Workforce Shortage Presenters

Presenter: Linda Wolford, Department of Human Services (DHS) 

Presenter’s bio: Linda Wolford currently serves as the Co-Lead for Workforce Shortage on the Community Capacity/Positive Supports for the Disability Services Division at DHS. She currently coordinates workforce shortage initiatives for the Division, works on equity initiatives and stakeholder engagement. She formerly worked at DHS doing home care policy, working on employment initiatives and consumer directed personal care assistance services under several federal grants. Linda has a lifelong disability and is a recipient of services.

Linda has spent the majority of her career at the University of Minnesota where she served as a manager for 9 ½ years at the Disability Resource Center and previously as Director and formerly Associate Director of the Diversity Institute there.

Linda obtained her Masters in Science in Counseling Psychology with a Rehabilitation emphasis from St. Cloud State University and a B.A. in Criminal Justice Studies also from St. Cloud State. She has served on the board of numerous nonprofits and in various community service capacities, as well as adjunct faculty positions.

Linda resides in Roseville, MN and enjoys music, hanging out with friends and traveling.

Presenter: Dr. Janette Dill, University of Minnesota – School of Public Health. 

Presenter’s bio: Janette Dill, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Dill’s research focuses on the health care workforce, with an emphasis on the direct care workforce. She studies the use of credentialing and career ladders in health care settings to improve worker skills and quality of care, and the rewards to workers for participation. Dill also studies the use of direct care and middle-level workers in care teams across different health care settings.

Presenters: Megan Sanders & Sandy Pettingell, University of Minnesota—Institute on Community Integration.
Presenters’ bios: 

Megan Sanders is a national workforce consultant at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration. She provides training, consultation, and technical assistance to provider organizations, states, and individuals to address workforce challenges for direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors (FLSs). Before joining the ICI staff in 2020, Sanders worked as a DSP and FLS. She earned a master's degree in social work and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Truman State University.

Sandra Pettingell, PhD, is a Research Associate in the College of Education and Human Development. She contributes statistical and research methodology consultation to numerous research studies, providing support in instrument development, data management, statistical analysis, and interpretation of findings. She also helps conduct complex quantitative analytic methods including mediation analyses, growth curves, and multi-level modeling. With 5 years experience developing and standardizing educational and achievement tests and over 20 years as a Research Associate, she specializes in large-scale, multi-wave longitudinal data sets. She spent 19 years in the schools of Adolescent Medicine and Nursing where her research focus was examining risk and protective factors for multiple health outcomes. She has worked in the College of Education and Human Development for 5 years where her focus includes health care coordination, residence, services and employment for various groups of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also provides consultation to students working on their masters and doctoral theses.

Presenter: Megan Dayton, State Demographer’s Office

Presenter’s bio: Megan Dayton is a Senior Demographer at Minnesota’s State Demographic Center. Since 2012, she has been responsible for preparing demographic projections for the State of Minnesota, 13 Economic Development Regions, and 87 counties. Serving in this role, Megan is Minnesota's state representative to the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Projections (FSCPP) with the U.S. Census Bureau. Megan’s work involves the creation of school district estimates upon request for intercensal levy cycle funding and providing data analysis for state agencies, councils, and legislators. 

Megan’s research interests include improving upon existing data modeling techniques used for state and sub-state areas, as well as social stratification and more general demographic trends related to fertility, mortality, and migration patterns. Megan has hands-on knowledge of social and economic realities brought about by recent demographic shifts. Her work engages an attentive approach to relating current demographic trends with the resulting likelihoods.

Megan holds a master's degree in applied demography from the Center for Demography and Population Health at the Florida State University.

Presenter: Oriane Casale, Department of Employee and Economic Development (DEED)

Presenter’s bio: Oriane Casale is Assistant Director of the Labor Market Information Office of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). She has served on the Direct Care Workforce Shortage group since its inception six years ago. Oriane has a B.A. from the New School for Social Research in New York and an M.A. in public affairs from the University of Minnesota.

Presenters: Meghan Lindblom & Christina Honsa, Department of Human Services (DHS) 
Presenters’ bios: 

Meghan Lindblom is a supervisor of the program integrity team for the Disability Services Division. Her team’s work concentrations on data collection for the division and waiver budgeting, including the Waiver Reimagine project. The team’s focus is on creating equitable financial solutions for programs while supporting ongoing accountability for spending. She has helped develop the current HCBS Labor Market Survey, cost reporting, and implement the PCA rate framework.

