Meet the people who make Querencia one of a kind.

Nate has more than 20 years of leadership and management experience in senior living and private clubs. As a previous licensed administrator in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia, he has demonstrated a unique ability to merge hospitality and health care in pursuit of genuine resident relationships and resident satisfaction. At Querencia, Nate has continued a track record of success by leading the management team in receiving numerous awards, including the National Silver Quality Award, Greystone Double Diamond Award, U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll, a CMS 5-Star rating and excellent state survey results. Previously with The Cliffs Communities in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, Nate served as a director of one of the largest master-planned developments and country clubs in the United States. He began his career with Life Care Centers of America, where he served as a nursing home administrator in Florida, his home state. Nate earned his Bachelor of Science in health care administration from Carson-Newman University and was a member of the basketball team.

Tim joins us from The Wesleyan at Scenic in Georgetown, Texas, where he served as administrator for the skilled nursing facility. He previously held that position at skilled nursing centers in Belton, Kingsland and Bertram, Texas. Tim is on the board of directors of LeadingAge Texas, the independent association of not-for-profit senior living communities, which named him its 2012 Administrator of the Year. Tim holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a Bachelor of Science in health professions from Texas State University, where he also received his designation as a licensed nursing facility administrator.

Amy Janak was with a sister community, The Stayton in Ft. Worth, for 7 years before joining us at Querencia in 2018. She has worked in senior living for 12 years in 4 different communities, and was part of the opening team for two of them. She served as Lifestyles Director for ten years before transitioning into sales and marketing. Her previous experience included working in the hotel industry and a marketing firm in Dallas. Amy thrives in a hospitality and customer service environment, and has a passion for seniors. Amy has a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin, and also studied abroad in Alicante, Spain.

Tiffany joins Querencia after serving almost 21 years at CC Young, a not-for-profit Methodist-affiliated Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Dallas. She started her career as an activity director and held several positions, including assisted living administrator, director of risk management/human resources, and health care administrator. During her tenure at CC Young, Tiffany enjoyed working with many levels of care, including independent living, assisted living, memory support, nursing care, adult day care, home health and hospice. In addition to her duties as health care administrator, she was responsible for leading the design and construction of CC Young’s master plan, which included a new state-of-the-art health care facility. Tiffany received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Texas State University and her Master of Arts degree in long-term care administration from the University of North Texas. She received her nursing facility administrator license (LNFA) in 2008.

Dorothy brings 19 years of sales and marketing experience to her position here at Querencia. She was previously the sales & marketing director for assisted living, skilled nursing & rehabilitation at Brookdale Spicewood Springs. Dorothy began a sales career in Austin in 2000 as a real estate professional. She transitioned to health care in 2007, taking the position of admissions coordinator for the Summit at Lakeway, in the skilled nursing and rehabilitation center. From there she went to Longhorn Village as the sales counselor & admissions coordinator for the Health Center. Dorothy received her Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southwest Texas State University and taught children and young adults of Texas for 15 years.

Erin joined Querencia in 2014 and has served in various roles, most recently as lifestyles coordinator. Erin’s strong leadership and organizational management style complement her dedication to excellence, which is evident in her commitment to continually improve the delivery of services to everyone in our community. The ability to make a difference in the day-to-day lives of Querencia’s residents is Erin’s favorite part of her role. A graduate of Coastal Carolina University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in sports and recreation management, Erin’s experience includes hospitality and customer service.

Lauren comes to Querencia with a wealth of experience, including sales and marketing with Central Texas Rehabilitation Hospital in Austin, and their parent company, Kindred Hospital, in Dallas. She also served as marketing director for a 300-bed community in Dallas that included assisted living, memory support and nursing. Lauren has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baylor University and has completed all coursework in long-term care administration.

