My SeniorCare courses are developed and taught by University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire health care administration and business faculty who have advanced degrees in health care administration, public health, and business. They are experienced teachers who know how to use distance learning technology to engage students.

DEAN EIDE  MBA, NHA
Dean Eide is the executive-in-residence for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire health care administration program, where he manages practicum field experiences and teaches courses in the program. An experienced online course instructor, Eide also teaches online courses for the UW-Eau Claire College of Business and University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium.

During his 18 year career as an administrator and director, Eide developed and implemented creative and cost effective programs that served the long term care needs of seniors, the mentally ill, and the developmentally disabled.

He has served the profession as regional director and board member of the Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. He is a member of the Wisconsin Association of County Homes.

Eide has a MBA from Cardinal Stritch University and a BS in therapeutic recreation from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

CYNTHIA HOFACKER  MST
Cynthia Hofacker is the program coordinator for the My Senior Care Edvantage and Business Essentials Certificate Programs.  She can assist with advising, registration, course tracking, and corporate partnerships.  She can help your organization customize the program for your employees.  

Hofacker has a MST and a BS from UW-Eau Claire. She has been a cooperative education coordinator and teacher of business education classes in Ladysmith and Menomonie. She taught business communication and teacher education classes in both the College of Business and College of Education at UW-Eau Claire. She was the first Coordinator of Distance Learning for the College of Business where she managed the implementation of the MBA online consortium.

From 2001 through 2008, Hofacker was president of the Catholic Area Schools of Eau Claire/Altoona. During this time, she served four years on the community advisory board for Sacred Heart Hospital and was on the Board of Directors for United Way and Junior Achievement. She rejoined the College of Business in 2008 as an experienced online developer, instructor, and program manager. Recently, she developed and taught in the online Business Essentials program.

JENNIFER JOHS-ARTISENSI  PhD, MPH
Dr. Johs-Artisensi is coordinator of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Health Care Administration program and assistant professor in the Department of Management and Marketing.  Her teaching and research focus on resident-focused care and culture change, health systems, and policy, staffing issues, and young leadership development.

She has worked as a practitioner in settings across the entire care continuum, and also serves as a health care consultant to a variety of long term care organizations.

Active in the aging network and health care community, Johs-Artisensi recently served as a member of the Job Analysis Task Force, a group of 12 subject-matter experts charged by NAB to update test specification for the NHA licensing examination.

Johs-Artisensi is a graduate of the University of North Texas where she received a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in administration and a PhD in Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine.

GERALD KOLLROSS  MBA
Jerry Kollross is an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and University of Wisconsin-Stout where he has taught on-campus and online business courses in customer relations, project management, management principles, marketing principles, and sales. He also teaches the Essentials of Management and the Essentials of Marketing online courses for UW-Eau Claire.

An entrepreneur, Kollross is president/owner of Top Golf Products, an online catalog company he started more than 10 years ago. Prior to starting his own business, Kollross was the national sales manager for Innomark Communications (Fairfield, OH) and was the director of marketing for Golf USA. (Oklahoma City, OK). He has also worked in a sales capacity for Display Graphics (Dayton, OH), American Printing Company (Madison, WI) and The Bradenton Herald Newspaper (Bradenton, FL).  

Kollross has a MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a bachelor of science degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

He currently resides in Eau Claire, WI with his wife, a physician with Marshfield Clinic, and his daughters.

DOUGLAS OLSON  PhD, MBA, NHA
Dr. Olson is director of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Center for Health and Aging Services Excellence and is associate professor of health care administration in the Department of Management and Marketing. His teaching and research focus on leadership assessment and development and quality management systems.

Olson has over 15 years of experience in health care leadership including working as the executive of a multi-service campus offering residential and community-based services. As a consultant to various types of health care organizations, he serves as senior advisor for My InnerView, a leading provider of knowledge management services for the senior care market.

Olson is the co-author of Effective Leadership in Long Term Care: The Need and the Opportunity, a 2007 ACHCA position paper funded by a grant from the NAB Foundation. He is a board member of ACHCA’s Academy for Long Term Care Leadership and Development and the AHCA Quality Award Program.

Olson received his BSHCA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, MBA from the University of St. Thomas, and a PhD in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota.

BRENDA THALACKER  MBA, CPA
Brenda Thalacker teaches online Essentials of Accounting courses for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire College of Business. She is an accounting instructor at the Chippewa Valley Technology College (CVTC) in Eau Claire, WI, where she has taught on-campus and online courses in payroll accounting, accounting technology, income tax, and managerial accounting since 2000.

Prior to joining the CVTC faculty, Thalacker worked as an accounting supervisor and financial analyst for a variety of business and organizations in Wisconsin, including  Midelfort Clinic, a primary care facility in the Mayo Health Care System. In addition, she has many years of experience preparing tax returns.  

Thalacker holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and a Masters of Business Administration degree both from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She has also earned an educational specialist degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.