Christina Honsa is a data analyst for the program integrity team for the Disability Services Division (DSD) for Medicaid Home and Community Based Waivers and State plan services. Her work focuses on large-scale data collection, direct support workforce data collection, competitive workforce data, cost reporting, and workforce survey collection. She leads the effort behind the HCBS Labor Market Survey and Annual Labor Market Reporting for DSD.

Presenter: Linda Wolford, Department of Human Services (DHS) 

Presenter’s bio: Linda Wolford currently serves as the Co-Lead for Workforce Shortage on the Community Capacity/Positive Supports for the Disability Services Division at DHS. She currently coordinates workforce shortage initiatives for the Division, works on equity initiatives and stakeholder engagement. She formerly worked at DHS doing home care policy, working on employment initiatives and consumer directed personal care assistance services under several federal grants. Linda has a lifelong disability and is a recipient of services.

Linda has spent the majority of her career at the University of Minnesota where she served as a manager for 9 ½ years at the Disability Resource Center and previously as Director and formerly Associate Director of the Diversity Institute there.

Linda obtained her Masters in Science in Counseling Psychology with a Rehabilitation emphasis from St. Cloud State University and a B.A. in Criminal Justice Studies also from St. Cloud State. She has served on the board of numerous nonprofits and in various community service capacities, as well as adjunct faculty positions.

Linda resides in Roseville, MN and enjoys music, hanging out with friends and traveling.

Presenter: Scott Schifsky, Department of Human Services (DHS)

Presenter’s bio: For over 29 years Scott Schifsky has worked with a passion to help people with disabilities live the lives they want and choose.  Beginning as a direct support professional, he went on to spend 16 years in a variety of advocacy roles with The Arc in Minnesota.  Scott also spent eight years leading a statewide project that helped over 1,800 adults with disabilities move to a home of their own.  As manager of staff, relationships, and funds Scott built a team of value driven staff to who helped people with disabilities make their choices real.  Now Scott works at the MN-DSD on the Community Capacity Building Team.  He is a certified trainer with a variety of person centered planning processes.  Scott is the life sharing lead at DHS and works with numerous collaborators in an effort to expand the service.

Presenters: MN-NEAT members Alaina Gallagher, AARM, and Anna MacIntyre, DHS 
Presenters’ bios: 

Alaina Gallagher is a dedicated, high-energy executive, passionate about using technology to increase independence and improve health outcomes. She is devoted to finding creative routes to enhance quality of life for everyone.

Alaina currently serves as the Executive Project Manager for the Innovation Grant with ARRM, which aims to increase the awareness, access to, and usage of Assistive Technology and Remote Support. She is also a Business Consultant with NextGen Assistive Technology, where she helps Residential Service Providers prepare to become independent Remote Support Providers. 

Alaina is the co-owner and chair of MN Networking in Education and Assistive Technology (MN NEAT), a technology focused group comprised of members who work with assistive technology and remote support to provide better care and increased independence for everyone.

Anna MacIntyre has been a Policy Lead for the Waiver Policy and Compliance Team at DHS for the past 9 years, and has 30 years of experience working to help people with disabilities live more independent lives. She earned her dual Master’s degree in the field of community-based rehabilitation from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where she also received Certifications in both Assistive Technology and Gerontology. Anna is the Policy Lead for all of the technology related waiver services as well as remote service provision at DHS and is also a long standing member of MN-NEAT.

Presenter: Jesse Bethke Gomez, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living

Presenter’s bio: Jesse Bethke Gomez is Executive Director of Metropolitan Center for Independent Living in St. Paul. He has led a number of non-profit organizations with over twenty-five successive years as a CEO. Jesse was appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court for two-terms as an At-Large Commissioner to the Minnesota Judicial Selection Commission. Jesse is a recipient of the Liberty Bell Award from the Ramsey County Bar Association. He is committed to advancing the ability of people to care for one another and solving the direct care crisis.

Lydia Dawson is ANCOR’s Director of Policy, Regulatory & Legal Analysis. She formerly served as the executive director for the Maine Association for Community Service Providers and the Idaho Association of Community Providers, representing agencies supporting individuals with behavioral health and developmental disabilities. Prior to her work as a state association executive, Lydia served as a staff attorney with Maine’s protection and advocacy agency, representing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Lydia obtained her Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law with a concentration in public interest and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maine. She has been engaged statewide and nationally as a speaker and trainer on topics related to guardianship and supported decision-making, access and rate reimbursement methodology, and due process in Medicaid.