As program director for the KCC, Mrs. Simmons guides the efforts of the Kinship Navigators in providing services to grandparents and other caregivers of children not their own in Montgomery County, Ohio. In addition, she works with kinship coalitions statewide to address issues that affect kinship caregivers and their families. Mrs. Simmons is also chair of the Abuse Committee of the Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition. Mrs. Simmons served as a County Organizer for the Ohio GrandRally in 2003 and 2005. She was elected to the Ohio Governor's Kinship Advisory Board in August 2005.
As part of the teaching team, Mrs. Simmons instructs the Community Health Advocacy course, a 10-week training program taught twice yearly at Sinclair Community College.
Mrs. Simmons obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Services Administration in 1994 from Ohio University. She also holds a Gerontology Certification from the Division of Aging, Gerontology Certification Board. Mrs. Simmons is currently in a graduate degree program at Central Michigan University.
In her spare time, she enjoys roller skating, shopping and volunteer work with the youth at her church. |
Selected Presentations:
Consequences of Policy Change Ohio Grandparent Affidavit presentation 133rd APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition, Philadelphia PA, December 2005
Community Health Advocate Course, assistant course designer and co-instructor, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH, 2005
Ohio Kinship Navigator Program, panel participant, AARP, St. Petersburg Beach, FL, June 2005
Partnering to Meet the Needs of Kinship Caregivers in Ohio, presentation, Generations United Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., 2004
Research Evaluation and Enhancement Program, co-facilitator for Ohio regional focus groups, Ohio Commission on Minority Health, 2005
Where Do We Live, Grandma: Two Kinship Housing Programs in Ohio, presentation, Child Welfare League of America, Philadelphia, PA, 2003 |
