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NCCNHR StaffSarah F. Wells, MA, Executive Director
Sarah F. Wells, MA, has served as Executive Director of NCCNHR since January 2009. In this role, she directs the operations of the organization, leads fundraising and strategic planning efforts, liaises with the Board of Directors and represents NCCNHR in advocacy efforts for long-term care consumers. Sarah came to NCCNHR after nearly a decade at Women In Government (WIG), a national, nonprofit organization providing public policy education for women state legislators, where she served as Vice President. While at WIG, Sarah was instrumental in significantly increasing the organization’s operating budget, establishing a public policy department from the ground up, and leading numerous policy initiatives that resulted in significant state action. Sarah received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Women’s Studies from The George Washington University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies from American University. In addition, she holds a certificate in executive nonprofit management from the Center for Social Leadership and has completed additional health policy coursework at The Johns Hopkins University. Sarah currently serves as an appointed member from the Mason District on the Fairfax County, Virginia Advisory Social Services Board and as a representative to the County’s Long-Term Care Coordinating Council. She is a member of the American University Government Relations Alumni Career Committee, National Honorary Committee Member of the Collegiate Cancer Council and is a former Board Member of Community Bridges in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Janet Wells, Director, Public Policy Janet Wells first joined NCCNHR in 1986 as Director of Publications after a 15-year career in civil rights and women's rights advocacy. From 1992 until 2000, Janet was a long-term care specialist with AARP, where she was team leader of the Association’s Long-Term Care Team, conceived and coordinated national conferences on long-term care as a women's issue and improving the quality of paraprofessional jobs in long-term care and developed research projects and educational and communications programs on long-term care and health-care reform issues. In 2000, she returned to NCCNHR as Director of Public Policy to oversee the organization's legislative and regulatory initiatives and special projects to improve the quality of care in nursing homes. In this capacity, she chairs the Campaign for Quality Care, a coalition of nursing home stakeholder groups that work together on nursing home policy issues. Prior to 1986, she had been Director of an advisory council on Social Security reform for the Older Women's League; Associate Director of the Federal Education Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law and a Project Director and Community Organizer with the American Friends Service Committee.
Lori O. Smetanka, JD, Director, The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center Lori Smetanka became the Director of the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center in June 2004. In her role, she provides support, technical assistance and training for 53 state and more than 600 local long-term care ombudsmen programs. Lori first came to NCCNHR in 1993 on a public policy internship sponsored by the Leadership in an Aging Society Program at Duke University’s Long-Term Care Resources Program. She joined the staff at NCCNHR in 1994 as Law and Policy Specialist, focusing on the Nursing Home Reform Act and survey and enforcement issues. She was also a member of the Health Care Financing Administration’s Enforcement Procedures Group, which monitored the implementation of the new federal enforcement system in nursing homes. From 2002 until June 2004, Lori worked as Information Specialist for the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center. Lori has a Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton School of Law.
Jessica Brill, MPA, Program Manager Jessica Brill, MPA, joined NCCNHR in 2006 and currently serves as Program Manager. In this position, Jessica manages grant funded projects, assists with fund development and provides information, guidance, support and technical assistance related to the continuum of long-term care services on the state and national level to consumers and advocates, including Resident Councils, Family Councils and Citizen Advocacy Groups. Jessica holds a Master of Public Administration, a Master of Arts in Political Science and an Advanced Certificate in Health Services Management and Policy from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University.
Milissa Lake Spencer, Ombudsman Specialist, The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center Milissa Lake Spencer joined NCCNHR in 2007 as Ombudsman Specialist for the Center. She is responsible for providing support and training for both state and local ombudsmen. Prior to coming to NCCNHR, she worked as a local long-term care ombudsman in Indiana for nearly 14 years. During that time, Milissa played an important role in the development of the Indiana Volunteer Ombudsman Program; she also co-founded the Indiana Culture Change Coalition. Milissa has a Bachelor's Degree in Individual and Family Studies with Emphasis on Aging from Purdue University.
Rebecca Livesay, Program Associate - Communications and Outreach, The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center Becka Livesay joined NCCNHR in 2008 and currently serves as the Program Associate - Communications and Outreach in the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center. In her role, she is responsible for providing technical assistance to state and local ombudsmen. Becka also maintains and updates the Center's website and spearheads communication efforts for the organization. Prior to NCCNHR, she was at the American Society of Hematology, where she worked in the communications department. Becka has a Bachelor's Degree in Magazine Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She also has a degree in Spanish language and culture and studied abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador. She is currently pursuing a professional certificate in graphic design and web development from Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts.
Alia Murphy, Project Consultant Alia Murphy joined the NCCNHR team in 2009 as a Communications Intern and now serves as a Project Consultant supporting the organization's strategic planning efforts. Alia graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in May 2009 with a degree in International Affairs and a minor in History.
Shriya Kothur, Communications Intern Shriya Kothur joined NCCNHR in January 2010 as a Communications Intern. In her role, she is responsible for maintaining and updating the organization’s website, completing outreach and promotional tasks, conducting research and fulfilling various administrative duties. Prior to NCCNHR, Shriya was with an organization called INPUT, where she worked as a Research Associate conducting market research on federal business opportunities for INPUT’s IT and government sector clients. Shriya graduated in May 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tina Steier, Communications Intern Christina Steier is a senior at American University; she is studying sociology and musical theater. Christina handles the administration of NCCNHR's membership program and participates in communications projects.
NCCNHR and the Center are also pleased to work with several outstanding consultants/contractors, including:Alejandra Ona, Bookkeeper/Accountant Robyn Grant, Consultant to NCCNHR and NORC Sara Hunt, Consultant to NORC Sarah Burger, Consultant to NCCNHR and NORC Ira Hirsh, RedTongue (Conference Audio/Visual) Teddy Spittal, BigHeadIS (Website) NPower (Information Technology) |