Senior Leadership
KERA WOOTEN
Executive Director
Kera Wooten has over 20 years of experience in serving seniors. She grew her career working for Erickson Living, at both of its Virginia properties. At the end of her tenure at Erickson, she was managing four dining venues and over 150 employees, with direct oversight of a $12 million budget. Prior to that, she was employed by Marriott International-Senior Living Services in Delaware and Virginia. Wooten joins us from Sunrise Senior Living in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where she was the associate executive director. She managed the independent living operational departments and various community committees. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Delaware State University and is a graduate of Erickson Culinary College, holding a National Food Managers Certification. She has also received Train the Trainer, Foundations of Leadership, Tactical Leadership and Alzheimer’s certifications. Wooten served as the chair of family and consumer services for Fairfax County Public Schools and as a board member for the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Virginia. She enjoys Muay Thai, reading, hiking, and spending time with her daughter, Regan.
CRAIG TURNER
Independent Living Administrator
Craig brings with him over 23 years of experience in senior living communities. He has a Bachelor’s degree in business management and a Master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in hospitality and tourism. Craig has been providing senior level leadership in community settings for over 18 years and has a passion for building strong teams and creating a great atmosphere for residents and team members alike. Craig most recently was the Director of Dining Services with Brightview Senior Living where his role, although formally in dining, has intersected with all departments across the scope of senior living. Craig is passionate about collaboration across departments to provide excellent customer service and a wrap-around service approach. He thinks that an interdisciplinary approach provides different perspectives that collectively create greatness for all involved. Craig has been married to his wife, Tara, for 18 years, and together they have two sons, Aidan (12) and Ryan (6) who keep them on their toes. Craig loves to spend his free time with his family and is an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Capitals. Craig also loves running and playing street hockey.
ADRIANE OLIVER
Community Director of Healthcare Services
Adriane has over 30 years of Healthcare experience and joins us from Sunrise of Vienna, where she was the Executive Director. She has also worked for other Life Plan Communities, managed by Erickson Senior Living and Pinnacle Living, and is extremely passionate about Seniors. Adriane has a Bachelor's of Science, Master's of Science, and Master's of Business Administration. She has a Nursing Home Administrator and Assisted Living Administrator license from Virginia. In her spare time, Adriane likes to travel, read suspense novels, and spend time with her two children.
DAVID LANE
Director of Property Management
David Lane has worked in the DMV area for the past 25 years, including for government and private sector employers. His most recent one, prior to joining Westminster at Lake Ridge, was Boeing, in which he supported many diverse contracts over the past 15 years.
Throughout the years, Lane has enjoyed the opportunity to meet great people, learn from their experiences and meld them into his own experiences. He has had the opportunity to engage with many mentors over the years, in advanced areas of business and facilities management. Lane enjoys family time, helping people, fishing and hanging out with friends. With the support and direction from the residents and staff at Westminster at Lake Ridge, he hopes to help make a difference within the community.
Throughout the years, Lane has enjoyed the opportunity to meet great people, learn from their experiences and meld them into his own experiences. He has had the opportunity to engage with many mentors over the years, in advanced areas of business and facilities management. Lane enjoys family time, helping people, fishing and hanging out with friends. With the support and direction from the residents and staff at Westminster at Lake Ridge, he hopes to help make a difference within the community.
DAN ARNOLD, CASP
Director of IT
Dan Arnold is the director of information technology and is responsible for all the computers and servers for the staff at Westminster at Lake Ridge, as well as any technical decisions that need to be made. He likes the environment at Westminster, and the staff and residents make Westminster a pleasurable place to work. When he is not working, you can find him playing sports; a few of his favorites include golf, softball and tennis.
