Our Team
Beth Busching, RN, MSN, Manager of Community Wellness
Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, Certified Lactation Counselor
Beth’s passion is community wellness. Some of her favorite moments have come from her role as a childbirth educator. “I’m privileged to work with parents-to-be and help them have a positive birth experience.” She is especially honored when a couple calls or writes after the birth of their baby to share their experience.Laurie Chilton, RN, Certified Lactation Counselor
Laurie takes an interactive approach to education. By engaging her students, she is able to teach them how to make lasting positive changes to their health. Laurie enjoys building relationships through her classes and helping students make changes in their lives.
Lisa Cumings, RN, MEd., Specializing in Health Promotion
Lisa believes the way to improve health and implement healthy change is by uncovering the challenges that people face. She strives to give individuals the tools they need to adopt healthy behaviors. As Community Health Liaison, Lisa also works closely with community agencies, helping to implement community-wide change.
Lynne Dirienzo R.N., BSN
Lynne believes that knowledge is power, and she strives to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health and wellness. As a Safe Sitter instructor, Lynne prepares adolescents for the important role of a babysitter. One of Lynne’s former students used the techniques Lynne taught her to save her little sister from choking on candy.Margaret Dohnalik, Community Wellness Coordinator
Margaret is the hub of Community Wellness, she plans and organizes programs, coordinates registration and keeps everything running smoothly. She believes in the highest level of customer service, because they are what matters most. “It’s encouraging to see the impact of our programs on participants.”
Margaret is thrilled that so many doctors are willing to take time out of their schedules to present information to the community on such a wide variety of healthcare topics. When reading the student evaluations after a program, it is encouraging to see the impact that the information presented has on the participants’ lives.
Lynn Fifer, MS, Registered Dietitian, Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified in Adult Weight Management
Lynn believes educating the community on health and nutrition is key to decreasing and preventing future health issues. She brings a fun, realistic approach to her teaching and her biggest reward is when clients reach their personal nutrition goals.Martha Kieffer, RN, MS, Business Management
Martha feels the most important person on your healthcare team is you. That is why community wellness education is so important. “Individuals need to be aware of their health risks and ways to reduce such risks.” Martha’s favorite part of her job is hearing from former smokers how their health has improved and how much better overall they feel.
Jennifer Kleckner, RN, Certified Lactation Counselor, Maternal/Child Educator
Jennifer believes that health and wellness education is the cornerstone to living well. As a maternal/child educator, Jennifer stresses the importance of health and wellness on the family as a whole, in addition to each family member individually. She loves to see the support and encouragement moms show each other during the Breastfeeding Support Group. “It is truly community wellness in action.”Dawn McCoy, RN, BSN
Dawn’s favorite job-related experiences come when she witnesses positive results and changes in her student's lives. “The preventative guidelines presented by community wellness programs provide the framework for optimal health.”Courtney Russell, BSEd, MPH
Illinois Teaching Certificate for Health Education and Biology Grades 6-12
Certified in Group Fitness Instruction and Personal Training through the American Council on Exercise
Courtney believes wellness is every person’s greatest resource. It’s a complex intermingling of the many different dimensions of an individual (physical, social, mental, emotional, spiritual, and environment). Wellness is a continual practice rather than a means to an end, and can be practiced by anyone at any stage. As a health and wellness educator it is her goal to enable each individual to create their own roadmap to optimal wellness. This is achieved through providing knowledge, developing skills, identifying barriers to health and wellness, and creating ways to work around these barriers. Society as a whole benefits immensely when an individual makes the commitment to be an active participant in their own health and wellness. Courtney’s passion is to provide the knowledge, tools, and resources so each person has the opportunity to fulfill this duty to themselves, their families and to others. She enjoys being able to share her passion for health and wellness and use it as a tool to motivate and inspire others to achieve their full potential.Andrea Whitt, B.S., Health Promotion, American Heart Association CPR Certified
Because knowledge alone doesn’t result in behavior change, Andrea strives to connect personally with community members to support and encourage them to make healthy changes in their lives. “The potential to make a positive difference in someone's life every time I go to work is my favorite part of the job.”Cameron Wiegartz, BSN, RN-BC
Cameron tries to bring an element of humor into his classes. In “Boot Camp For New Dads,” he enjoys teaching dads about the things they will encounter with their new babies, including changing diapers!
Matt Wittrup, MAT, School Health Promotion Specialist
Master of Arts in Teaching, Specializing in Health Education
Illinois State Licensed Teacher for Health Education and Business for Grades 6-12
Matt believes health is a choice. He says we can either choose to be healthy and intentionally engage in healthful activities, or not. Having access to tools and information allows achieving health to become easier. His mission as a health educator is to both educate and motivate students to choose to actively engage in a healthy lifestyle. “I am passionate about reversing childhood obesity, reducing risk behaviors and helping children become happy and healthy adults.”
