June 2, 2021

Description

The eighth stop (part 2 of 2) in the MCOTA volunteer driver virtual forum series, Minnesota’s Road to Volunteer Drivers, provided training modules for volunteer driver programs about difficult customers, self-care, ethics and boundaries, and best practices. The first part (7th Stop on May 19) presented additional training modules focused on safety, security, emergency preparedness, and passenger assistance.

Forum Materials

Module 4 — Dealing with Difficult Customers and Self-Care

Module 5 — Ethics and Boundaries

Module 6 — Best Practices and Summary

Speakers

Carol Wright Kenderdine is director of Easterseals Transportation Group and serves as co-director of the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center, an FTA-funded technical assistance center. She is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on the Americans with Disabilities Act, transportation management, leadership, and strategic planning. Previously, she served as national director of Easter Seals Project ACTION and co-director of the National Center on Senior Transportation. She also served as associate director of the Small Urban and Rural Transit Center, at the NDSU Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute; executive director of senior services and public transportation for a multicounty agency in central North Dakota; director of a residential facility for traumatic brain injuries; various management positions in long-term care; and an independent consultant in marketing and development. She has a master’s degree in gerontology, human development, and education and a bachelor’s degree in speech and English from North Dakota State University.

Carrie Diamond has been with Easterseals since March 2020 and is assistant director for Easterseals Project Action Consulting and the federally funded technical assistance center, the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center. In this role, she produces resources and publications as well as training and direct technical assistance to transportation programs across the country. Carrie is a certified ADA coordinator through the University of Missouri, and a certified community resource specialist for aging and disability through the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. Carrie lives in Wisconsin, where she previously operated a volunteer driver, bus, and voucher program for the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Portage County and, more recently, served as the transportation specialist for the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, Inc., and on the boards of the Wisconsin Association of Mobility Managers and Wisconsin Rural Partners.

Eleanor (Ellie) Burkett is Greater Minnesota program manager for the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration and serves volunteer engagement networks and sectors in central and northern Minnesota. Prior to joining MAVA in January 2021, she was a civic engagement organizer with the Our Mississippi Our Future campaign for The Nature Conservancy. She also is a retired University of Minnesota Extension associate professor, where she worked with community leaders and volunteers throughout Minnesota in water resource policy and management for more than 18 years. Ellie earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Professional Development Hours

To the best of our knowledge, this course meets the continuing education requirements for 2.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for the morning session and also 2.0 PDHs for the afternoon session. If you participated in the virtual forum and would like to request a PDH form, please email kkirk@umn.edu. We will email the form.

More Information

Please contact Kaydee Kirk at 612-626-5854 or kkirk@umn.edu with any questions.

Sponsors

Sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Minnesota Council on Transportation Access (MCOTA) in partnership with the Minnesota Volunteer Driver Coalition.