The WindRiver Team brings over 85 years of experience along with specialized knowledge of the senior residential industry to every project.
Click on a name from our WR team to find out more information.
Joseph Hessley, Chief Executive Officer
Joseph has worked in the senior living industry for almost 23 years and is responsible for the day to day operations, team development and culture
of the WindRiver Communities.
Joseph has worked in both publicly traded and privately held companies, and has operated more than 100 senior living communities in 23 states, including CCRCs, Assisted Living, Independent Living, and Memory Care communities, as well as Skilled Nursing Facilities. His skillset includes operational programming, policies and procedures, repositioning existing assets, and developing new retirement communities.
Most recently the COO for Concordis Senior Living, Joseph’s experience includes a role as Senior Vice President of Operations at Enlivant, where he led the successful operations and 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 experience also includes oversight of a portfolio of CCRCs with Life Care Services, a divisional operations role with Holiday Retirement, and Vice President of Operations at Senior Lifestyle Corp.
Joseph graduated from Gannon University in 1998, with his B.A. and H.C.A.
Sara Holloway, President
Sara, literally grew up with Senior Living. Her father, Gary Fisher helped transform the industry in the 80’s with Trammell Crowe’s Senior Living Division. Th en he started his own company WindRiver Management in the 90’s. Sara joined the firm in 2002 after graduating from New York University. Over the last 17 years, she has overseen the marketing of over 1,750 senior living unit 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 $100 million dollars in new construction and rehab projects. 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 NYU.
Peggy O’Neill, Vice President of Marketing and Acquisitions
Peggy has worked in the senior living industry for over two decades and currently oversees Marketing and Acquisitions for all communities across WindRiver’s footprint. Peggy has worked in the healthcare community in a leadership capacity for both private and publicly traded companies across her career. During her time in the industry, Peggy has accrued more than 20 years of sales leadership experience, spanning all facets of the healthcare spectrum, including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing across numerous states.
By working with many unique teams in various markets across the country, Peggy has been aff orded an advantage of weaving a variety of strategies with both inhouse, hands on approaches, and craft ing external marketing events and campaigns meant to appeal to a wide range of audiences.
Angie Isaac, Vice President of Operations
Joined WindRiver in 2016 and currently serves as a Regional Director. She supports our Independent and Assisted Living communities in North and South Central Texas. Prior to WindRiver, Angie worked for Hearthstone Senior Living, Autumn Leaves Memory Care, Good Neighbor Care and Avanti Senior Living.
Angie has more than 13 years of sales management and experience in senior living. She is also a licensed Texas Assisted Living Administrator and Certified Dementia Practitioner. She received her Honors BBA, concentrated in Business Administration and Management, from Columbia College in Columbia, MS. Angie is a decorated Veteran of the U.S. Navy.
R.J. Flowers, Regional Director, Operations, Sales & Marketing
R.J. Flowers brings 15+ years of experience in sales, marketing and operations to WindRiver Companies. Over the course of his career, he has held senior leadership positions managing teams to exceed annual revenue targets and building positive team culture. He is known by his peers and teams for being a strategic, collaborative leader who thrives on finding and creating solutions.
Over the course of his career, R.J. has held roles in construction project management, real estate, marketing and operations.
R.J. holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University in Waco, TX.
Lynn Miranda BSN, RN, Regional Clinical Director
Lynn joined the WindRiver team in 2020, bringing almost 30 years of health care experience in acute care, case management, skilled and long-term care, home health, and senior living. Lynn has served on collegiate advisory boards for the development of nursing curriculum and consulting areas including continuing education for state mandated directed in-service, medical case reviews and expert witness testimony. Lynn obtained her BSN in 1992 from Stephen F. Austin SU after serving in the U.S. Army.
Lynn collaborates to provide on-site and remote support of the clinical operation components for Assisted Living and Memory Care communities. She has been an integral part of implementing and maintaining the clinical portion of the electronic medical record platforms. Lynn brings knowledge and expertise in resident care practices; policies, procedures, and regulations for each state; as well as staff mentoring and development.
Gary Taylor, Vice President of Human Resources
Gary joins the WindRiver Team with over 19+ years of experience in the senior living industry. Gary brings vast leadership experience in human resources. He has earned a reputation in the industry for his knowledge as a trusted business partner to management, he simultaneously serves as an advocate for company employees.
Gary started his career as a Business Office Manager. During his tenure, Gary was 1 of 5 Business Office Manager Mentors. Gary has worked in both IL and AL. Gary then became Director of Human Resources in a CCRC. Within a short time, Gary was promoted to Regional Human Resource Manager and had oversight of up to 90 communities at one time. Gary participated in over 50 acquisitions of the portfolio. Gary most recently worked as Director of Human Resources and he oversaw all HR operations for the company.
Gary holds a Bachelor of Arts, with an emphasis in Human Resources, from DePaul University.
Carrie Ruckhardt, Vice President of Finance
Alan Comtois, Art Director
Alan joined the WindRiver team in 2012 and serves as the Art Director and Graphic Designer for the marketing division. Prior to Alan joining the WR team he worked for several agencies in the DFW area as Art Director and as Creative Director for the largest ad agency in Fort Worth, Texas. Alan has over 20 year of experience in the Graphic Design field and has had work featured in Print and Communication Arts Magazines.
He graduated from University of Texas in Arlington with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Communication and Art History.
Matthew Dube, Vice President of Culinary Services
Matthew joined Windriver Companies in 2023 as Vice President of Culinary Services. He has a strong background in Food Service & Hospitality, spanning over 25 years in many different facets before turning his focus to senior living. Matthew graduated from CT Culinary Institute in 1996 and then trained and worked in several fine dining restaurants in New England. He later traveled the world as the Executive chef of American Cruise Lines & Lindblad Expeditions.
Matthew has overseen multiple colleges as a culinary operations manager and finally found the field he is passionate about: working with seniors! He has been involved in senior living since 2009 and has worn many hats, from Food Service Director to Regional/District Chef to Operations manager and now Vice President of Culinary Services.