Meet Our Team

Kelly experienced the caregiving journey firsthand when his father, a WWII decorated Army veteran, passed away in the family farmhouse in 1999. The decade-long experience opened his eyes and heart to the challenges families face when caring for their senior loved one.

Prior to Home Instead, Kelly worked in the consulting industry for twenty years. He helped large consumer goods and health care service provider design and implement business strategies and improve operations. This business experience helps him assess problems and implement solutions. He is very proud of his trusted relationships with Home Instead's Care Professionals and is inspired by their compassion. 

One of Kelly’s quotes: “Each day I come to work happy and I go home happy.”

After working as a Staffing Consultant for years in temporary staffing agencies finding professional, experienced workers for business clients, Nancy knows what it takes to keep our office running smoothly. She honed her skills in customer service, listening, and uncovering needs. She joined Home Instead in 2019.

Her easy-going manner, quick laugh, and ability to stay cool make her a terrific fit for our professional and high energy team. Nancy is a resident of Elmhurst, IL. She is fluent in Spanish and loves to cook and dance. She enjoys family time and is a proud mother of four children, four grandchildren and her dog.

Angie has been with Home Instead since 2006. As the Client Care Manager, it is Angie's job ensure our clients are receiving the best possible care and support. Prior to working with Home Instead, Angie had seven years of experience operating and managing retail stores. There, she was responsible for managing employee schedules, hiring, training, and orientating new employees.

Angie is originally from Romania, but has called this area home since she was sixteen. She is married to a Cook County Sheriff's Deputy and has four children. Angie's hobbies include bowling, bike riding, and spending time with her family.

Angie has a contagious laugh that can brighten anyone's day.​

Cassie has been with Home Instead since 2016. Cassie’s caregiving story began in 2011 when her grandma passed away. At that time, Cassie was raising her family and helping with her family's industrial equipment servicing business. However, she missed her grandma so much that Cassie later sought employment with Home Instead to find another senior to love. One client reminded Cassie of her grandma and helped to fill the void; they loved each other like family. Cassie still reunites with that family today although the client passed years ago. Cassie is proud to provide peace of mind to families when they needed it most.  

In her free time, Cassie likes to spend time with her family and two dogs. She also visits her family in South Dakota whenever possible. Cassie believes that seniors deserve compassion and dignity and finds her work at Home Instead rewarding and meaningful. She has made great friends at Home Instead and says its nice to be a part of a team that truly wants the best for seniors. 

Alina Merrill has been with Home Instead since 2008. Previously, she worked as a Activity and Volunteer Coordinator for Sunrise Church Creek. Alina received her degree in Psychology from the West University of Romania. Her experience working with volunteers at Sunrise Church Creek and her personality made her a great fit as a Staffing Manager here at Home Instead. Alina became excellent at determining which Care Professional would be the perfect fit for our clients. She is sensitive to client needs and has developed strong bonds with our Care Pros.

Alina was promoted to Manager of Human Resources in 2017. In this role, Alina manages our recruiting, hiring, retention, and payroll processes.

Alina and her husband Mike have a son, Darien, and daughter, Ariana. In her spare time, she enjoys creating custom-made jewelry, shopping, and keeping fit and healthy with yoga.

Amy has worked in the healthcare industry for the last fifteen years. Amy is a Registered Nurse and worked as an RN in the fields of Orthopedics, Hospice, dialysis, and most recently rehabilitation and long-term care. She has always had a soft spot for nursing seniors! Amy has been with home instead since 2024. She is a Client Care Manager and advises families and seniors on aging in place. She enjoys listening to their stories and draws inspiration from their lives and experiences.

Amy enjoys reading, traveling, hiking and spending time with her kitty. Her pride and joy is her son who is a graduate from Purdue in Chemical Engineering.

Matt has worked in the Healthcare industry for over twelve years. The majority of that experience was in Oncology care where Matt learned the importance of making everything centered around the patient. By making the patient the sole focus, he has been able to develop strategies, foster relationships with healthcare providers, and identify new ways to help improve patient outcomes. 

Matt has been with Home Instead since 2024 and brings a passion for helping our aging population. He looks forward to exploring news ways and technologies to keep those happy and healthy in his community. When Matt isn’t at work, he enjoys spending time being active with his wife and their two kids. Matt’s hobbies include traveling, playing golf, spending time with family, and cheering on his favorite sports teams.

Victoria is a dedicated service professional with a background in hospitality. Throughout her career, she has built strong relationships and is driven by her commitment to exceptional service.

Victoria has strong ties to Poland and its culture. She lived in Poland as young child, although she was born in America, and speaks Polish fluently. She was taught to care for family members, especially during their senior years. This value inspired her to pursue a career path with Home Instead, where she has been since 2024. Victoria educates the community about the care options to age in place and how to best support loved ones in need. 

