January Staff Highlight

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.