Levi Karr is an Austin native and has lived in Texas all his life, with the exception of a few years in Florida and summers on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Levi brings almost 30 years of dining-services management experience to Querencia. He has previously held dining service director positions in higher education at Texas State, Tarleton State, and UT Austin. Prior to joining Querencia, he spent five years as the General Manager at Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse. He has also held food service director positions with the Austin Convention Center and Leander ISD. In each of these roles, Levi worked to develop high standards around safety, service, and quality. Levi attended Texas A&M Corpus Christi where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration. Throughout his career, he has always valued building long-term relationships and bringing people together by recognizing talents and helping others succeed. Levi resides in North Austin with his wife, Aimee, and their two boys, Logan and LJ.

Juan “Pipo” Menendez came to Querencia in 2009, after 18 years of being the Executive Sous Chef at the prestigious Austin Country Club. Chef studied at a culinary institute in his birthplace—Caracas, Venezuela. Pipo started in the food and beverage industry from the ground up, and he brings that extensive knowledge and experience to every aspect of running his kitchen staff. Chef’s staff meets the needs of all residents—from Kosher foods to gluten-free and other dietary restrictions. Since Pipo became our Executive Chef, he was diagnosed with cancer and is now a survivor since 2012. This experience initiated his desire to provide the most nutritious, freshest food for our residents. Chef strives to offer a wide variety of meals, changing the menu to give our residents a complete dining experience. Chef’s kitchen also caters special events for the community celebrations, and special events for residents, something with which he is greatly familiar after his years at the country club.

Nadia has been with Querencia since the day we opened our doors back in 2007. She is originally from Indiana, but came to Texas as soon as she could. Nadia is a graduate of Purdue University where she majored in public relations. She has a true passion for working with the senior population and feels her role is to help others grow and flourish at Querencia. Nadia prides herself on putting together programming that is custom-tailored for our residents’ wants and needs. She and the Lifestyles team have been champions of multidimensional wellness since the beginning. Together, they’ve helped develop a culture of innovation and positivity surrounding the pursuit of wellness at Querencia.

Peter has been in the healthcare maintenance and operations industry serving retirement communities for 9 years. Previously, he worked 19 years in the electronics industry in Great Britain learning many American industry management training programs such as IBM, Leprino foods, and AT&T. Peter is looking forward to bringing his own sense of campus changes that subtly blend into the Querencia way of life.

Kim comes to us from The Isle at Cedar Ridge where she served as their Executive Director.  She is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation and Leisure Services with a specialization in Therapeutic Recreation and a minor in Business Management.  She earned her certification as an Assisted Living Manager and licensure as a Nursing Facility Administrator from Texas State University.

With 20 years’ experience in senior healthcare, Kim started her career at The Summit at Northwest Hills where she served as the Life Enrichment Director.  In 2010, she was hired as the Administrator to start-up and manage The Wesleyan at Estrella Assisted Living and Memory Care. In March 2014, Kim accepted the Executive Director position at The Pavilion Assisted Living and Memory Care where she oversaw operations for a community with 140 apartments. In December 2014, Kim accepted the challenge of her second start-up property and opened Autumn Leaves of Northwest Austin, Memory Care before moving to The Isle at Cedar Ridge.

Jenny has over 10 years of skilled nursing care experience, including positions as a certified nurse aide, charge nurse, MDS nurse and Director of Nursing. Jenny’s passion is to help those in need and building relationships with our residents, family members and all team members. She strives to provide the best experience for residents and their loved ones.

Kim was a marketing sales analyst for Frito-Lay, Unilever and Ralston Purina for 10 years. Then she took 10 years off to raise her first two daughters. During that time, Kim’s mom got Alzheimer’s Disease and she helped her stepdad find memory care for her. When it was time for Kim to return to work in 2010, she changed to the Senior Living industry to help other people find senior care. She worked at four other senior living communities in Austin, but was always impressed with Querencia’s beautiful campus and hospitable and loyal staff. So she was very happy to join the Querencia sales team in August 2020. Kim received her B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Marketing at Miami University in Ohio.