Meet Our Phoenix Assisted Living Team

Previously, Brett was a partner at two investment banking firms for 17 years and was the founder and general partner of a single-family home focused fund for eight years.  Brett learned how to build great teams from these careers and the details essential for creating well-run companies.

Brett started Vista Living because it was clear that boutique residential assisted living was a great opportunity to provide a better end-of-life experience for our seniors when done well. Having witnessed a less than perfect end-of-life experience for his grandmother, Brett envisioned a better model.

Founding Vista Living has allowed him to follow his entrepreneurial spirit and pursue a passion for creating exceptional homes with open floor plans that bring great people together in a joyful, social and connected community.

Brett enjoys skiing, tennis, reading, hiking and bringing friends together. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and he and his wife, are proud parents of three young adults.

Originally from the Florida Keys, Lisa began her career 30 years ago in hotel and resort sales and marketing management with Marriott hotels in Miami, moving on to Chicago with Fairmont Hotels, and then to Arizona with several large resorts. She has a strong background in successful strategic planning, annual budget development, marketing plans and presentations.

Lisa played an integral role within organizations by providing collaboration, motivation and direction to the team. She thrives on providing an exceptionally high standard of service. As General Manager working at her last resort, she gained a vast knowledge of the operations side of the business as well.

With the desire to move on from the corporate world, but remain in the hospitality industry, she took a leap of faith and transitioned to senior living. Over the past six years, she has worked for large independent, assisted living and memory care communities before coming to Vista Living Senior Care. “I realized my passion for senior living when I experienced overwhelming gratification after helping families feel a sense of relief in knowing we helped change their loved one’s quality of life for the better.”

Lisa and her husband are parents to a daughter and grandparents to their first granddaughter. Her other passions include diving, golf, cooking and entertaining.

Angie has 12 years of healthcare experience. She has worked in behavioral healthcare, assisted living, memory care in several capacities including Certified Caregiver, Certified Medication Technician, Certified Behavioral Technician and Assistant Resident Services Director.

Most recently Angie is the Assistant Resident Services Director at Montecito Senior Living where she took the appropriate action for the supervision, safety, security and well-being of the residents. Her responsibilities also included the training and scheduling of staff, service plans and managing doctor orders. Before this, Angie was the Resident Care Coordinator at the Courtyard Tower Assisted Living where she had the same responsibilities as with Montecito.

Angie’s grandmother was a huge impact on her decision for making healthcare her career. She took care of her before she passed away a few years ago. Angie then realized that caring for people was her passion. She loves spending quality time with her mom and family. Angie likes to live by the quote: “It’s the simplest things in live that matters the most.”

Ivette has her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Brookline college and has over five years of experience as a Registered Nurse (RN). She has much experience in geriatrics, home care, and acute and long-term health. Ivette is strong at providing quality patient care in the home and clinical settings and can work well under pressure and keep an excellent bedside manner. As a Registered Nurse, she has worked in various settings, from assisted living to critical care.

Ivette has a solid background as a wound care and ostomy nurse. She has vast experience in all aspects of wound assessment, including basic wound treatment, pressure ulcers, wound healing, and the pathophysiology of pressure ulcer development. She has treated acute skin tears, chronic and acute pressure ulcers, and surgical wounds requiring wound vacs. Healing wounds is a passion and gives her the ultimate satisfaction knowing she is helping her patients.

Ivette has worked in the Phoenix area at Advisacare; Arizona Visiting Nurses; Team Select Home Care; Always Present Hospice; and Nextaff of Phoenix.

Ivette was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and enjoys the outdoors with her children. Her favorite place to visit is Sedona, and she loves to hike to the Devil’s Bridge and enjoys the mesmerizing views. Her favorite quote is by Mother Teresa “spread love everywhere you go.” Ivette says: “I can always spread my love by caring for my patients and family. My heart has room for all.” Ivette makes the rounds between the four Vista Living homes, and with her passion and experience, you can see she is a great fit.

Dean comes to Vista Living with over two decades of healthcare leadership experience spearheading multiple assisted living operations. He spent 15 years at Innovative House Corp as their Assisted Living Director. Dean started in the industry as a caregiver over twenty years ago and understood and appreciates all assisted living levels of care. With extensive experience in the fields of behavioral health, developmental disability, and working with seniors suffering from various forms of dementia, Dean has the veteran knowledge and training to ensure the very best quality of care is provided to our residents.

