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.

July Staff Highlight

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valerie johnston

This month, we are happy to introduce you to Valerie Johnston. Valerie has been a Service Coordinator with AUCP for the past five and a half years, working out of her home in Clearfield county. The Johnstown office gets the pleasure of seeing Valerie at least once a week when she travels to the office to work.

Valerie graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) with a dual major in Psychology and Criminology. She has been married to her husband, Dale, for 31 years and together they have a daughter, Alysia, and a son, Justin. If it were up to Valerie, she would be full-time “Mammy J” to her grandson, Nash. When she’s not busy with work and chasing her grandson around, Valerie enjoys gardening, four-wheeling, traveling, and striving to be happy and worry less.

Currently, Valerie serves Clearfield, Jefferson, Centre, Clinton, Clarion, Lycoming and Forest counties. She says she loves being a Service Coordinator and enjoys working with her participants and their family members. The most challenging part of her position is keeping up with the paperwork and notes that accompany the work.

Valerie is funny and is a team player. She is quick to offer assistance to other staff and is very knowledgeable about the job and services provided.

Cancer Survivor’s Day 2019

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On Sunday, June 2nd, cancer survivors and supports will come together to celebrate life and raise awareness on National Cancer Survivors Day.

A few of our staff members have been touched in significant ways by cancer and this year we would like to honor them for their strength and determination in battling their cancer diagnoses. Click on their names below to read their full story.

Tina Trimbath, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Katelyn McClain, Breast Cancer
Linda Freidhoff, Breast Cancer

June Staff Highlight

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Teil UhringFor the month of June, we would like to introduce you to Teil Uhring, a Service Coordinator out of our Pittsburgh office serving Allegheny County through UPMC Community HealthChoices. Teil graduated from Clarion University with her B.S. in Rehabilitative Sciences, is currently working towards her M.S. in Clinical Counseling, and hopes to one day obtain a Ph. D. When she is not busy with work and school, Teil enjoys reading, cooking, and being outside as much as possible.

Teil has worked at AUCP for two years now and aside from helping people, she loves the team approach that we offer and the support system it offers to the staff. The most challenging part about being a service coordinator is remembering that they are not to fix problems for the participants, but rather provide the tools to do so. If she were not a service coordinator, Teil would like to work with at-risk adolescents or in a women’s shelter.

Teil is known as being diligent and great with critical cases. She is a fantastic trainer and peer to her colleagues. All of us agree that she is a valuable part of our AUCP family and are excited for all that her future has in store.

April Staff Highlight – Jennifer Hauser

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For our April Staff Highlight, we would like to introduce you to Jennifer Hauser, a Service Coordinator covering our UMPC Community HealthChoices (CHC) participants in the Somerset County area. Jen is from Hollsopple, PA and attended Clarion University for Rehabilitative Services with a concentration in Gerontology.

Each day, Jen goes home to her three children; Savannah (8 years old) her “emotional perfectionist,” Nevada (6 years old) her “ornery instigator,” and Harrison (3 years old) her “little curious adventurer,” and her loving husband, Josh. During her free time, Jen enjoys playing sports, sitting down with a good book, and playing the piano. Her most important goal in life is to raise good, loving, and successful children who love God.

Jen has been a Service Coordinator at AUCP for a little over three years. She says if she did not work here she would like to be a nurse. Jen enjoys working with her team of coworkers stating that each of them has the other’s best interest at heart. The most challenging part of her position is prioritizing the participants’ needs when they are in vulnerable positions.

Jen is a blessing to AUCP; she is known for her compassion and diligence by her participants. Her colleagues boast of her impressive memory and helpfulness. Jen, we are thankful to have you as part of our AUCP team!