Team

Joseph joined the WindRiver team in 2019 and is responsible for the day-to-day operations, team development, and culture of WindRiver and its communities. He has worked in the senior living industry for 26 years for publicly-traded and privately-held companies. He has operated over 100 senior living communities in 23 states, including CCRCs, Assisted Living, Independent Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing Facilities. His skill set includes operational programming, policies and procedures, repositioning existing assets, and developing new retirement communities.

Before joining the WindRiver team, Joseph served as the Chief Operations Officer for Concordis Senior Living. He also served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Enlivant, where he led the successful operations, occupancy growth, and stabilization for 77 Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Independent Living communities. During his tenure, occupancy in Enlivant’s portfolio of 233 communities increased from 54% to 92% in 14 months. Joseph’s vast experience also includes overseeing a portfolio of CCRCs with Life Care Services, a divisional operations role with Holiday Retirement, and Vice President of Operations at Senior Lifestyle Corporation. He graduated from Gannon University in 1998 with his BA before earning an MBA in Heath Care Administration.

Sara literally grew up with Senior Living. Her father, Gary Fisher, helped transform the industry in the ’80s with Trammell Crowe’s Senior Living Division before he followed his entrepreneurial spirit and started his own company, WindRiver Management, in 1992. Sara joined the WindRiver team in 2002 after graduating from college. Over the last 21 years, she has overseen the marketing of more than 2,750 senior living units from lease up to full capacity, with a consistent occupancy rate of 90% or higher. In addition, Sara has managed the design and development of over $150 million in new construction and rehab projects. Since taking over as President of WindRiver in 2018, she has managed over $100 million in asset purchases, sales, and refinances. Her dedication to detail and quality has helped WindRiver establish an exceptional reputation in the senior living industry. Sara received an Honors BA from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.

Samar brings more than 20 years of accounting, finance, and operations experience across several industries including healthcare, software and technology, and consumer packaged goods, with a proven track record of building high-performance teams and driving business transformation and growth.

Samar has held several senior financial leadership positions including serving as Chief Financial Officer for both public and private companies. Most recently, Samar served as CFO at Biote, a publicly traded health and wellness company. Prior to that, he served as CFO at Slync.io (logistics software company) and Tax Act (financial software company). Early in his career Samar spent 7 years at PepsiCo in a number of financial roles as part of a financial leadership development program.

His expertise includes financial reporting, accounting, budgeting and forecasting, treasury management, corporate finance, and investor relations. In this role at WindRIver, Samar oversees WindRiver’s financial operations with a focus on driving revenue growth and operational efficiencies.

Samar holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Baylor University, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business.

Angie joined WindRiver in 2016 and currently serves as Vice President of Operations. She supports Independent and Assisted Living communities in North and South Central Texas. Before WindRiver, Angie worked for Hearthstone Senior Living, Autumn Leaves Memory Care, Good Neighbor Care, and Avanti Senior Living.

Angie has over 13 years of sales and management experience in senior living. She is also a licensed Texas Assisted Living Administrator and Certified Dementia Practitioner. She received her Honors BBA, concentrating in Business Administration and Management, from Columbia College in Columbia, Mississippi. In addition, Angie is a decorated Veteran of the US Navy.

RJ brings over 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, and operations to the WindRiver team. He joined WindRiver in 2021 as Regional Director, Operations, Sales, and Marketing and is currently the Vice President of Sales. Throughout his career, RJ has held senior leadership roles in construction project management, real estate, marketing, and operations. He effectively manages teams that exceed annual revenue targets while building a positive team culture. He is known by colleagues for being a strategic, collaborative leader who thrives on finding and creating solutions. RJ earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University in Waco, TX.

Andrew Hardin joined WindRiver in 2023 and serves as the Senior Vice President of Clinical. Andrew is a formally trained, Registered Nurse (RN) with over 15 years of clinical experience.  He most recently was a Senior Vice President / Chief Operations Officer at Voyages Behavioral Health. 

Andrew specializes in the full development of the health systems from ground-up to full operations.  He has overseen and been responsible for $100 million+ in net revenues within health care systems. He is also a former Chief Executive Officer for Perimeter Healthcare where he oversaw all aspects of clinical operations and strategy. 

Andrew is a United Stated Naval Veteran and has vast experiences in clinical trauma, behavioral health and the overall senior population.

Tera, MBA, MPA, LSSBB, CDS, possesses over 14 years of healthcare industry and operations experience and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and CARES Dementia Specialist. As a former CEO with Voyages Behavioral Health and Former COO with Perimeter Healthcare, Tera has experience opening and developing hospitals and outpatient facilities. Tera has an extensive background in marketing, national business development, website and graphic design, and program development with additional leadership experience with Acadia, UHS, and Oceans Healthcare. Throughout her career, Tera has developed residential, trauma, military, chemical dependency, child and adolescent, and senior programs to enhance quality of care for individuals across the country.

