Our Staff at BrightStar Care® Howard County

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. 

Cedric was the Senior Medical Marketer and Event Coordinator at a Holistic Medical Office for four years, where he supervised and coordinated the marketing department. Cedric implemented and regulated departmental policies and procedures within the marketing department. He worked to increase the number of patients, trained new employees, planned and promoted in house and community events.

At Brightstar Care, Cedric is now the Director of Community Outreach of Howard and Anne Arundel County. He works to develop and maintain community relationships and organizational visibility through community education, and events that benefit the aging population and family caregivers. He also works with the Regional Director of Operations and Branch Managers to ensure a smooth transition from an inquiry to an operational status.

Valerie Craver has been with BrightStar Care of Howard 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 Howard County.

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.
Laura serves as director of Skilled Services for BrightStar Care® of Howard County.

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 Howard County