Utilizing Motivational Interviewing for Group Recruitment and Retention

Laura B. Plunkett is a Senior Program Specialist with the Center for Healthy Aging at the National Council on Aging. In this role, she works with chronic disease self-management education and fall prevention grantees across the country to provide information, support, and resources to strengthen, expand, and sustain the delivery of evidence-based programs. Prior to joining NCOA, Laura spent four years at an Area Agency on Aging in North Carolina, where she coordinated the implementation of evidence-based health promotion programs in 12 counties. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Social Work from North Carolina State University and a Master’s degree in Public Health from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her professional interests include the integration of community-based services and health care, the sustainability of evidence-based programs, and continuum of care efforts.

Jeaneane Quinn, MSW, LSW, is a Geriatric Social Worker in the Rush Department of Social Work and Community Health. Jeaneane received her Master of Social Work degree, with a Specialization in Gerontology, at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work, and a Bachelor of Science degree at Brown University.  She provides clinical social work services both at Rush and in the community at four Chicago Department of Family & Support Services Senior Centers. She also facilitates a monthly caregiver support group in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association. Jeaneane is highly skilled in using motivational interviewing to assess and encourage participant engagement in health promotion and disease prevention programs. She is dedicated to fostering awareness, advocacy, and education around fall prevention, as a Master Trainer for Matter of Balance and instructor for Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention.

Padraic Stanley is a social worker living in Chicago, IL. He currently works as a program manager for community-based health promotion for the Rush University Medical Center Department of Social Work & Community Health. He is also the chair of Rush’s Immigrant Health Working Group, which is oversees Rush’s immigrant health and welcoming healthcare initiatives. He is a graduate of the Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work, where he completed the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and completed clinical practicum at Heartland Human Care Services and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Currently, he is an adjunct professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago, Associate Professor of Social Work for the Rush University College of Health Sciences, on the associate board for Erie Neighborhood House, and the executive board for the International Association for Social Work with Groups.