Cleta joined the WindRiver team in 2023 and currently serves as an Operations Specialist. She has worked in the healthcare industry for 45 years and comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge. She has held positions from Nursing Home Administrator, Executive Director, Regional Director of Operations, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, and Regional Executive Director.

Before joining WindRiver Cleta worked for Four Season Nursing Home, Brookdale, Senior Lifestyle Cooperation, U.S. Memory Care, and Senior Care. She has a proven track record of turnaround communities, startup communities, developing systems, onboarding, and training new Executive Directors.

Cleta currently holds an Assisted Living Manager Certificate for Texas and is working on her South Carolina license.

Brittany joined the WindRiver team with 14 years of healthcare experience. She has worked in skilled nursing facilities as a Director of Nursing, as well as, an Assistant Administrator in behavioral health hospitals. She excelled in Joint Commission, Texas State Regulations, acquisitions, and startup communities. Brittany has been a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology and the Texas Society of Infection Control & Prevention since 2015. Additionally,  she is certified in wound care. Interestingly, Brittany originally had the mindset to obtain her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, however she was redirected towards the path of Nursing and has never looked back.

Kendra joins the WindRiver team with more than 13 years of human resources experience. Kendra has worked in both the private and public sector and brings a vast portfolio of human resources knowledge. Kendra prides herself on servant leadership and helping others understand the HR functions and how HR can partner with the communities to promote staff satisfaction, employee retention and employee engagement. Kendra has held senior leadership positions in Federally Qualified Health Centers and Inpatient Behavioral Health Facilities.

Kendra is a Certified Human Resource Generalist and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis on Human Resources from Colorado Technical University. She is also a Crisis Prevention Institute trainer in de-escalation and crisis management.

Matthew joined Windriver in 2023, serving as the Vice President of Culinary Services. He brings a strong background spanning over 25 years, covering many facets of Food Service and Hospitality. Matthew graduated from the CT Culinary Institute in 1996, followed by extensive training in several fine dining restaurants in New England. He took this knowledge and later traveled the world as the Executive Chef of American Cruise Lines and Lindblad Expeditions. In addition, Matthew has overseen multiple colleges as a Culinary Operations Manager before turning his focus to his passion – seniors! He has been involved in senior living since 2009, wearing many hats, from Food Service Director to Regional/District Chef to Operations Manager, and now Vice President of Culinary Services.

Bianca Saucedo joined the WindRiver team in 2022 as Payroll Manager, bringing over 10 years of payroll experience. She started her career working for one of the most decorated HRIS corporations, ADP. Inc. During her time with the company, she found her passion for payroll and learned how to de-escalate problems that occur due to human error. She also received the education necessary to obtain her Fundamental Payroll Certificate. Bianca took the knowledge gained at ADP and became a Payroll Administrator for Associa, an HOA, community, and property management corporation. She oversaw 21 communities totaling 1000 employees, ensuring the proper payroll process, and even assisted the team during COVID. Bianca grew her career by joining an electric company as a Senior Payroll Administrator. She utilized her skills to train other administrators in the proper payroll process and taught them how to implement new strategies to maximize the team’s success. 

Michelle originally joined WindRiver’s accounting team in 2006. She spent more than five years as Assistant Controller before being promoted to Regional Operations Supervisor, where she served for another five years. From here, Michelle followed her entrepreneurial dreams of owning a business after taking some time off for her family. However, after building and stabilizing the company from the ground up, her former passion for senior living was still strong. She returned to WindRIver in 2021 as Director of Talent in the human resources department but was quickly moved back into operations as an Operations Specialist. Michelle currently serves as a Financial Operations Specialist. Michelle earned her BBA in Accounting from Tarleton University in 1999 and graduated with an MBA in 2004. 

Alan joined the WindRiver team in 2012 as the Art Director and Graphic Designer. With over 30 years of experience in the Graphic Design field, he provides creative direction for WindRiver and its communities. Before Alan joined the WindRiver team, he worked as an Art Director for several agencies in the DFW area. He was also a Creative Director for the largest advertising agency in Fort Worth, Texas. Alan’s work has been featured in Print and Communication Arts magazines. He graduated from the University of Texas in Arlington with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Communication and Art History.

Ashlee joined the WindRiver team in September 2021 as the Business Office Manager and currently leads the accounting team. She facilitates coordinating a broad range of services and resources that allow the organization to operate efficiently. Ashlee also assists in developing and implementing company policies and procedures; maintains accounts payable, receivables, and billing for WindRiver, as well as a few of the owned assets. Ashlee brings over 15 years of executive-level support, office management, and accounting experience to the team. Before joining WindRiver, Ashlee was a Transaction Coordinator for a residential real estate group. While at Andrews Distributing, she started as the front receptionist and continually advanced her career, departing as the Executive Assistant to the CEO.