Outside of work, Victoria, who goes by ‘Vic’, is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, dancing, and painting. She uses her skills and experiences to foster positive connections and make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. 

Marian, known as Robbie, has been with Home Instead since 2012. After retiring from a corporate career, she wanted to explore a meaningful opportunity. She was attracted to caregiving, as she had always been the family's caregiver. Robbie began her 'next thing' as a part-time caregiver at Home Instead. She quickly distinguished herself as friendly, outgoing, responsive, and capable. She was promoted to an office role shortly thereafter. For over two years, she handled all aspects of the office administration in an efficient and organized manner. In May 2016, she was promoted to a client-facing role of "New Client Engagement Coordinator". She now educates all inquires about our services and helps organize service for new clients (if you call about services, you will likely speak with her!).

Robbie's professional background includes thirty-two years in office management and IT support at Zurich America. Robbie lives in Carol Stream and has three children, nine grandchildren, three cats, and two dogs. She enjoys spending time with her family, helping her elderly neighbors, going to movies and concerts with her granddaughters, shopping, reading, and working with her teammates at Home Instead!​

Jackie started with Home Instead as a Care Professional in 2020 and joined the administrative team as a Staffing Manager in September 2021. Now as our Training Coordinator, Jackie shares her expertise by ensuring our Care Professionals have the skills they need to serve our clients needs. She enjoys changing lives for seniors and Care Pros. Prior to joining Home Instead, she was the general manager of several restaurants. Jackie hasn’t looked back since she began her new path at Home Instead. She often reflects on how different life would have been if her family had a caregiver when her grandfather needed help in the last months of his life. She was a teenager when he passed. She is thrilled to help families in such meaningful ways. 

Jackie is a crafter and a self-proclaimed nerd. She enjoys many things but especially Doctor Who. As a care giver, Jackie loved bonding with seniors overshared mutual interests and learning everything she could from them. She loves her family to the moon and back and will take any opportunity to share pictures of her beautiful children.

Tracy joined Home Instead in 2024 as the HR Recruiter. With her customer service mindset, knack for making connections, and professional recruiting experience, she is a natural at helping people land their dream jobs - one caregiver at a time!

When she’s not helping people reach their career goals, fitness-enthusiast Tracy can be found taking day-trips to local state parks, riding her bicycle, and hitting different running trails with her canine companion.

Amanda (Mandy) has been interested in healthcare ever since she was little. She received her CNA license and earned a degree in Biology from Benedictine University. While working with patients during clinicals, Mandy grew a passion for seniors and wanted to make a difference in their lives.

Mandy started with Home Instead in 2021 as a Care Professional and was promoted to Staffing Manager in 2022. She prides herself on always treating clients like they are family!

Prior to working at Home Instead, Mandy had three years experience managing retail stores. In her free time, she enjoys doing anything outdoors and spending time with family.

Antoinette has been a Care Professional for over thirteen years. She knows what it takes to offer the care and support of the client and offer peace of mind for the families trusting a care pro to take care of their loved ones who need a little more attention in their lives.

Antoinette started with Home Instead in 2022 as a Care Professional. In time, she was asked to become an On-Call Supervisor to assist the office and Care Pros during after-hours to make sure clients had the coverage needed at any time of the day or night. Now, in her current role as a Staffing Manager, she can take her experience as Care Professional and On-Call Supervisor to make sure each client has the best fit for their needs.

Prior to working in Health Care, Antoinette worked in the restaurant industry in many different roles from a server to management. Hard work and long hours will not stop Antoinette from making sure everyone is taken care of to the best to her ability! Antoinette always approaches her work with a smile and kind words. She makes sure her customers have a great experience. Taking care of people is something she has done her whole life.

In her free time, she loves spending time with family and friends, especially her three beautiful daughters and her husband, who she simply adores, along with her two dogs. Antoinette sets aside time each week for her family and friends. Her other hobby includes going to hear live music.

Nena joined Home Instead Itasca in 2025 as a Staffing Manager. She received a Bachelor`s Degree in English Language and Literature from University of Philology in Belgrade, Serbia. She worked for eighteen years as a Client Manager in Express Publishing in Athens, Greece. Just prior to Home Instead, she was a Manager in Greek Ellas TV Max for eight years in Chicago. Throughout her career, she has built strong and devoted relationships with clients and unbreakable ties with colleagues. Nena is driven by her commitment to exceptional customer service.

