Meet the Staff

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Administrator

Melissa Allison

Melissa has been the licensed nursing home administrator at Alden Village North since July 2009. Previously, she served as the Administrator of Alden of Old Town East, Alden of Old Town West, Alden Trails and Alden Springs Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled for over 3 years. She has extensive experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities as a Resident Services Director and as a Qualified Mental Retardation Professional. Melissa is a certified trainer in the field of Behavior Management and Direct Services Persons Training. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Illinois State University in Normal. Additionally, Melissa has an Illinois Food Service Sanitation Manager certificate. Melissa is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the facility, maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations, as well as ensuring that residents’ needs are met and each person lives a full and happy life.

Resident Services Director

Mark Kokat

Mark Kokat joined Alden Village North as Resident Services Director in May 2009. Mark’s career in the field started when he was in college, working in a group home and special education school serving children and adults with developmental disabilities. Since then, Mark has served as a Qualified Mental Retardation Professional and mostly recently, as a Resident Services Director. In his role, Mark is responsible for supervising the case managers, completing case management duties and ensuring that residents’ needs are met. He also assists with admissions, staff training and activities. Mark has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Community Liaison

MaryEllen Schweitzer

MaryEllen has served as the Community Liaison for Alden Village North since January 2010. In her role, she works with families on the transition to the facility as well as helps individuals and their families identify available community resources. MaryEllen began her career at Alden as the Facility Manager for Alden Springs Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled for adults with developmental disabilities in 2006. She was promoted to Resident Services Director in July 2008 and became responsible for supervising the daily operations and case management duties of Alden Springs. In 2009, MaryEllen received the Resident Services Director of the Year award from Illinois Health Care Association and was honored as a ‘Hero in Long Term Care’ by the Illinois Health Care Association in 2008. She has served as the co-chair of Alden’s Special Olympics 2008. MaryEllen has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.