Our Staff at BrightStar Care® Lane County

A Washington State native, Jennifer has been managing in health care related fields since 1999.  Because she was President and COO of an orthopedic specialty hospital in Los Angeles California as well as the Chief Administrative Officer of a two-hospital system in Eugene and Springfield. She has an immense knowledge of the healthcare industry and what it takes to build and sustain a healthy company with happy employees, strong policies and excellent training practices. In 2014 Jennifer decided to open BrightStar Care of Lane County because she felt there was limited options for a quality in-home care agency in our area and thought she could create a company based on strong core values and by appreciating her employees who would in-turn provide premium care for her clients. Her mission is to provide the highest quality care to our clients and give peace of mind to families in need of specialized care for just about any situation imaginable. She has her Bachelors in Science from Whitman College in Walla Walla Washington and her Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University in Malibu California. Jennifer and her husband Mark have three wonderful adult aged children, and they all enjoy everything the Oregon outdoors has to offer.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Mark grew up in the Bellevue Washington area, but is so happy to now call Eugene home since 2013. He has a diverse background in IT, nutrition and the culinary arts. A proud father of three, he is a successful triathlete and avid golfer always searching for the perfect fairway in our beautiful State of Oregon. As a Co-Owner of BrightStar Care of Lane County and our Sales and Marketing Director, Mark brings a unique talent base to our agency. Mark enjoys every exchange with client and employee alike and is always striving to achieve the highest standard of care as his and our agency’s ultimate goal.

Tonya was born and raised outside of Cincinnati, Ohio where she married and raised two daughters. She was a stay-at-home mother when her husband’s grandmother fell, needing hands-on assistance during recovery. Without any formal training, Tonya became Granny’s primary caregiver for five months, helping with housekeeping, meals, personal care, and therapy exercises. Once fully recovered, Tonya’s mother-in-law provided encouragement to pursue nursing as a career. After her children started elementary school, she completed her Associate’s Degree in Nursing from Shawnee State University in 2004. She started her career as a bedside nurse at a small 200-bed hospital in Portsmouth, Ohio where she gained experience for the next 14 years, while also intermittently working in Home Health/In-home care and Hospice during that period as well. Once her children were grown, she became a hospital travel nurse, which brought her to Oregon in 2016. While on a travel assignment in 2017, Tonya met her life partner, Shain, and decided to make Oregon her permanent home. For the next 4 years, she worked as a Health Services Director in assisted living and then took a break to become a CNA instructor, to help teach the next generation of caregivers. Tonya and Shain love to explore the Pacific Northwest together and find new adventures and things to try. Learning is a lifelong experience, and Tonya loves to encourage others through clinical training and support to reach their full potential. She is thrilled to be leading the clinical team at BrightStar Care of Lane county and enjoys onboarding and training staff and then supporting them ongoing as they provide premium care to all of our clients.  

Sarah was born and raised in San Jose, California at the beginnings of what would become Silicon Valley. After spending nearly all of her life in the Golden State, she recently relocated to beautiful and green Eugene, Oregon area with her husband and two teen boys. Sarah has been in the recruitment and human resources field since 2011 and has worked at some of the largest companies across the globe including Google, Walmart Labs, and most recently, Amazon/Amazon Web Services. Her passion for the healthcare sector was first brought to light through her experience in talent acquisition for a biotech startup. Sarah has pursued talent acquisition and human resources for all areas of the public sector, including most recently healthcare. She feels that the human resources field has been known to miss the “human” aspect from time to time and she hopes to improve the experience for future and current employees and clients through her practical knowledge in change management, process improvement, and employee development. Sarah believes in doing the right thing for her employees and always being open and positive. In her free time, you’ll catch Sarah in the gym lifting weights with her husband, watching all 9 innings of the San Francisco Giants game, introducing painful 80s/90s movies with her kids, and staying active with her new Eugene friends.

Melissa was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, specializing in Alzheimer's and dementia care during initial CNA training from a local nursing home before moving on to working with an assisted living facility and memory care unit of Washington State. Melissa started a career path in 2009 as a caregiver and chose pursuing the road to becoming a Personal Care Assistant by 2015. Exploring our beautiful State of Oregon resulted in the decision to settle in Eugene by 2020 when Melissa achieved employment with Brightstar Care and agreed to accept a promotion within the company by the end of 2022. Armed with beyond a decade of experience in meeting the varying needs of community members and their families, Melissa understands the common challenges that are faced when providing or receiving care at all ages. It is with sincerity and dedication that Melissa currently brings this unique understanding to the Brightstar Care of Lane County Team as our Lead Scheduler and Customer Care Associate.

Savannah was born and raised in Sacramento California, but moved to Eugene Oregon in 2019. She is thrilled to be a part of the BrightStar Care of Lane County tribe and loves it here in Oregon. Savannah has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and has also been a caregiver since 2017. She is a proud dog mom of a little rascal named Buddy and an avid photographer on the weekends. Savannah is ecstatic to be our Customer Care Associate and our morning scheduling coordinator. Savannah loves to help individuals and has a passion to help the elderly. She is grateful to continue being a caregiver and aspires to be a good example in helping our agency achieve our goals in any way she can. Savannah's favorite core values are to always "Do the Right Thing" and to "Serve with Passion".

Elaine is a native Oregonian and has lived and worked in the Eugene area all of her adult life. She has raised her children here and now is enjoying her grandchildren. Elaine brings decades of nursing experience to BrightStar Care of Lane County and specifically senior focused care since 1984. She has excelled in both In-home and Home Health industries and enjoys teaching the next generation of nursing enthusiasts. Elaine has a loving personal style and enjoys getting to know her clients and their individual needs in order to create the perfect customized plan of care. She finds the experience of caring for her community members in the comfort of their own homes especially satisfying. Elaine is a huge pet lover and equally enjoys spending time with her client's fur friends while in the field.

Born in Oregon, Keeli was raised in Alaska. She returned to Oregon in 1999 to attend college at Oregon State. Keeli began working in Health Care at 18, starting her career as a Medical Assistant working in Radiation Oncology and then as a CNA in skilled nursing homes for 12 years while attending college. She has an AS in Biology, a BS in Criminal Justice and Social Work and an MBA in Health Care Administration. She previously spent five years as the Office and Billing Manager with this amazing BrightStar Care team before leaving in 2021 to open her own billing company and being the Director of Health and Management at Pioneer Pacific College. With over 20 years of clinical, administrative, and leadership experience in healthcare, her business is thriving and Keeli is excited that she and her company can work with BrightStar Care of Lane County again! Keeli is a dog mom to her 6-year-old Pitty mix, Hercules. She and Hercules love to travel the PNW, camp and hike. They both consider the Oregon Coast their happy place.