Our Staff at BrightStar Care® Easton

As the owner and CEO of Flat Creek Investments, LLC, doing business as (DBA) BrightStar Care, Thomas comes to this organization as a board-certified health care executive and a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives, with 33 years of experience in health care administration. He earned a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University and an MBA in finance from the University of St. Thomas.

Thomas started his career at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  He has held numerous leadership positions in cancer program management in nationally recognized health care systems, such as the Geisinger Health System  in Pennsylvania, Memorial Hermann Health System and the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Most recently, he worked for Inova Health System, in Fairfax, Virginia, where he served as the vice president of Cancer Services and opened the new Schar Cancer Institute in May 2019. In that position, Thomas was responsible for the development of comprehensive, patient-centered clinical care for cancer patients, research programs, and clinical trials.

Thomas joined the BrightStar team in June 2020 and is excited to continue the exceptional work of the previous owner, who, with the team, provided care to more than 4000 families during his nearly 12 years of service to the organization.  Thomas' goal is to expand upon our already-exceptional team of administrative staff, caregivers, nurses and therapists, and the services offered by BrightStar. 

Valerie Craver has been with BrightStar Care of Anne Arundel County for several years, holding various positions. Prior to assuming her current role, Valerie served as Branch Manager for more than four years. 

In her role as Regional Director of Private Duty Operations, Valerie oversees daily operations and recruitment efforts for BrightStar Care of Anne Arundel County, Easton and the Lower Shore of Maryland. 
 

Laura Jones moved to Talbot County from Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1988. She became interested in home care after having the opportunity to care for a family member suffering from a terminal illness. In 2002, Laura found her calling and embarked on a career of providing care to individuals in her community.

To further enhance her skills, Laura attended the McQueen Gibbs School of Nursing, where she graduated in 2009 with an Associates Degree in Nursing, and shortly thereafter became a licensed registered nurse. She has experience in skilled nursing and rehabilitation, long term care, assisted living, case management and community hospice nursing. While working full time and raising a family, Laura worked towards earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Stevenson University, which she completed in 2013.

She joined BrightStar of Easton in December, 2013,  an opportunity that enabled her to return to her true calling – to provide members of her local community with highly skilled and compassionate home care. Laura serves as director of Skilled Services for BrightStar Care® of Anne Arundel County, Easton and
Salisbury.

A 2001 graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, Christina Wingate-Spence began her career with Upper Shore Aging, Inc., the Area Agency on Aging for Caroline, Kent, and Talbot Counties, where she managed three programs, assisting area senior citizens. The past 18 years of her career has been spent in health care sales, strategy, marketing and communications, having worked for Genesis HealthCare and HeartFields Assisted Living at Easton, a Five Star Senior Living community. Prior to joining BrightStar Care in 2017, Christina was a team member of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, where she started as a Communications and Marketing specialist and later assumed the role of manager of Communications and Marketing.

Over the past several years, Christina has been active in several community organizations and currently serves as president for the Board of Directors of Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence.

In her role as regional director of marketing and community outreach, Christina oversees BrightStar’s marketing, and community outreach and educational initiatives on the Eastern Shore and Anne Arundel County. She has been a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) since 2019. 

A native of North Dakota, Shannon Bottom moved to Maryland nearly five years ago. 

Prior to joining the BrightStar team in October 2019, she spent 17 years volunteering for various 501c-3 organizations, serving on their Executive Boards of Directors as treasurer, and volunteering in many capacities in public schools systems. 

In her role as regional director of Finance, Shannon oversees accounts payable/receivable for BrightStar's three locations in Anne Arundel County, Easton and Salisbury.

Abby Husfelt, a lifetime resident of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, joined the BrightStar Care team in October 2019, after more than 11 years as a director of Admissions and Marketing, first with Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and most recently with Salisbury Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Abby brings to BrightStar vast knowledge about health care programs and services, especially those available on the Eastern Shore. In her capacity as Client Consultation and Outreach Manager, she spends time in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties, providing community outreach and participating in BrightStar's various community education initiatives. In this vital role, Abby is often the first impression one has of BrightStar Care, as she also manages the intake process for all new referrals and prospective clients and their families for BrightStar locations in Anne Arundel County, Easton and the Lower Shore.