THE ABBEY AT WESTMINSTER PLAZA - Key Persons
Daniel was born in eastern Nigeria and emigrated to east Texas at a young age where he completed high school and graduated with Bachelor's Degree in psychology and management in 1991.
In 1992, he moved to Houston to start a career in public service with the State of Texas Health and Human Services. At the inception of his career, he picked the special interest of serving the public with a concentration in the geriatric population. Daniel's tenure with the state of Texas provided him with opportunities to work in a multicultural environment to interpret and administer various policies and procedures to different demographics in the society. In 2005, driven by his passion to serve and learn, he started taking classes in nursing and earned his license in Vocation Nursing (LVN).
His passion to service drives his self-demand for excellence; this is what brought him to the Abbey. On August 31st, 2021, he concluded his 28 years of serving the great people of Texas; recently serving in an assisted living facility as wellness director in October 2021. He is here to continue to serve and provide second-to-none service. Daniel is enthusiastic about the opportunities at the Abbey, we are forward- bound and he is excited to be part of the team.
He is very fast paced, athletic, likes marathon races, is married for 35 years with 4 grown children and eight grandchildren.
Gerardo Parra is a Maintenance professional with over 14 years of experience supporting luxury retirement and family residential communities. His experience includes areas of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, painting, appliance maintenance, pool service and hardware installation. Gerardo ensures proper upkeep, per The Abbey's community standards, of every apartment and also oversees the property grounds. Gerardo is a great fit for The Abbey because of his knowledge in prioritizing requests, multitasking, making cost effective decisions without affecting quality and ensuring timely delivery of work orders, while keeping the safety and living experience of residents as top priority. We appreciate his skills and are happy he joined our exceptional team at The Abbey at Westminster Plaza.
Hazel Smith has been devoted to our residents in The Kensington community for almost 16 years since 2005. She runs our Memory Care programs with compassion, patience and lots of love! Her commitment is enhanced with continuing education in dementia and Alzheimer's disease care and life enrichment. Hazel is a doting grandmother to three beautiful grandchildren. Her family is central in her life, as is her dedication to her faith and her church. We are so grateful to have such a caring staff member in on our Memory Enhancement team.
Job Titles:
- Leasing Director
- Team Member at the Abbey
Jena is the newest team member at The Abbey and serves as the Leasing Director for our Assisted Living and Memory Enhancement communities. She joins us with 20 years of sales and hospitality experience including regional and national sales titles with Landry's and Caesar's Entertainment and passenger hospitality roles with Norwegian Cruise Lines. Serving the senior community gives Jena the opportunity to utilize her talents and passion in a deeply meaningful way. In her off time, Jena loves traveling, cooking and finding fun things to do right here in Houston!
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Independent and Assisted Living
Jeny Knight graduated Magna Cum Laude from Houston Baptist University with double majors in Marketing and Business Management. She is a Licensed Nursing Facility Administrator (LNFA) from The University of Texas Center on Aging and is also a Certified Assisted Living Administrator (CALA) from Southwest Texas State University. She has a passion for serving senior adults with over 30 years of industry experience to her credit. Jeny has served in the capacity of Executive Director at The Abbey since January, 2005 and has never missed a day of work. She loves her job and looks forward to coming to work every day!
Jill joined the Abbey team in the Fall of 2017. Her passion for the senior population and those with dementia comes from the loss of her father to Alzheimer's disease. Jill attended the University of Denver, the University of New Orleans and the University of Innsbruck (Austria) with studies in psychology and sociology. Her thirty year career in non-profit management and fund development led her to a long-term care community where she fell in love with the residents and families. After retiring in 2013, Jill decided to get back into the workforce and studied Assisted Living management, MEPEP 1 and MEPAP 2, and has been an Activity Director ever since.
Job Titles:
- Marketing Director
- New Director of Marketing
Judy Bearden is our new Director of Marketing. She comes to us with 20 years of experience in Sales and Marketing. Judy grew up in Houston and attended the University of Houston to earn a Bachelor's degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She then attended Texas Women's University to earn a Master's in Business Administration (MBA). She is a Certified Assisted Living Manager and a Certified Marketing Professional. Finding living solutions for seniors and their families is her passion and gives her a great sense of fulfillment. Judy lives in Fulshear with Brian her husband of 21 years.
Kathi Hill became a part of the Abbey family in 2016 as an Assistant Activity Director. In January, 2019, she became the Fitness Director for the Abbey. Kathi has a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Lamar University. She spent 36 years in the Education field before bringing her bright smile and endless energy into the lives of our seniors! She loves to sign, especially patriotic songs, and will spontaneously break into some dance moves for the residents at a moment's notice! She has two children and 5 grandchildren who are her whole world. She and her husband, Glen, have been married for 49 years and are looking forward to the next 49! Kathi is beyond excited to be able to bring quality fitness/wellness programs to the residents of the Abbey in order to improve their quality of life and extend their longevity!
