New Staff Feature: Monica Harrison Joins the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care
Just this month, Monica Harrison joined the team as Technical Assistant for the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care. With years of experience and a great deal of passion, she will provide tools, techniques, training and technical assistance to organizations and healthcare professionals that will help them implement best practices for integrated care. We asked Monica a few questions to get to know her better.
Q. Where are you from and how did you end up in North Carolina?
I was born in New Orleans, LA. However, I’ll say I’m from everywhere, as I am what they call a “military brat.” Both of my parents were in the army and we moved to Fayetteville (Ft. Bragg), NC in 1991. I decided to attend college at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development and Family Studies, and then attended NC A&T for my Master’s Degree in Social Work.
Q. What drew you to the Foundation?
Talk about the universe smiling down on me. I was eager to learn all I could about integration and making sure my agency participated in continuing our integration efforts in the most concise and evidence-based way possible. I’ve been on this endeavor since 2010. When I met the Center of Excellence staff in 2011, I thought, “wow it would be great to have had a blueprint to build off of and follow.” I’ve kept pushing forward ever since and have hoped I would have the opportunity to help others in their journey. Now I get to do just that.
Q. What type of organizations have you worked for in the past?
Believe it or not my first career was as an educator/teacher so, I hold a Birth Through Kindergarten Teaching License. Since then, I’ve held multiple positions with the Guilford County Head Start/Early Head Start program (teacher, education specialist, professional development coordinator, consultant). I’ve worked for Wake Forest Outpatient Dialysis Centers as a Nephrology Social Worker and Social Worker Manager in which I traveled to facilities in different parts of North Carolina as a part of an interdisciplinary team. I’ve worked for Win-Win Resolutions where we focused on character education, mentoring, bullying and conflict resolutions for the school system as well as juvenile justice led family programs. I’ve been the clinical lead for a residential home (group home) conducting clinical groups, and I’ve also worked at a pediatric primary care office to consult with other pediatric offices to work on integrative efforts. Lastly, I transitioned to working in a Federally Qualified Health Center as a part of and manager of their integrative endeavors.
Q. What are you excited for in this position?
I am excited to get the opportunity to spread my love and joy of integration and to be able to assist others to be successful in their integration efforts.
Q. What do you like to do for fun?
Well if not running around crazy to my children’s sporting events (I have five boys who all play a different sport, some of which travel constantly – and yes I am the loudest yelling mom on the team) then you will find me out with my husband trying out a new or favorite restaurant – we are “foodies.”