GRQC is your trusted partner on the path to sustained excellence.
GRQC helps area organizations achieve sustained performance excellence by helping their leaders and teams learn and adopt best practices in improvement processes and organizational culture. We offer a broad range of easy-to-access services to meet the needs of all organizations, regardless of size, sector or experience with continuous improvement.
What's keeping you awake at night?
2026 Day of Quality has the remedy!
GRQC is now looking for organizations to participate in the 2026 Day of Quality. You choose a real, ongoing process problem affecting your daily operations, and a team of GRQC process excellence professionals will spend a day at your site, helping your organization overcome the challenge while learning new skills along the way. To learn more, click below.
Join us for upcoming events!
2025 Performance Excellence Awards Recognizes 22 Award Winners, Including Two Platinum Award Recipients
An enthusiastic crowd descended on the Memorial Art Gallery on October 21 for the 2025 GRQC Showcase and Performance Excellence Awards. The attendees networked with friends and colleagues in beautiful surroundings, learned about this year's winning projects and several organizations highlighted in the exhibit hall, and enjoyed an informative keynote address by Darlene Ryan, Chief Performance Officer at Hillside. The winners included two organizations that won the coveted George K. Hansen Platinum Award!
Both of this year's winners of the George K. Hansen Platinum award were from UR Medicine. This award indicates a level of excellence so extraordinary that it is only awarded every few years. The award is named after George Hansen, who contributed so much to Rochester's quality community over the years.
The GRQC Performance Excellence Award Program helps organizations in all sectors of the economy gain valuable insights into strategic areas of their operations, connect with like-minded leaders in high performing organizations, and earn formal recognition for achieving excellence through continuous improvement methodologies. A GRQC review team, including experienced Malcolm Baldrige examiners and past Empire State Advantage and Partners in Performance Excellence examiners, evaluates each application using a simplified version of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award scoring guidelines. “GRQC is a beacon to local organizations seeking to be the best versions of themselves,” said Mark Gruba, who served as the emcee for the event.
Click below to view the list
of award winners and their projects.
Click below to meet this year's winners.
Click below to view photos from this exciting event.
Greater Rochester Quality Council events, programs and initiatives are supported in part by the Greater Rochester Chamber Foundation.
Celebrating Community Impact Through Quality:
The 2025 Day of Quality Celebration
The GRQC Day of Quality is modeled after the United Way Day of Caring. During this annual event, our members and volunteer supporters give back to the community, by bringing their time, talents, and decades of quality expertise to local non-profit organizations, to help them accelerate their goals of operational excellence.
This year, three of the organizations that participated in the Day of Quality shared their improvement projects at GRQC's Summer Networking Event, held at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott on August 6. Teams from The Children's Agenda, Gavia Lifecare Center, and United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes prepared exhibits and shared their stories with the leaders who attended the event.
Gavia volunteer project lead Paige Miller from Rochester Regional Health stated: “When we bring our skills to serve others, we don’t just improve processes—we ignite progress. True change begins when compassion meets collaboration. " Amber Ramerman, event lead, summarized the magic of this event, “Day of Quality reminds us that when organizations and volunteers come together with intention and curiosity, real transformation can happen—in a single day,”.
To view more photos from this exciting event, click here.
GRQC is looking for organizations that are interested in participating in the 2026 Day of Quality. Click here to fill out an interest form.
Learn About Partner Programs and Events
Upcoming PEN Webinars
We are pleased to invite you to these Thursday morning webinars from Performance Excellence Network (PEN).
Managing Stress, Conquering Burnout, Igniting Leadership
Feeling stressed in today’s environment of rapid change and disruption? Is the pressure of the holidays and year-end deadlines beginning to affect you and your team? Does the pervasive burnout epidemic plague your organization? Have generic self-care and resilience training and efforts failed to improve your employees’ well-being?
The December 11 PEN Webinar, “Managing Stress, Conquering Burnout, Igniting Leadership,” will feature Terry Wu, Ph.D. and Neuroscientist, and Dr. David Pierce, Chief Medical Officer at Rochester (New York) General Hospital.
In this powerful (and timely) discussion, Dr. Wu will explore the interconnected relationship between leadership, stress management, and burnout prevention. His insights arrive at a crucial time, as organizations seek innovative solutions to employee disengagement, diminishing productivity, and high turnover. Through the lens of cutting-edge neuroscience research, Dr. Wu reveals science-proven practices for creating high-performing organizations, particularly during times of change.
Dr. Pierce will share evidence-based strategies for reducing stress and increasing well-being but then also share ideas, tips, and tools that help him manage his personal stress. Dr. Pierce has a unique way of sharing what could be technical clinical information through his personal stories.
