Sunrise of Mercer Island

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Meet the Sunrise of Mercer Island Team

Meet some of the members of our excellent team here at Sunrise of Mercer Island, WA.

Kim MacDonald, RN

Executive Director

Kim is a registered nurse with prior senior care experience as an executive director and vice president of care in assisted living, and as a nurse delegator, client services director and general manager in home care. Kim was born in Michigan and grew up in Hawaii. She has degrees in psychology, theology, and photography. Prior to becoming a nurse, she worked for Habitat for Humanity International and had the good fortune to work in about thirty countries, covering their house-building projects and disaster response. She loves the perspective and learning that travel brings.

At Sunrise of Mercer Island she has found a sense of home, and loves working with her team of department coordinators and staff as well as getting to know residents and their families.

She enjoys chatting with residents who come into her office and sharing a daily joke with residents at meals. She also loves leading a monthly photography activity with residents.

Marisa Mallett

Director of Sales

Marisa helps families find the right solution for their loved ones here at Sunrise, a process that may feel daunting and overwhelming to some families. She has over five years of experience helping families with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. She also has personal experience with the disease, having both grandmothers afflicted by Alzheimer’s.

Her favorite part of the job is getting to know and love the residents at the community. Even though her family is not in the area, Sunrise of Mercer Island feels like one big family!

In her free time Marisa likes hiking, cooking, and watching movies.

Alem Haile

Activities & Volunteer Coordinator

Alem has worked at Sunrise of Mercer Island since 2003 as a care manger, lead care manager, reminiscence supervisor, Life Enrichment Manager for reminiscence, and now as Activities and Volunteer Coordinator for the whole home. She also completed Sunrise’s department coordinator in training program in March 2018. Alem loves engaging with residents and keeping their families updated on their activities.

In her free time, she enjoys visiting historical places, reading, watching movies, walking in the park, and spending time with her family.

Jane Hermano, RN

Resident Care Director

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” – Simon Sinek. This is the motto Jane works by. She knows that when an individual experiences illness and decline, their lives are disrupted and their loved ones grapple with uncertainty. Her passion is to bring the smallest acts of caring, a listening ear, and the power of touch to all our residents and their families.

Jane takes pride in being part of the Sunrise team and the caring-focused environment at Sunrise of Mercer Island. Jane feels privileged to join our residents on their journeys.

Jane has her bachelor of arts in theater arts and then fulfilled her dream to become a nurse after moving from the Philippines to the United States. She loves to travel.

Cherryl Almasco

Reminiscence Coordinator

Cherryl has worked at Sunrise of Mercer Island since 2008 as a lead care manager, medication care manager and now as reminiscence coordinator. At work, Cherryl loves singing and walking with residents and spending one on one time with them and her staff of care managers. Her love of the residents and their families inspires her.

Outside of work, Cherryl spends time with her elementary school aged daughter and helps care for her mother.

Jenny Grand

Business Office Coordinator

Jenny has been working in senior care for over ten years and with Sunrise Senior Living since 2015. She grew up in the greater Seattle area and received her Business Administration degree from the University of Washington. She enjoys learning from the residents, and the wisdom and stories they have to share through day to day interaction. She’s also inspired working side by side with amazing people that are talented and caring.

Her primary pursuit beyond the workplace is nature and landscape photography, and she founded a club for local female photographers in the area. She also loves hiking and travel, and has recently become an aunt. With the niece moving straight from crawling to climbing, Jenny is confident they will both be hiking the trails soon!

Genet Abnu

Lead Care Manager

Genet has been working at Sunrise of Mercer Island since 2009. She is the morning lead care manager in the Reminiscence neighborhood.

Genet is passionate about the care our residents receive; she takes their quality of life very seriously and enjoys what she does. Genet says she loves working at Sunrise because her voice is always heard; her supervisors are always supportive and the community is very friendly and welcoming.

Outside of work, Genet loves cooking, cleaning, decorating her home, walking with friends and spending time with her husband, two children and mother.

Frank Spinner

Maintenance Coordinator

Frank has been a member of the Sunrise team here at Mercer Island since 2010. Frank always feels a sense of pride and pleasure in fulfilling the needs of residents and maintaining the physical facilities.

In his spare time, Frank loves to hike, camp, and fish. And he dabbles with photography.

Moose

Beloved Community Dog

Moose joined Sunrise of Mercer Island in 2017 as our community dog and adorable mascot. We were lucky to be able to rescue him from a local non-profit and now he shares his love with everyone here. We think he is a Chow, German Shepherd, St. Bernard mix, but regardless of his heritage he is a charmer.

Moose’s favorite activities are walks with residents and staff, wearing costumes to humor his people, giving and receiving affection, and mostly, napping! He also reluctantly shows off tricks he has learned from some of our family members. And he brings the warmth of Sunrise to everyone he meets.

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