Recently, Dean returned to school and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Colorado State University with a master’s in healthcare administration. He learned the most current practices in areas such as quality and performance, strategic planning, risk management, and human resources in healthcare.

Dean brings proven success in operations, budget planning, recruiting, staff retention, scheduling, and coordinating food services. In addition, he understands special diet needs while implementing policies and goals that monitor facility compliance with all state regulations. Finally, Dean spent most of his career recognizing the value of engaging care teams. Effective coaching, training, and mentoring techniques equip
staff with knowledge and/or skills related to teamwork, leadership, and responsiveness to residents and their family members’ needs while promoting
a culture of “fun.”

Working full-time with seniors is Dean’s passion, as it genuinely brings him a sense of true fulfillment. Since he was raised by his grandmother, great-aunt, and great-uncle, he naturally learned ingrained love, respect, and appreciation for seniors. As Dean says, “Providing unparalleled services in exceptional home environments is a professional dream come true.” Also, “there is no greater honor than to care for those who once cared for us!”

Dean and his wife enjoy boating and hiking the beautiful Arizona trails with their golden retriever. He is also an avid fisherman and loves time spent on the various lakes surrounding the Phoenix area, searching for that ‘perfect spot.’

Gabriela has over 25 years of experience caring for seniors. Since 2001, Gabriela has owned and operated three Assisted Living Homes in the Phoenix area. Today, Gabriela is an acknowledged leader in the Arizona Assisted Living community. Gabriela is certified as both an Assisted Living Manager and a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP). She is a Board Member of the Arizona Assisted Living Homes Association (AALHA) and past member of Professional Association of Senior Referral Specialists (PASRS) , AZ ALFA and HSP West, all of which are professional organizations for the senior living industry. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Women and participated on the Advisory Committee for the Arizona Department of Health Services, a committee dedicated to developing new rules and regulations for assisted living industry.

We love her passion for providing great care, strong managerial skills, years of experience owning and operating assisted living, advocacy for best practices in senior care, professional network, and hands-on/can- do attitude.

Karen has been a cook for 30 years and comes from a long line of family members who are cooks.  Her family owned a restaurant, and at a young age she watched and helped her Mom cook.  Karen’s Grandma had bake sales every week, and her brother and two nephews are chefs.  She really enjoys how food can put a smile on someone’s face.  She has worked at two other assisted living communities in the past, and finds working in assisted living very rewarding because people have always shown a lot of appreciation for her food.  Karen brings a lot of her own great recipes to Vista Living for our residents’ enjoyment.  She is a certified food protection manager and considers safe food a huge priority. Karen has a deaf daughter, and enjoys the outdoors, fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding and dancing.  We love Karen’s great smile, easy way and love for talking & interacting with our residents.

Alyssa has been in the field of activities development for over 4 years, and officially became certified as an Activity Director two years ago. She has always been employed in the healthcare industry because of her passion for helping others. In the past, Alyssa managed the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit organization for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and did network planning events for a fund raising company and managing their social media platforms. More recently, when she obtained her Activities Director certification, she transitioned to rehabilitation that furthered her interest in Recreational Activities.

Alyssa is a mother of a beautiful one year old baby girl. She is very family oriented, so in her free time she enjoys planning family dinner, going on hikes and spending time together

Kyle co-leads quality control for Vista Living.  He brings nearly 10 years of senior care experience to the helm. Kyle is a CPA and self-proclaimed “numbers guy” who realized in his early 20’s that he loved working with seniors after his dad suffered a stroke and developed dementia. Kyle was the primary caregiver for his father and his experience caused him to change directions and seek out opportunities in senior living.  Soon, he landed at AgeSong, a leading edge assisted living company where Kyle worked in both finance and operations. He even moved his dad into the community – a full-circle life experience for him.

Kyle dreamed of starting a senior care company based on his personal and professional experiences. He wanted to offer happiness as a standard to seniors in need of care and his dream came true when Vista Living opened its doors.  

Kyle has endless energy. He has worked at leading companies such as Deloitte, Prudential, and Greystar investing in $10 billion projects and served as a Board Member of Kimochi, a not-for-profit senior center in Hawaii.

We love his story and his experience, attention to detail, and passion for creating fun environments for seniors. Kyle spends most of his free time adventuring with his young children and incorporating a love for elders in their hearts.