Staff Highlight – Promotions

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We are pleased to announce the promotion of Caitlin Yorio to the position, Supervisor for Team Amerihealth Caitlin joined Connexus Human Services Network/ AUCP 11/30/2020 and has served in the role of a Lead Service Coordinator for the past seven months and always willing to step-in when needed, assist anyone, or just give some good advice.

Caitlin has excelled in every aspect of the position. Her passion and work ethic are great qualities that she continues to demonstrate each and every day.

We are also pleased to announce the promotion of Autumn Nichol to the position, UPMC Hub 1 Supervisor. Autumn joined Connexus Human Services Network in February, 2021 and has served in the role of a Service Coordinator for UPMC SW.

We are also delighted to announce the promotion of Cara Smith to the position of UPMC SW Lead – Hub 1. Cara joined Connexus Human Services Network/AUCP in August of this year and has served in the role of a Service Coordinator. In this very little time frame, Cara has excelled in every aspect of the position. Her passion and work ethic does not go unrecognized.

Last but not least… Caitlin McCoy a Service Coordinator for AmeriHealth Joined Connexus Human Services Network/AUCP in October 0f 2021 also had a promotion in October of 2022 to Lead Service Coordinator.

These promotions recognize the contributions that these staff members have made to Connexus Human Services Network & AUCP during their tenure with the organization and were all effective on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. We look forward to their continued success! Congratulations!!!

August Staff Highlight

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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.

July Staff Highlight

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This month, we are excited to introduce you to Service Coordinator, Jennifer Myers. Jenny has been a Service Coordinator for a total of 13 years. 3 years at AUCP and 10 with South Central Service Coordination before we merged with their agency. In 2007 she moved to Shippensburg, PA from a small town in Maryland. She currently serves the South Central, PA area.

Jenny and her husband, Sam, have been married for 11 years. She has 3 step-children that are now all grown and are living in various states from California, Idaho, to Pennsylvania. Together Jenny and Sam have 2 dogs (pictured below) that are like children and keep them on their toes.

Jenny enjoys being outside doing things like camping, hiking, kayaking, gardening, and then resting by picking up a book and reading. Her biggest goal in life is to be happy with whatever road she takes in life and keep her family near.

If she wasn’t a Service Coordinator, Jenny would like to be a Marine Biologist working with whales, dolphins, seals, and the like. Her favorite part about working at AUCP is meeting the participants and building friendships with them. The most challenging part is when one of her participants passes away. She says it has been a great pleasure working at AUCP. Everyone shows great teamwork and stands by each other and supports each other.

Jenny has been a phenomenal addition to our company. She is able to connect with her participants in a very unique way. She always makes it a point to go above and beyond for the coworkers and team. We are so glad to have her as part of our work family.

June Staff Highlight

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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.

April Staff Highlight

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Service Coordinator Tara Herwig is our Staff Highlight for April. Tara has been with our agency since August of 2019 when we took over  UCP Connections to Independence where she had been working for about 9 months. She attended Mount Aloysius College and received a B.A. in English.

Currently, Tara lives in Lewistown, PA with her husband Jeremy and their four children; Emma, Evelyn, Benjamin, and Lillian. They also have a dog named Mollie and a cat named Whiskers. Tara enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and trying new recipes, growing her own food, and traveling to new places .  Her family especially loves going to the beach!  She also loves to read and try new things, or find a good movie or Netflix series to watch.

She says that if she didn’t work at AUCP, she would like to write a blog or start her own business. Her biggest goals in life are to question everything in life and make her dreams come true.

Tara likes that she gets to work with like-minded individuals who are passionate about helping others here at AUCP. Also, the flexibility this job offers allows her to work and be at home with her kids. The most challenging part of the job for her was transitioning from an office to working remotely and then trying to outline boundaries at home.

In the short time Tara has been with the agency, we have learned that she is always willing to step up and assist her coworkers. And in everything she does, she does it well. We are so pleased that she is now part of our work family and we want to thank her for all the hard work she does!

March Staff Highlight

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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.

January Staff Highlight

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Our staff highlight for January is Donna Strause, one of the Service Coordinators who transitioned over to our agency from UCP Connections to Independence about 8 months ago. She lives and works in Selinsgrove, PA area, but is originally from Middleburg, PA. At the age of 52 she proudly graduated from Albright College with a degree in Applied Psychology with a 3.80 GPA (way to go Donna!)

Donna often finds herself surrounded by family and pets! She is a mother, a grandmother of three (ages 15, 12, and 9), and a foster mom to many animals through SOAR Rescue. She says her family is her heartbeat and frequents her grandchildren’s sporting events cheering them on! Outside of her family, Donna loves to workout, scrapbooking, and she makes it a goal to read each night before going to sleep. She is a vegan and prides herself on never eating another sentient being again.

Her biggest goal in life is to retire which she is looking forward to doing in a little over 3 years. Although we’ll be sad to see her go, we’re excited for whatever comes next. Donna says that if she weren’t a Service Coordinator she would teach daycare or pre-school, perhaps even get her Graduate degree in Counseling for at risk children and children with mental health issues.

Donna has been a Service Coordinator now for over six years. Currently, she serves Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties. Visiting her consumers is what she likes most about working at AUCP and the most challenging part is the paperwork that accompanies the job.

We are so glad that Donna joined us in 2019 with her skill and expertise. Anyone that meets Donna will find out very quickly that she is compassionate and kind.

October Staff Highlight

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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.

September Staff Highlight

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Each month, one of our favorite things to do is highlight one of our staff members. We take pride in the awesome work that they do and want to take a moment to show them off.

This month, we’d like to recognize Emily Chawtek. Currently, Emily works under the UPMC Community HealthChoices as a Service Coordinator in Blair County. Previously, Emily was our Referral Specialist walking individuals through the enrollment process and connecting them to available community resources.

Born in Pittsburgh, Emily now lives in Altoona with her husband, their 3 year-old daughter named Lucy (whom she’s pictured with on the right), and Bonzo the boxer. Emily graduated from Shippensburg University with a major in Sociology and a minor in Women’s Studies. When she’s not busy working, Emily enjoys crocheting, reading, swimming, and playing hide and seek. Her biggest goal in life is to travel as much as possible.

Emily has worked at AUCP for the past 7 years and says that her favorite part of being a coordinator is getting to know her participants and the resources Blair County has to offer. The most challenging part of her position is the paperwork! If she weren’t a coordinator she’d like to be a teacher.

Ask anyone and they would agree that Emily is phenomenal at any job that she does. She is known as having a super kind personality and her peers look to her for her honesty and helpfulness. Emily, thanks for all that you do. We enjoy having you as part of our team!

August Staff Highlight

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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.