Meet Our Team

Susan Connor is the Executive Director for The Blake at Miramar Beach. Susan has more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare management and previously served as the Executive Director at The Blake at Lafayette in Louisiana. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and has experience in new development and senior living.

Prior to her career in senior living, she served as the regional director of United Blood Services covering the southern Gulf region. While Susan lived most of her life in Louisiana, she was often a visitor to the Florida panhandle and is excited about being able to work in such a beautiful area.

Lauren grew up in sunny Navarre, Florida and graduated from the University of West Florida with a degree in Business Management.  She spent years in advertising and technology sales before she discovered her love of working in senior living. Lauren has more than 5 years of experience in senior living and she is so excited to be a part of the compassionate team at The Blake at Miramar Beach! Her favorite part of working with seniors is getting to know each resident and their family. She loves learning about their history and seeing the positive changes that come when they receive excellent care, delicious food and enriching activities!

Lauren and her husband have followed his military career to California and then the United Kingdom. She has enjoyed the adventures she’s had by living in new places, but is excited to be back home to settle on the beautiful Emerald Coast! Lauren lives in Niceville, Florida with her husband, their daughter, the family dog and newly adopted cat. When she’s not at work, Lauren loves spending time with her family, traveling, cooking and gardening.

As a military kid (her dad was in the Air Force), Amy was raised all over. She was born in Montana, raised in various states across the US, and lived in Germany for over 5 years. Nonetheless, she considers Florida her home. In her words, "I have lived here in Florida longer than I have lived anywhere." She spent nearly a decade working for programs contracted with the Department of Juvenile Justice; during 9 of those years, in her position as assistant to Director of Nursing, she helped to oversee seven nursing departments. She moved to an assisted living facility, first as a ADORS, then progressing to DORS, before deciding that she wanted to go back to floor nursing. She started at The Blake Miramar Beach as a floor nurse in July of 2021 and moved up to Director of Wellness in October of 2022. Besides being a nurse, she is a Certified Dementia Practitioner.

Her favorite part of working with seniors is the history they share, the love they give, and the sense of fulfillment that she gets from feeling like she's filling a need. "They give so much back to me just by being here," she says. Of the many things she loves about working at The Blake, she is most appreciative of the people, both workers and residents, which she describes as being like a big extended family. She loves the support offered and the gratitude and appreciation expressed for something as simple as doing one's job. She states, "I'm just grateful to be able to do what I love to do, which is taking care of those who have taken care of us."

Her favorite thing is spending time with her kids and grandchildren. She also loves to piddle with her plants, crochet, read, spend time on the water fishing or paddle boarding.

Alicia is originally from Alabama, but she has been in the Miramar Beach area for over 20 years. She graduated from Northwest Florida State College with a degree in Business Administration and is also Florida Core Certified. She has 20+ years experience in all aspects of senior living. Her favorite part of working with seniors is getting to know the residents and listening to their stories and history. Alicia also enjoys the camaraderie and family atmosphere between the residents and being a part of a  great team at The Blake. 

When Alicia is not working, she loves spending time with her “littles” (grandchildren) and enjoying the beautiful beaches in the Miramar Beach area. She is a professed ‘Beach Bum’ most weekends and feels that she is so very blessed!

Gary Kennedy is originally from the Metro Detroit area. He spent some time down south in the early years of his carreer, working with the disaster relief in New Orleans after Katrina, With his construction company, he successfully helped rebuild the city. He started his sales career after moving back to Detroit, working in sales in the gym industry for 8 years. These experiences revealed to him how passionate he had become about health and helping others with achieve their goals. Now, he looks forward to helping The Blake and providing excellent service to our seniors.

Gary's favorite part of working with seniors is hearing about their life experiences and striving to make a difference in their lives. He appreciates being a part of such a caring community where everyone is committed to provide the best possible care to the residents. When he isn't at work, he finds his relaxation time at the beach, and he enjoys doing outdoor activities and eating at new restaurants.

The daughter of Navy man, Norma was born in Yokosuka, Japan and moved to Destin, Florida in 1986. She has lived in Destin for almost her whole life, and just recently moved to Freeport, Florida.  She has an LPN license and is currently working on her RN Degree. Before she became a nurse, she was a CNA for 14 years, working in a Skilled Nursing Facility. When she became a nurse, she worked in a memory care community for 2.5 years and went into Medically Fragile Pediatrics Home Health to continue taking prerequisites for her degree. She has worked in Home Health for over 16 years both as a CNA and as an LPN. She started working at the Blake at Miramar Beach in March 2021, became the lead nurse in the Memory Care Neighborhood, and was promoted to Assistant Director of Wellness in December of 2022.  

