Colorado Area Health Education Centers and The Eden Alternative

Denise Hyde, PharmD, was inspired by person-directed care, when she learned about The Eden Alternative, and the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. As a pharmacist, she had an epiphany that all of the medication recommendations in the world would not be sufficient enough to improve quality of life for older people. 

No stranger to organizational change, Denise has firsthand experience initiating and implementing person-directed care (and all of the challenges along the way). Her change journey began in a Nebraska long-term care community and then expanded through her tenure as a mid-west Eden Alternative Regional Coordinator – a role that involved mentoring organizations committed to change across six states. In 2009, she joined the Eden Alternative Home Office Team as Community Builder and has been learning from, and coaching, hundreds of core leadership teams in implementing person-directed care across the US and Canada ever since.      

Rebecca Priest, MS, LNHA has over 20 years experience in Long term care as a clinician and operations leader in non and for profit settings. She also founded a successful mobile mindfulness business which invests in those who work in care roles in the area. She is deeply motivated to improve the experience of people who cannot live their lives independent of formal support from others and seeks to make a positive impact in the quality of experience that carers encounter in our world wherever they are.

Kristi Doan, MA was introduced to The Eden Alternative in 2018 when her first career in addiction treatment ended and her next career in aging services began. She found that working in an Eden community healed a piece of her heart and soul and she wanted to be a part of this culture change movement in a much bigger way. In 2022, Kristi realized that dream by joining The Eden Alternative home team as a Community Builder. She brings over 15 years of experience in creating and running trainings, managing teams through transitions, and facilitating growth in others. She has a passion for consulting, educating, and coaching teams implementing person-directed care.

Kristine Angevine began exploring person-directed care when she enrolled in a course she knew nothing about – Certified Eden Associate Training. She brings an in-depth knowledge of creating small homes within organizations, with a focus on empowered work teams and person-directed care. Having strong roots in the food and dining industry, Kris has applied this knowledge to what the dining experience looks like through a person-directed lens. She was the Guide for the Penfield Green House Homes in Rochester, NY for the first 5 years of operations and a Guide/Operations Manager for various long-term care “neighborhoods”. An Eden Educator since 2012, Kris has had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of change agents.