. Jessica’s biggest goal in life is to go back to school to receive her Master’s degree and work as a Criminologist.

At AUCP, Jessica loves the great team atmosphere that she works in. Jessica also ensures that our policies and processes are accurate for each program. She says that this is the most challenging part of her position, but we think that there’s no better person for the job because of her attention to detail and superb writing abilities.

Jessica is a fun addition to our team and has greatly attributed to the quality of our agency.