Alan Balch, PhD

Alan Balch, PhD has over fifteen years of executive leadership in the non-profit sector with an emphasis on consensus-building and collaboration. He has led numerous federal advocacy efforts on a range of issues both at the legislative and regulatory level. He became the CEO of both NPAF and PAF in 2013. From 2006 - 2013, he served as the Vice President of the Preventive Health Partnership -- a national health promotion collaboration between the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association. Prior to 2006 Dr. Balch was the Executive Director of Friends of Cancer Research.

Dr. Balch has served on the Executive Board of the Patient Advocate Foundation and National Patient Advocate Foundation since 2007. He also serves on numerous advisory boards and committees.

He earned his PhD in environmental studies with a concentration in political economy in 2003 from the University of California, Santa Cruz; master’s degree in environmental sciences in 1997 from the University of Texas in San Antonio; his bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in biology in 1994 from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Darci Becker, PhD, CCC-SLP

Darci Becker, PhD, CCC-SLP, Professor at St. Ambrose University received her master’s degree in 1991 and her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Iowa in 2011. She is a licensed and ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) and worked for 26 years in an inpatient hospital setting. While working in the hospital, she acquired and maintained Board Certification in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (BCS-S) from the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders for 10 years.

She joined the faculty at St. Ambrose in 2009 and teaches graduate courses in dysphagia and acquired language, cognitive, and motor speech disorders. She is a clinical supervisor for clients receiving speech-language services at the St. Ambrose Rite Care Clinic and has served as the faculty researcher for over 25 graduate research projects.

Darci has presented at regional, state, and national conferences; is currently the Iowa Speech-Language-Hearing Association Board Secretary, and has been the SLP representative at the Institute for Person-Centered Care since 2018.

Jennifer Best, MS, Ed., CFLE, CFCS-HDFS, BCC is a Lecturer and Department Coordinator in the Department of Psychology at St. Ambrose University. Jennifer has a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Master’s of Science Degree in Education from Western Illinois University.  Her post-graduate degree is from North Carolina State University.  Jennifer is a Certified Family Life Educator, has a certification in Human Development and Family Studies, and is a Board Certified Coach.  She has worked for 23 years for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach working with families and youth, as well as  providing training, project management, and evaluation for schools, non-profit and governmental organizations on a wide variety of family and social issues. 

She has expertise in human development and parenting, and specializes in high risk populations.  Jennifer has presented at numerous national, state and local conferences, and has trained hundreds of school and non-profit staff members on Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma. 

She serves on numerous community committees, including the Quad City Trauma Informed Care Consortium.  She has received the Outstanding Field Instructor of the Year Award from the St. Ambrose University School of Social Work, the Annual Leadership and Service Award from Iowa State University, and the Scott County Sheriff’s Department Program of the Year Award for her parent education efforts with incarcerated fathers.

Mary Jo Bloominger, MPAS, PA-C

Mary Jo Bloominger, MPAS, PA-C is a Physician Assistant who is currently teaching in the St Ambrose University Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program.  She received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Physician Assistant Studies degrees from The University of Iowa. She has 25 years of clinical experience in primary care. 

She spent the first 10 years of her career doing health care for the homeless at Community Health Care (CHC) where she saw patients at 6 homeless shelters. While at CHC, she was the team leader for the Diabetes Collaborative sponsored by the Bureau of Primary Health Care.  She was a speaker/faculty for the Health Disparities Collaborative for the Bureau of Primary Health Care. 

She has a special interest in Motivational Interviewing after attending the Bayer Institute for Health Care Communication training on Clinician-Patient Communication to Enhance Health Outcomes for Patients with Diabetes.  She has been a member of the Institute for Person-Centered Care at St Ambrose University since 2017.

Nicholas Cooper, PT, DPT, PhD

Nicholas Cooper, PT, DPT, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at St. Ambrose University. He is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. He earned his DPT and Ph.D. at the University of Iowa.

