Meet the SC LTC RISE Team

Dr. Osevala is the Director of the South Central RISE program. She is quite familiar with the providers in the Southcentral region as she led the Southcentral Regional Response Health Collaborative (RRHC) and Regional Congregate Care Assistance Team (RCAT). Dr. Osevala will lead a group of experienced partners passionate about advancing efforts to support long-term care providers and staff in their important work caring for the residents of long-term care in our region.

Jon has been an LTC program and planning analyst for the South Central LTC RISE program since August of 2022.  He has 9 years of experience providing grant and program management within the private sector, and local and state government. Jon has provided consultation in the areas of public health emergency preparedness, healthcare supply chain and business continuity, healthcare regulatory compliance, as well as occupational and environmental health and safety. He is responsible for promoting a safe and resilient long-term care continuum via all-hazards emergency management and other quality assurance and quality improvement (QA/QI) initiatives.

Laurie has been program manager for Pennsylvania State University grants since July 2020 for the Southcentral Regional Response Health Collaboration Program (RRHCP), Regional Congregate Assistance Teams (RCAT), and Long-Term Care Resiliency, Infrastructure Support and Empowerment (LTC RISE) with the State of Pennsylvania. Laurie has over 10 years grant and research experience, as well as program and project management, within colleges, universities, public and private entities in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor and in the Midwest region. Laurie spent 15 years conducting business development, networking, and negotiations to establish mutually beneficial relationships between local, state, and national organizations.

Katie is Education Program Specialist for LTC Rise, helping coordinate calendars and scheduling with our partners in the South-Central region. She joined Penn State University in 2019, after ten years of experience in the non-profit world. With a passion for building relationships, problem-solving, and getting her hands dirty, Katie has assisted with projects ranging from COVID response to donor reporting.

Samantha joined South Central RISE in November 2023. Her RISE role includes managing our region’s facilities and participants, developing communication strategies, supporting RISE staff wellness and behavioral health opportunities, and managing and collecting engagement data. She believes in creating measurable and memorable engagements to support LTC facilities in our region. In addition to her background in Media Studies and Psychology, Samantha has a wellness background as a 200-hour E-RYT. Samantha is a volunteer for The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration and a Support Group Facilitator for Mental Health America of Lancaster County.  

Sue is the Community Engagement Manager for the South Central LTC RISE program. Her responsibilities include engaging with, and providing information to, the communities in the South Central Region. This includes resources and support through the RISE program. She has a 30-plus year career devoted to spear-heading specialized dementia services and programs. Sue’s area of interest includes educating and supporting caregivers, both professional and family. She is a member of The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration Education Committee. She speaks nationally and throughout Pennsylvania regarding dementia-related topics.

Xi joined the South Central RISE program as a Data Scientist in February 2024. With an 8-year work experience in data analysis spanning business and research sectors, including her tenure at Penn State since 2019, Xi brings a solid expertise in analytics and programming to the team. Her specialty lies in merging and analyzing complex datasets from diverse sources, including large public databases and RISE grant-specific surveys. Leveraging her expertise in data analysis and visualization tools, Xi delivers professional insights to stakeholders and decision-makers through a data-driven approach.