Marbella is from Caracas, Venezuela. She earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a major in Journalism. In addition, she has a Master's in Marketing & Advertising. She came to this country four years ago when Venezuela was going through a hard time. She has 25 years of experience in tourism and Customer service; and the years she enjoyed the most were those in tourism and helping retired people from the USA and Europe on board cruise ships. This lead her to the Senior Living Industry. She loves bikes, tennis, and reading. She is married and has a 16 year old son.
Hi! I am Jaz, a Project Manager, and I get excited with the only thing that's constant - it's change. I love dogs and the smell of opening new books. My goals for 2021 is to gain a strategic understanding of the company's goals, implement relevant initiatives, and execute more high-impact projects with our incredible team!
Meet Irina Wardrip, Social Director in our Independent Living community. Irina comes with eleven years of experience in Senior Healthcare, Activities and Development at MorningStar Senior Living in Denver, Colorado, and most recently, at Village on the Park Steeplechase in Houston, Texas. She moved to Houston with her husband and is still acclimating to the humidity.
Irina loves to organize and host special events, fundraisers and plan meaningful activities to engage seniors. Irina's calendar has included edan Art Show featuring The Abbey at Westminster Plaza's residents' collectibles, a dog show, "Pawject Runway," Octoberfest, jewelry making, watercolor classes, published an Abbey Cookbook, coordinated a Vow Renewal Ceremony and other exciting events which are worthy of creating new and fun memories. She and her husband Tony are blessed to have identical baby boys!
Mrs. Ottis Lake is our founder. Her commitment to excellence, and her passion and care for the elderly has been successfully passed on to her children. After she retired, her oldest son became an administrator of a local hospital devoting his time, talents, and energies to continue the dream of providing the best care available in a hospital setting. Meanwhile, her youngest son had also been active pursuing the dream. He is the founder of American Health Services, Inc., which is general partner of Founder's Commercial, Ltd. American Health Services, Inc. has owned and operated health care facilities in Tyler, Longview, and Beaumont, each one distinctly carrying on the tradition of excellence begun by Mrs. Lake over half a century ago. Come by and see the dream firsthand.
The Abbey at Westminster Plaza is an all-inclusive Luxury Senior Living Community serving the Memorial/West Houston areas. Located at the intersection of Richmond Avenue and Westminster Plaza Drive and two blocks west of the Royal Oaks Country Club, this beautiful community is strategically located within close proximity to shopping centers, restaurants, medical offices and nearby hospitals. This master planned community for senior adults was developed by Founder's Commercial, Ltd, a family owned business with a long and distinguished history in health care. It all began over a half century ago with a courageous woman, Mrs. Ottis Lake of Jacksonville, Texas. As a professional nurse, she dedicated her life to seeing that those needing nursing and assistance would receive the best care available that she could provide. This lifelong ambition meant a great deal of personal sacrifices on her part, including working many long and strenuous hours with little pay.
Mrs. Lake's commitment was based on her belief that she had received a divine calling to build and provide the very best nursing facility, during a time when many of the destitute were being housed in little more than shanties and even chicken coups. After opening her first facility, she and a handful of her colleagues successfully lobbied the State Legislature in Austin for minimum standards and licensing regulations. Her high expectations helped to establish a historic benchmark for care for the elderly. Her dream encompassed everyone who needed care, regardless of the person's situation in life. Many who were poor and alone came to her door. Some needed clothing or incidentals, which she provided. There was even a time when a patient died with no one to handle the funeral arrangement and she made the necessary funeral arrangements herself.
With an outstanding reputation for her loving care, the very first facility she opened quickly reached full capacity. As a result, many had to be turned away, and this was long before Medicare and Medicaid, when government assistance for those needing care was unavailable. Still, Mrs. Lake's lifelong ambition would not be denied. Through the contact of a local Jacksonville attorney, she was introduced to Mr. J. Burns Brown, a prominent Tyler oilman. With the help of him and his wife, she was able to realize further her dream to open a very high-class care facility. Although it would only be licensed for 54 beds, at the time it was thought to be one of the largest and finest in East Texas. The facility other things such as a chapel, beauty and barber shop, treatment, physical therapy, isolation rooms and a physician's office. When Medicare began in 1966, it became one of the very first in the State to be certified for participation. With the on-rush of residents and the need to maintain her focus on nursing, Mrs. Lake asked her youngest son, a law student to commute his last year and half of law school so that that more of his and the family's time and effort could be devoted to the expanding business. It wasn't long until word spread about the excellent care being provided by Mrs. Lake's newest facility. The family commenced plans to build another new facility; one to be almost three times as large and with many unique and excellent features, placing it among the most spectacular of the day.
Job Titles:
- Director of Dining Services