Staff

Stephen B. Hanse, Esq., has served as President & CEO of NYSHFA | NYSCAL and President of the Foundation for Quality Care since January 2017. He formerly held the position of Vice President & Counsel for the Association, beginning in 2013. Prior to joining NYSHFA | NYSCAL Stephen was with the law firm of Featherstonhaugh, Wiley & Clyne where he represented healthcare organizations and Fortune 500 companies before New York’s Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government. Earlier in his career, Stephen was Vice President of the Energy Association of New York State and held several policy positions in the New York State Senate and Assembly. Stephen is active in the American Health Care Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Board of the Albany Law School Government Law Center, and the Board of the Albany Law Elder Law and Special Needs Subcommittee. He is admitted to the Bar in New York State, the United States District Court for the Northern District, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Kathy Marco brings over 15 years of experience and a genuine passion for building efficient,

people-centered organizations. Known for being a creative problem-solver, Kathy

specializes in modernizing the tools and systems that help teams thrive—from cloud-

based data solutions to secure, automated workflows. Most recently, Kathy served as the

Business Operations Manager for The Food Pantries for the Capital District, where she

enjoyed finding innovative ways to streamline operations and improve the work

environment, enabling staff to better serve the community. With a master’s from the

University at Albany, a bachelor’s from the College of Saint Rose, and a Google

Cybersecurity Certificate, Kathy balances technical expertise with a collaborative

leadership style focused on relationship-building. When she isn’t finding new ways to make

things run smoothly at work, Kathy loves to travel, spend time with her daughters, dive into

a good book, or experiment with new recipes in the kitchen.

Lisa M. Volk, RN, B.P.S., LNHA joined the New York State Health Facilities Association (NYSHFA) in 2016, bringing more than 40 years of experience in long-term care. Her career includes leadership roles as executive director, administrator, and director of nursing, with a strong focus on quality and operational excellence.

In October 2023, Lisa became Executive Director of the Foundation for Quality Care after serving as NYSHFA’s Director of Clinical and Quality Services. She leads statewide initiatives in policy, advocacy, education, and member support to strengthen long-term care delivery.

Lisa has directed several grant-funded projects, including Mouth Care Without a Battle, published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA), as well as Project First Line New York and Emergency Preparedness initiatives. She serves on the American Health Care Association (AHCA) Clinical Practice Committee and the Professional Development Work Group.

Tarrah Quinlan joined NYSHFA | NYSCAL in October 2020. Tarrah is a Registered Professional Nurse with over 20 years’ experience in multiple health care settings, specializing in long-term care. Most recently, Tarrah served as the Director of the Bureau of Quality Assurance and Surveillance at the New York State Department of Health. Prior to serving as Director, Tarrah served in several key long-term care positions within the Department of Health and in the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General. Tarrah has an extensive background in policy development, operations, quality control, and regulatory compliance in skilled nursing facilities. Her passion and visionary perspective have earned her leadership positions in quality assurance and surveillance of nursing homes, Medicaid managed care plan contracting and oversight, and Medicaid audits. Early in her career she held a supervisory role within a county nursing home and has experience in the acute setting specializing in pulmonary patient care.  Ms. Quinlan has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Russell Sage College, is Patient Review Instrument (PRI) and Screen certified, MDS 3.0 proficient, and has completed health care surveyor training from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Tarrah’s experiences working across the healthcare continuum with staff and facility leaders have shaped her positive approach to the value of enhancing local, state, and national partnerships to achieve regulatory compliance and accreditation and to build strong quality improvement practices with providers.

Nora O’Brien brings more than 30 years of experience in long-term care, assisted living, and rehabilitation to her new role as Director of Assisted Living and Strategic Communications at NYSHFA | NYSCAL. Previously with Willow Towers, Nora brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing assisted living providers across New York State. In her new role, she will focus on advancing the assisted living sector, strengthening member engagement, and amplifying the voices of New York’s providers and the residents they serve.

Nora has a longstanding history of leadership and involvement in the assisted living community, having served as a Board Member and Vice Chairperson of NYSCAL, a Board Member of the Foundation for Quality Care, the New York State Leader for the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), and a member of NCAL’s Policy and Regulatory Committee.