So, during this stressful time of year (and stressful period in history), come explore strategies and tools that will help you manage the stress and burnout of yourself, your team, and your organization.
Click here for more information and registration.
MCC's Course Offerings for Learners with Various Objectives, Schedules and Budgets
The Economic & Workforce Development Center of Monroe Community College offers easy-to-access programs for people with a wide variety of learning needs, schedules and budgets. Here are some of their offerings.
MCC Corporate College provides education and training for individuals, offering both self-paid and employer-paid options for professional development. Many offerings are delivered virtually. To access the course catalog, click here.
The Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center is designed to focus on rapid training, retraining and upskilling of technical middle-skilled workers in demand by local employers. Through innovative partnerships and technical programming, the FWD Center is a catalyst in developing our region’s economy. Employers and individuals, click here for more information.
Local companies need a workforce skilled in robotics and automation and MCC’s new micro-credential, offered through the Engineering Technologies department, will have you ready to join that field with an exciting career in just 11 weeks! You’ll earn while you learn—tackling a paid work experience while taking special college courses, earning college credit and be job ready when you’re done. Click here for more information.
RIT|Certified - Upcoming Belt Programs
Yellow, Green and Black Belt certification via an academic (for-credit) pathway are available every semester. Use the following links for information about these programs:
Click here to visit the RIT|Certified website and search for courses.
GRQC Partner Events
View presentations and videos from recent
GRQC programs
Managing Stress in the Workplace: Strategies for Building Resilience and Well-Being
Workplace stress affects every level of an organization — from front-line staff to leadership — impacting morale, performance, and overall quality of services. This session explores practical ways to reduce stress and build resilience at both individual and organizational levels. Carrie Carl, LCSW-R, from Villa of Hope, shares how the Sanctuary Model, a trauma-informed framework, is being used within the organization to create a culture of safety, connection, and growth. Dr. Terry Wu explains how stress affects the brain and human behavior, equipping leaders with science-proven tools to effectively mitigate work and life stressors. Together, they highlight actionable strategies organizations can use to support staff wellness, promote balance, and strengthen workplace culture.
Click below to view the presenter slides from this event.
Click below to view the Zoom recording for this event.
Process Improvement Meets Reality: Stories from the Front Lines
Process improvement doesn’t have to be complicated, slow, or weighed down by red tape and shifting priorities.
Enter Gemba — a Japanese term meaning “the real place,” where work actually happens and where the best ideas for change are found.
That’s where Eileen Askey and Pat Campbell, also known as the Gemba Gals, live and lead. Through real-life stories, they show meaningful improvements, and how to achieve success when plans fall apart, priorities shift, or unexpected challenges hit.
Click below to view the presenter slides from this event.
Click below to view the Zoom recording of this event.
GRQC Resource Center
GRQC is your resource for tools and templates, case studies, local consulting resources, and links to industry-leading websites to aid you in your pursuit of performance excellence and quality improvement. Click on the links below to access information.
Download favorite tools of GRQC Board members
Dowload presentations from recent GRQC events.
Visit these websites for useful tools and templates.
Check back often to access new material that you can use!
Tools You Can Use - Free From GRQC!
GRQC has assembled a searchable library of tools developed by our members, partners and friends, and is offering them free to website users. Find tried and tested tools, templates and information about a wide variety of quality processes: control charts, FMEA, Lean, Pugh matrix, and many others. You can search the library by keyword or by sector (business, healthcare, education, etc.). When you find what you need, simply click on the tool name to download it to your PC.
Click the button below to go to the webpage Homegrown Tools in the GRQC Knowledge Center, and take advantage of the expertise of our members and friends.
Find Resources You Can Use On The Job
Be a Part of GRQC's Mission - Volunteer!
Would you like to partner with GRQC to advance performance excellence in the community without making a long-term commitment? We have just the thing for you – volunteering to help one of our committees! GRQC has eight committees that help us achieve our strategic objectives. These committees are staffed by GRQC Board members and volunteers. We invite you to visit our new Volunteer Opportunity website page and reach out to any of the committee contacts to lean more or to express your interest. Volunteer opportunities are open to GRQC members and non-members alike. We’d love to have you join us!
Become a GRQC Member
GRQC benefits its members through a wide variety of program activities and membership services, including:
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Participation in GRQC Workshops and Programs.
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Participation in GRQC’s community projects.
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Interaction with leaders and innovators regarding best practices in quality.
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Contributing to making the Greater Rochester area a community of excellence.
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Opportunities for networking with other organizations on the journey to excellence.
Our Champion and Advocate Level Members