DAVID McLLVAINE
Chaplain
David comes to us from Bon Secours Mercy Health where he worked at St. Mary’s Hospital as an in-patient chaplain and working for Noah’s Children. The role of Chaplain is a second career for David. He has an undergraduate degree in Horticulture from Texas Tech University and spent 30 years in landscape and irrigation owning his own company until he felt the call of God to return to his passion. Between 2013 and 2015, he traveled between New Orleans and Atlanta to obtain his Master of Divinity. He graduated in 2015 and completed his residency at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
David has a passion for his work as a chaplain and enjoys building relationships with patients and their families. David says, “I do not consider my role as a job because I love the work I do. I am more than a Chaplain; I am someone who is willing to connect families with the appropriate supports and be there as a listening ear or shoulder to cry on in times of need.”
David is married to Melissa and they have 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren, 4 girls and 1 boy. In his spare time, they like to travel and see the many historical sites in Virginia. He likes that they are 2 hours from the beech (for Melissa) and 2 hours from the mountains (for him). He also enjoys working in his garden and doing projects in the yard.
DENISE RUTLEDGE
Director of Dining Services
Denise developed a passion for cooking through spending time with her grandmother as a child in New Jersey. She took the love of food and started a catering business specializing in small parties in St. Petersburg, Florida. This business afforded Denise the opportunity to cater for the NY Mets baseball team in 1986. To this date, she takes credit for the Mets winning the World Series that year. After closing her business, she joined Sodexo and has worked with them for 24 years, mostly with seniors. Denise has traveled to 46 of our beautiful states. She is a widow, proud mother of four children, and two beautiful granddaughters. When she is not working, she enjoys family, baseball, cooking, baking, floral decorations, the beach, cookbooks, and spending time with friends.
BARBARA AHIABLE
Director of Nursing
Barbara comes to Westminster at Lake Ridge with more than 15 years of Skilled Nursing experience with the last seven as a Director of Nursing (DON) with Commonwealth Care of Roanoke (CCR) at Manassas Health and Rehabilitation. Prior to becoming a DON with CCR, Barbara worked as an Assistant Director of Nursing and a Unit Manager. Barbara also has experience working at the bedside in a skilled nursing environment as both a charge and floor nurse. Barbara holds a Bachelor of Nursing (BSN) degree from Global Health College in Alexandria, VA, and a diploma in Economics from the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) in Accra, Ghana. Barbara’s mission as a Director of Nursing is to provide peace of mind to those she encounters by maintaining a high standard of quality care for our residents and supporting our staff. She takes great pride in her work as a Nurse Leader. Barbara enjoys reading and cooking in her leisure time. Barbara is married with two children.
MICHELLE FERRY
Director of Sales
Michelle graduated from Binghamton University in Upstate New York where she studied Political Science. She then went on to obtain her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville. Prior to joining the team, she owned her own construction business where she applied her legal and administrative skills supporting all departments. She is also certified as a Professional in Human Resources and has worked in that capacity for several years. As a Sales Director, Michelle's job is to guide new residents through the process of joining the community. In her free time, you can find Michelle enjoying herself with family and friends. Michelle's favorite thing about working at Westminster is the staff's involvement with residents, working together to provide the best possible experience for everyone who enters Westminster's doors.
JUAN GONZALEZ
Director of Environmental Services
Juan has more than 30 years of experience in the housekeeping field. Before joining Westminster at Lake Ridge, he worked with Marriott, ManorCare, and Medical Facilities of America. As the Director of Environmental Services, Juan oversees all aspects of housekeeping for the community, ensuring a clean, safe, and welcoming environment for residents and staff. His extensive experience makes him a valuable team member, and his leadership ensures the highest quality of service for residents. In his free time, Juan enjoys listening to music and playing with his two grandchildren, Lucas and Dahlia.
