ALVA Presenters
Respected, experienced leaders will co-teach the ALVA course. All sessions will include interaction between presenters and participants to created an active learning environment.
Course Facilitators
Mary Kowalski
Overall Program Facilitator
Training and Development manager for 3M, retired after 25 years. Founder of Environmental Force, a VAN Venture that grew out of an ALVA project. Vital Aging Network Leadership Group member and chair of the VAN Education Committee.
John Pribyl
Overall Program Facilitator
John Pribyl, Director of Lutheran Social Services, Senior Corps Programs.
Dick Graham
Facilitator at Inver Hills Community College
Founder and past president of DARTS. Currently, Dick is leading the ALVA program for Inver Hills Community College.
Debbie Drinkard Grovum
Facilitator at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji
Presenters
George Latimer
Opportunities in Leadership: The Role of Older Adults in a Vital Society
Professor of Urban Studies at Macalester College. Former Mayor of Saint Paul and Dean of the Hamline University Law School.
Jan Hively
What's Next for Us? Vital Aging!
Co-founder of the Vital Aging Network, Jan is a teacher and social entrepreneur. She was named the Minnesota Gerontologist of the Year in 2008 by the Minnesota Gerontological Society and is currently actively engaged in the MN Creative Arts and Aging Network and SHiFT an organization that helps people align their work with their interests, values, and passions.
Lori Sturdevant
The Social and Political Climate in which We Live: Implications for Leadership
Lori Sturdevant is an editorial writer and weekly columnist for the StarTribune newspaper. She covers state politics and government.
Tom Gilaspy
Trends and Projections for the Future
Minnesota State Demographer
Mark Skeie
Dimensions of Leadership
Mark Skeie is the chair of the Vital Aging Network. He worked for 3M Company for more than 34 years, where he held a variety of management positions. He has complete a broad range of leadership development programs through 3M and has a personal passion for understanding effective leadership.
Julie Plauts
How is Social Change Achieved?
Director of Campus Compact's national academic initiatives with a focus on advancing civic and community engagement. Julie received her Ph.D. in History from Indiana University.
Deborah Tompkins, Bonnie Esposito, Sean Kershaw
Leadership for the Common Good
Deborah Tompkins is community initiative director for Dakota County's aging initiative, Living Longer and Stronger in Dakota County
Bonnie Esposito is executive director of Accountability MN.
Sean Kershaw is executive director of Citizens League.
Annette Sandler
Building a Vital Community
Project Coordinator of Nurturing Our Retired Citizens (NORC) a St. Louis Park initiative that enables older adults to stay in their homes and community for as long as they can with the support they need to be healthy, safe, engaged citizens.
Dawn Simonson, Kelly O'Brien, Janet Jacobson
Making Connections; Building Partnerships
Dawn Simonson is executive director of the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging.
Kelly O'Brien is director of RSVP, a Volunteers of America program and a VAN Leadership Group member.
Janet Jacobson is coordinator of the Minneapolis Public Schools Intergenerational Volunteer Program an a VAN Leadership Group member.
SagePresence (TM)
Storytelling: How to Craft Your Message to Achieve Your Goals