Committed to quality care and the future of assisted living, Nora looks forward to working alongside members, partners, and policymakers to strengthen New York’s long-term care community and support the providers who care for its residents.

Danielle Gorka joined NYSHFA | NYSCAL as Controller in November 2024.  Danielle received her Bachelor’s degree from Siena College, a Master’s degree from Syracuse University and holds a certification as a Certified Fraud Examiner.  Danielle has spent her career in the not-for-profit sector and has experience leading financial operations, including financial reporting, analysis, and implementation of systems, including software systems to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Carl Pucci retired from his position as NYSHFA’s CFO in December 2023 and now serves as a Medicaid & Reimbursement Advisor. He has a BBA degree in business administration from Siena College, is past president of the NENY Healthcare Financial Management Association and serves on NYSARC’s Montgomery County Board of Directors.

Laura Lipinski, CMP brings 18 years of experience directing strategic events, stewarding relationships, and collaborating on event brand marketing and communications across the country and locally for the education and healthcare industries.

Among other things, Laura has championed multiple top 10 fundraising events ranked by the Albany Business Journal “Book of Lists.”  Laura has served as Development Director for the American Diabetes Association, organizing the annual Saratoga Springs Tour de Cure. Most recently, Laura served as Special Events Manager for the Saratoga Hospital Foundation, leading major fundraisers including the Saratoga Hospital Gala, and Saratoga Hospital Golf Invitational. Earlier in her career, Laura served as Director of Events for K-12 STEM educational curriculum company, Project Lead The Way, where she directed national trade shows, summits, and teacher training events.

When away from the office Laura enjoys spending time with her husband and their four children. She serves regularly in the children’s ministry at her local church and enjoys outdoor activities with their mini Bernedoodle.

Melony Spock now serves as Director of Membership, Grants & Special Projects at NYSHFA | NYSCAL. She transitioned into this expanded leadership role in 2026, building on her successful tenure as Manager of Special Projects.

Since February 2019, Melony has excelled in the management and coordination of various grant-funded and membership initiatives. Her work includes managing Project Firstline NY, which provides infection control training to frontline staff in nursing homes and assisted living communities across New York State. She is also actively involved in managing the Emergency Preparedness grant and recently collaborated with the New York State Medical Directors COVID-19 project, addressing the challenges the pandemic presented to long-term care providers.

Melony’s career with NYSHFA | NYSCAL | FQC began in 2007, when she served as a part-time program assistant. In that role, she contributed to several important initiatives, including the Warfarin Safety Study, the Customer Satisfaction grant, and the Mouth Care Without a Battle project, for which she coauthored a published article in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA).

In addition to her professional responsibilities, Melony is deeply involved in her community. She currently serves as a Questar III Board of Education Member and holds an elected position as a Chatham Village Trustee.

Jessica Van Wormer joined NYSHFA | NYSCAL in April of 2019. She is an award-winning designer with more than 20 years of experience in creative development and strategic marketing. She has proven her ability to produce best-fit solutions for multi-faceted projects across a number of industries varying from pharmaceuticals to children’s toy products. Jessica obtained both her degrees (AA in Advertising Design and BFA in Graphic Design) at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Her past career focus as a creative leader in the Trade Show and Event industry she puts to good use in facilitating the Association’s marketing needs spanning print, digital, and large formats.

Joanne O’Connor joined NYSHFA | NYSCAL in 1996 as Administrative Assistant for the Communications Department and is currently the Communications and Membership Coordinator.  Her responsibilities include coordinating the NYSHFA | NYSCAL recognition awards, scholarships, and Art from the Heart programs. Joanne is a trained master user of the membership database with expertise in report writing. She also works with the executive staff on membership recruitment and dues; the Associate Member Program; and membership and media communications.

Nancy Knapp joined NYSHFA | NYSCAL in 2010 after a successful career in the insurance industry working for CUNA Mutual Group for 26 years providing thorough and skillful support to senior executives, sales, and service staff. Nancy’s experience in providing executive-level support services is put to good use as she currently provides support to the Executive Director of the Foundation for Quality Care, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Clinical and Quality Services as well as to the Director of Government Relations and the President/CEO.