TERRI RAGLAND
Director of Human Resources
Terri Ragland is a Human Resources Director with 20 years of experience in Human Resource Management. Terri was employed with the Communicare Family of Companies as a Human Resources Manager where she received awards for the “Human Resource Manager of the Year.” During her tenure with Communicare, she was promoted to Senior Human Resources Manager where she provided guidance and strategic direction to the HR Managers in the Maryland Region. She has served as an interim Divisional Director of HR (DDHR) for the Maryland Region in the absence of a DDHR. Terri has a proven range of seasoned human resources results in the areas of employee relations, employee benefits, HRIS, worker’s compensation, unemployment, labor relations, acquisition onboarding and organizational management. She is a results-based Human Resources professional with experience in creating and re-engineering HR Departments, creating emphasis and focus on employee engagement and retention, best practices and compliance/risk management strategies that drive efficiencies. Terri is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and has completed certifications in Human Resource Management and Accounting. In addition, she has more than 20 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant/Analyst in an economic consulting firm where she provided analytical support to multiple Economic Consultants. She is married and has two children and two beautiful grandchildren. Also, she serves as a Minister in her community church, Faith City Central Ministries.
AMY HEWES, MT-BC
Director of Memory Support and Programming
Amy brings with her over 10 years of experience working in senior living and home care. This ignited the spark to pursue a career working with older adults, especially those affected by Alzheimer’s disease/dementia. Amy has two bachelor’s degrees in music and sociology from George Mason University and she graduated from Shenandoah University’s certification program in music therapy. Amy has worked at several communities in life enrichment and music therapy roles. For the past six years, she has been the coordinator of the memory health day program at Greenspring Village in Springfield, working directly with participants and their families along with managing the administrative side of the program. Amy is married with two young boys and her hobbies include jogging, hiking, and performing music. Among other groups, she performed as principal trombonist for the Piedmont Symphony and as an Andrews Sisters-style vocalist with the Silver Tones Swing Band. She also plays guitar and is excited to share her musical gifts with the Westminster at Lake Ridge community.
MICHELLE THURSTON
Executive Assistant
Michelle Thurston has been in the Reston area for 17 years, moving here from the great state of Arkansas. Her extensive background in health care, education and administration assists in her current duties as executive assistant to the executive director, and she is excited to be part of the Westminster at Lake Ridge family. To Thurston, working at Westminster at Lake Ridge feels like coming home — everyone is helpful, patient, smiling and very welcoming.
Sales and Marketing
MICHELLE FERRY
Director of Sales
Michelle graduated from Binghamton University in upstate New York, where she studied political science. She then went on to obtain her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to joining the team, Michelle owned her own construction business, where she applied her legal and administrative skills supporting all departments. She has also earned the Professional in Human Resources certification and has worked in that capacity for several years. As a Sales Director, Michelle’s job is to guide new residents through the process of joining the community. In her free time, you can find her enjoying herself with family and friends. Michelle’s favorite thing about working at Westminster at Lake Ridge is the staff’s involvement with residents. She loves collaborating with others to provide the best possible experience for everyone who enters the community’s doors.
CAILIN KHAN
Sales Counselor
Cailin is a Lake Ridge native and has worked for Westminster at Lake Ridge for over eight years. She began her career at the community as a receptionist at the front desk. Before transitioning to her role as sales counselor, she was the marketing and sales coordinator, and prior to that worked in the resident services department as the training and data supervisor. Cailin lives in Lake Ridge with her husband and cat. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, scuba diving and watching hockey.
DEBBIE KROGH
Sales and Marketing Coordinator
Debbie has lived in Prince William County for most of her life and has Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia as well as a Master of Science in computer science from Virginia Tech. Before choosing to stay home with her two daughters, Debbie was a systems/software engineer working as part of a team developing a submarine sonar training system. For the past ten years, Debbie has been the Technology Manager for an organization, providing technical, administrative, communications and marketing assistance to small businesses. Debbie is particularly interested in writing and data analytics. Her daughters are currently in college, one at North Carolina State University and one at Virginia Tech, with both studying engineering. She loves most sports, but especially college basketball and tennis. Working at Westminster of Lake Ridge appeals to her because of the welcoming atmosphere.