His clinical and research interests are focused on helping people manage pain, especially low back pain. His clinic experience includes nearly a decade of practice on an interdisciplinary team providing subspecialty care to people with neck and back pain.

Emily Diehm PhD, CCC-SLP

Emily Diehm Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor at St. Ambrose University. She has over 10 years of experience working as a speech-language pathologist in a variety of settings, with her favorite being public schools.

Her clinical, teaching, and research interests include the connections between oral and written language abilities and best practices for language/literacy instruction for children, including those who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication and/or from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Emily currently serves as the Professional Development Manager for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Special Interest Group (SIG) 16 (School-Based Issues) and is the incoming Editor for SIG 16's journal, Perspectives. She also serves as a Board Member for the Autism Society of the Quad Cities.

Ann Garton, DNP, RN, FPCC, CNE

Ann Garton, DNP, RN, FPCC, CNE is the Director of St Ambrose University’s Institute for Person-Centered Care. She has been recognized by Planetree International® as a Fellow of Person-Centered Care. Previously, she led a community health medical center in the ANCC Magnet Certification process. Her community experience has focused on global population health, specifically within the refugee population.

She currently supports the Quad Cities Behavioral Health Coalition as a member of the steering committee and serves on a number of local health and human service organization boards. As host of the IPCC podcast, she shares best practices in person-centered care with experts from across the country. As Associate Professor in Nursing, she especially enjoys sharing her knowledge and engaging our future nurses in the importance of population health and person-centered care.

Benjamin Kolner,
MPAS, PA-C

Benjamin Kolner, MPAS, PA-C is a provider at UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine. He is also a clinical affiliate faculty member at Saint Ambrose University and an affiliate clinical assistant professor at the University of Dubuque. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Iowa State University, and his master’s in physician assistant studies from Des Moines University.

He has been working in family practice since his graduation in 2013. He helped with the transformation of his clinic into a person-centered medical home in 2015. He and his wife have 3 young children and enjoy traveling, cooking, and spending time outdoors.

Anne Lansing, OTD, MOL, OTR/L

Anne Lansing, OTD, MOL, OTR/L engaged in a variety of clinical roles for 21 years prior to joining the St. Ambrose University Occupational Therapy Department in 2011.  She is a 1988 graduate of St. Ambrose University, and a 1990 graduate of Washington University’s Occupational Therapy program.  She is a 2015 graduate of St. Ambrose University’s Master of Organizational Leadership program, and obtained her Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree through St. Catherine University in 2018. 

Dr. Lansing’s clinical experience has ranged across the lifespan in a variety of settings focusing on adult rehabilitation within inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings.  Within her faculty role, her research focus is in the area of healthy aging and the impact of the environment on meaningful occupational participation.

She is dedicated to community programming to support older adults toward successful aging and aging in place. This aim led to the development of Aging Innovatively: A Community-Based Healthy Aging Program and the Assistive Technology Reutilization program through Jim’s Place, the assistive technology house affiliated with SAU’s OT program.

Chris Martin, MSW, PhD

Chris Martin, MSW, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at St. Ambrose University.  She teaches both diversity and advanced individual and family skills courses in the school.  Her scholarship lies in the area of implicit racial bias and this led her to create curriculum for the Iowa Department of Human Services to educate both employees of the Department and community members across the state.  Dr. Martin is committed to the teaching and learning of bias, characteristics of white supremacy, antiracism, and social justice.

Jill Schmidt, OTD, MS, OTR/L, CBIS

Jill Schmidt, OTD, MS, OTR/L, CBIS is a professor and program director of the St. Ambrose University Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.  She holds a post-professional doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Creighton University and a Master’s of Science in Health Care Administration from St. Francis University. 

She has 26 years of experience as an Occupational Therapist working in a variety of clinical, administration, and academic settings. She currently teaches Applied Neuroscience in Occupational Therapy and mentors student research in a variety of clinical topics to promote person-centered care within community-based programming.