Pioneer Network names Bonnie Kantor as Executive Director

Rochester, N.Y.  December 12, 2006

The Pioneer Network, a national organization that advocates and facilities deep system change and transformation in the culture of aging in America announced today the appointment of Bonnie Kantor, Sc.D. as Executive Director. Dr. Kantor was selected from a pool of exceptionally qualified individuals after an exhaustive and thorough search process. 

“I am so pleased to welcome a new Executive Director with the breadth of experience that Bonnie brings to us,” said Charlene Boyd, President of the Pioneer Network’s board of directors. “As a national leader in the field of culture change in the care of aging adults, the Pioneer Network requires vision, expertise, and compassion in its Executive Director. Bonnie brings us this and so much more. I look forward to working with her to increase the scope and reach of the Pioneer Network.”

Since 1986, Dr. Kantor has been affiliated with the Ohio State University Medical Center, developing OSU’s Interdisciplinary Specialization in Aging and a Home Care Curriculum for all medical students at OSU. As Director of the Office of Geriatrics and Gerontology, her leadership brought them national recognition as one of the top geriatrics programs, interweaving geriatric medicine into all fours years of medical school resulting in graduates who become advocates of culture change in aging and long-term care.

Dr. Kantor will succeed Rose Marie Fagan, co-founder and the organization’s first Executive Director. Under Ms. Fagan’s leadership, the Pioneer Network grew from a small group of visionaries pioneering cultural transformation in nursing homes to a national organization serving a grassroots movement that is a catalyst for positive change and outcomes in the aging field across the country. Her work with the Pioneer Network is celebrated by all who were privileged to work with her over the past 10 years. Rose Marie will be leading the conference planning efforts for 2007. “We are so pleased that Rose Marie will continue to work at the Pioneer Network and will be dedicating her time to educational efforts and the national conference,” said Ms. Boyd.

The Pioneer Network is devoted to promoting a new culture of aging through a transformation based on person-directed values and person-directed practices where the voices of elders and those working closest with them are honored and respected. We promote a grassroots movement where new ways of de-institutionalizing services and individualizing care are shared freely. The Pioneer Network is the common ground to highlight culture change innovations and promote new growth.