Nena has strong family and cultural ties to Serbia, where she was born, and Greece, where she grew up. Her heritage and background taught her to care for family members, especially during their senior years. She deeply and unconditionally empathizes with seniors, children, and animals. Outside of work, she is a dedicated cinephile, and enjoys traveling, reading, and spending quality time with her friends, and her most precious babies, two cats named Rocky and Sisqo.

Mersiha (mer-see-ha) started with Home Instead in 2018 as a Care Professional. She joined the team with a wealth of personal experience caring for seniors. Mersiha helped her mother as she aged. For her, the act of giving care to a vulnerable senior is an emotionally satisfying experience and provided a profound sense of purpose. The look of gratitude in a senior’s eyes provides an electric shock for Mersiha. This gives her the energy to provide the support needed for a senior to live a joyful, healthy life. Mersiha joined the Administrative Team in September 2021 as an On-Call Manager, where she handled emergencies that come up after hours. In August 2022, she became a Lead. 

Mersiha is a busy soccer mom for her three children. She loves and supports her children more than anything in the world! She enjoys spending quality time with friends and family. Her passion is cooking and taking long walks with her children.

Carol-Anne Tureck has worked for Home Instead since 2015 as a Care Professional. She was at the Grays Lake Home Instead office for three years and has been here in Itasca ever since. Carol-Anne joined the office administrative team in Itasca in 2022 as Lead Care Professional. In this role, she is an extension of the Staffing Team providing service, training, and managing people first-hand in the homes of our clients. This role differentiates Home Instead; Lead Care Professionals with deep expertise, delivering care, and promoted into management. 

Prior to Home Instead, Carol-Anne took care of her father, who had a stroke. She enjoys taking care of seniors and always brings a smile to their faces. 

Carol-Anne is from Cape Town, South Africa. She loves to travel with her husband around the United States. Carol-Anne loves being outdoors, connecting with people, reading, running, and singing.

Dale started with Home Instead in 2019 as a bookkeeper. Before joining Home Instead, he worked in landscaping while pursuing his degree in Accounting. He enjoys working with numbers and helping people solve problems. Problem-solving helped Dale thrive at Home Instead helping clients and their families with bills, Veterans benefits, and long-term care insurance.

In his spare time, Dale takes care of his blue-and-yellow macaw named Jack. He is also an avid storm chaser with a passion for meteorology. Dale is always striving to learn more about severe storms in order to help people impacted during these extreme and dangerous events.

Chrissy has been with Home Instead since 2024. For the past eight years, Chrissy has worked as a dedicated care professional. Chrissy cherished every moment and enjoyed listening to each client's unique story, witnessing the positive impact of care giving on their lives, and being a part of their journey.

In her free time, Chrissy enjoys crafting, reading, dancing, having game nights with friends, and attending baseball games. Chrissy is a huge fan of both Harry Potter and Disney, with "Hocus Pocus" being her favorite film of all time. Nothing brings her more joy than spending time with her friends, family, and loving fiancée. At home, she has two wonderful cats, Leia and Binx. 

Chrissy is excited to bring her passion and experience with seniors to Home Instead! 

Katie joined the Home Instead family in May 2025 as the Social Media Manager for the St. Charles, Naperville, and Itasca offices, often bouncing between locations each week. After graduating college in 2022 with a degree in graphic design, photography, and marketing, she built a career as a multimedia contractor and is grateful for the flexibility to continue working with a variety of clients, as well as capturing our wonderful Home Instead family.

Though she never imagined working in senior care, capturing seniors’ stories has quickly become one of the most fulfilling parts of her week. Outside of work, she can be found on a pickleball or volleyball court, spending time with loved ones, or — of course — out with her camera.

Maria’s journey with Home Instead began in 2025. Maria’s first experience providing care for an elderly individual was with her grandmother. After her grandmother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, she remained at home, cared for by Maria, her mother, and older sister.

Professionally, Maria has a diverse background that includes five years as a training manager for a fast-food restaurant and twelve years as a patient intake specialist in the healthcare industry.

Outside of work, Maria enjoys long-distance motorcycle riding and serves on the board of her motorcycle association’s chapter. She is married and the mother of two sons.

Our friendly black lab, Mace, brings her energy to the office now and then. Her wiggles and good looks are welcomed! However, she is not as well-behaved as our dearly-departed, sweet, black lab, Pepper, so Mace doesn’t get to visit as often. Mace knows several words - one that always gets her attention is ‘squirrel’!

Pepper was our wonderful, sweet mascot and a volunteer therapy dog at Northwest Community Hospital. As a certified therapy dog, she wagged her tail and helped people forget their condition and surroundings. Pepper passed away peacefully in November 2018 after a healthy, happy life.

Pepper often visited the office and brought smiles to your hard-working office team! Tricks were never her strong suit, but she always shook paws and gave high-fives to everyone.​