The Eden Alternative Team Continues to Grow
Introducing Evy, Carrie, and Kyrié
By Danna Pentes, The Eden Alternative ®
The Eden Alternative team continues to grow, adding three new team members in the Summer of 2022.
Longtime Eden Alternative Educator and friend, Evy Cugelman joins us as a Community Builder bringing a wealth of experience and information to share with organizations implementing our approach. Carrie Trusty serves as our first Sales Account Representative working to bring Eden Alternative Learning + Consulting + Tools to as many current and potential members as possible. As an Eden Educator, Kyrié Carpenter brings vast experience and knowledge to our Online Certified Eden Associate Training.
I reached out to Evy, Carrie, and Kyrié about their roles and here’s what they had to share . . .
Evy Cugelman
What inspires you about The Eden Alternative®?
I fell in love with The Eden Alternative when I first learned about it, working with Pinon Management. I had been advocating for changes in all aspects of Long-Term Care since my first experience as a student nurse in 1971. When I joined Pinon in 2000 it was a pivotal moment in my career because this was a company dedicated to culture change long before it was a real movement. Pinon eventually embraced Eden and all that it had to offer. Not only are the people who work at Eden dynamic, brilliant, compassionate, and truly authentic but their training offerings are fully comprehensible and can reach anyone, no matter what their learning style is. Eden continues to grow and inspire along with our constantly changing challenges.
What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.
My ability to connect with anyone and everyone and truly develop relationships. My mother used to say I could make friends in a cemetery. I do have to add my sense of humor as well.
What excites you about what’s possible for Eden’s future?
I believe we are at a pivotal time for Long-term supports and services. I don’t know of any other organization who has the many training programs on how to bring true community to Long Term Care and to ensure that our elders and staff thrive with dignity, purpose and meaning. Eden is at the forefront of this. Other organizations have training, but it’s not as comprehensive and not always implementable.
What random detail would you like us to know about you?
I have never lived in the box. I’ve been fighting and challenging the systems as far back as I remember. A total rebel teenager and young adult. So much so that I dropped out of working in the hospital setting and became a professional potter for many years; not because I didn’t like the patients/elders, but the system was all wrong. I would get in trouble for sitting and talking to really sick people who were scared. This went against everything I believed in as a nurse. In the 70’s I was on my own in challenging what was wrong.
One more thing; I am one of the authors of Empowered Teams training along with Nancy Fox and Sandy Ransom.
Carrie Trusty
Carrie TrustyWhat inspires you about The Eden Alternative®?
Working for a community that embraced the Eden Alternative was a turning point for me. I had been working in elder care for many years and always felt there was a way to build an environment that nurtured not only how care was provided to elders but supported and empowered those who provided it. There are so many challenges faced by everyone involved in a care setting and having a clear way to improve the outcomes for everyone on all levels is truly powerful. The Eden Alternative disrupts the way elder care has always been done and boldly offers solutions with a passion and level of excellence that ensures success.
What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.
I have always wanted to be a part of positive change. I believe in driving substantial and beneficial outcomes. In this role I feel I can bring my experience with elders in care settings, along with my dedication to growing awareness and engagement, that will bring Eden Alternative to as many hands and hearts as possible.
What excites you about what’s possible for Eden’s future?
The potential for growth through support for culture change and person-centered care is enormous. The new Eden Alternative membership model is accessible to everyone in a clear and structured way that has been updated to ensure success is attainable sooner with rich content and training that is much more accessible.
What random detail would you like us to know about you?
I grew up with my grandparents being a major influence in my life. We have a very close family that has remained that way due to their example and influence. As we grow our own families and spread out, we still stay close and value each other and that has been a grounding factor for me. No matter how old I get, I still consider their example on all I do personally and professionally and want to honor their memory in all I do.
Kyrié Carpenter
Kyrié CarpenterWhat inspires you about The Eden Alternative®?
The community. My first Eden conference I was struck by how warm and genuine everyone I met was. The Eden community lives and breathes the principles and they work. It is a refreshing and growth inducing community to be a part of personally and professionally.
What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.
I make people’s dreams come true. I have always loved listening to others’ hopes and dreams and supporting them in making them a reality. As an adult I have studied coaching and psychotherapy to better understand how to do this. I am excited to support CEAT learners in achieving their Eden inspired dreams.
What excites you about what’s possible for Eden’s future?
I love how applicable the principles and domains of well-being are for everyone, not just folks who live in long term care. I hope to live in an age and ability inclusive world. Eden has the tools to get us there and make sure we know how to care for ourselves and each other when we do.
What random detail would you like us to know about you?
I feel most at home in a van, sometimes down by the river.
Be sure to check out Identity and Intersectionality: More Than the Sum of Our Parts. Kyrié is one of the faculty and authors of this amazing course on Evolve Online Learning.
