Ed Keifer

Ed is a registered Social Worker and Director of Training at Easterseals MORC in Michigan, USA. He began his journey as a Direct Support Professional in 1995, and in 2003 was introduced to Gentle Teaching and John McGee through is work at MORC as a Social Worker/Clinician. Ed’s transition from Social Worker to Senior Training Consultant took place in 2009 when the state of Michigan (Michigan Department of Community Health) sought to close the last publicly funded institution for those with intellectual disabilities. The inception of The Center for Positive Living Supports (a Division of MORC Inc.) was designed to create a “safety net” for all of those transitioning from the institution to the community. At the heart of this plan involved extensive state-wide training and consultation with the goal of helping supporting agencies around the state create Cultures of Gentleness for those served.

Notably, Ed spearheaded the adaptation of training through digital formats including both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. This has proven to increase access to meet the need of a changing landscape of training delivery. Ed has recently lead the way for a new Learning Management System that offers a more robust and effective training experience for the Direct Support Professional workforce.

Currently, the training team is supporting over 4,000 Direct Support Professionals for their training needs. Ed has been involved with the Easterseals MORC Training Department since 2009 and transitioned from supervisor to Training Director in April 2023. Ed believes that the more effective mentoring, training, and tools we can offer to the organizations and those they support, the more likely the person served will experience the highest quality of care. On a personal note, Ed loves his family and likes playing his guitars, running, mountain biking and more recently over-the-fire cooking.