Norma feels that working with our seniors at The Blake gives her a valuable insight into the aging process and what is to come, and gives her an opportunity to reflect on what matters most in life and how one views both oneself and others. She always enjoys listening to all of their stories and building close, loving relationships with each of them. "There are so many wonderful things about working for the company." she says. She loves the company culture and enjoys working with her coworkers and residents, who always show her how much they respect and love her contributions to The Blake, as well as give her daily encouragement. When she isn't at work, she loves to travel, spend time with her kids, learn new things, go to the beach, watch football, and take the boat out. She loves the career path that she has chosen and would never choose another career.

Emily is originally from Flomaton, a tiny town in Alabama. She is currently working on her Activity Director and Dementia Practitioner certifications. She started her work in senior living as an aide on the floor, then progressed to become a medical technician. After this, Emily had the opportunity to become an activity assistant and, over three years, worked her way up to the position of activity director before coming to The Blake. Emily loves getting to know each of our residents and knowing that she brings joy to their lives. She loves the atmosphere; the employees and residents are the best part. She says, “it really feels like a family here”.

When she’s not working, she is with her family. She is the oldest of six and can’t imagine life without them. She is also very much into photography and being crafty whenever she can. When she first got into assisted living, someone shared a quote with her that really stuck: “To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care enough and be there.” She thinks everyone should strive to make someone’s day just a little better and by doing so we will make the world a lot better.

Jackie is a Walton County native. She has an Associates Degree in nursing from Fortis College, an Associates Degree General from Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, and is certified in Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support through the American Heart Association. She has previous experience as a shift leader at an assisted living facility, a case manager, a medical surgical nurse, and a hospice nurse. 

Jackie’s favorite part of working at The Blake is being part of a team who appreciates and makes you feel like you are part of the team. The Blake also values and prioritizes safety, which she firmly believes is important for both team members and residents. When Jackie is away from work, she enjoys spending time with her family and helping new nurses become confident and safe additions to the medical field.

Kristen Weaver was born on Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia. She was raised a Navy brat, and as such, and although she didn't love moving every couple of years as a child, she now realizes just how lucky she was to be able to experience things that most never do and learn all sorts of different cultures. She moved to this Gulf Coast in August of 2019, and she loves it here. She has worked in the medical field for over twenty years, mostly in cardiovascular health, and also did a lot of volunteer work doing activities in different senior care centers. She has always had a calling for working in senior living, and finally made the career change in 2022. 

When asked how she feels about working with seniors, Kristen says that every day is a different experience and a new story. She loves hearing about resident’s lives and seeing how much the world has changed through residents’ stories. "It’s a wonderful feeling, being able to help people that have contributed so much for me before I even existed." she says. Her favorite part of working at The Blake is all the wonderful new friends that she's found in the staff and residents. When she isn't at work, she loves spending her free time in the sun with her family, whether it be going to the beach, playing mini-golf, or watching football. They also do crafts and have family game night once a week. In her words, "There is never a dull moment and I love the excitement of it all."

Geiselle is originally Fort Walton Beach, Florida. She graduated cum laude with an Associate of Science Degree in Hospitality and Tourism. In addition to being an expert at Disney’s approach to Quality Service, she is certified in Guest Service Gold Certification by American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute, and in Event Planning Certification by Northwest Florida State College. Her experience in the culinary field is extensive. Giselle is a disabled veteran who served in the United States Navy for 7 ½ years, where she served aboard the USS Shenandoah as a cook. She also worked at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center as a dietary clerk and at Destin Rehabilitation as a cook. For the last 17 years before college, she worked at Liza Jackson Preparatory as the main cook and bus driver.

Her favorite part of working with seniors is hearing the stories they tell and learning about the places they have traveled, along with the education and experience they share with her. Geiselle says that working with the Blake staff and being with the residents feels like family. She is excited to be part of The Blake family and works hard to bring even more quality people to be a part of such an amazing place. When she is not working, she enjoys quality time with her family and travelling.

Mike is responsible for maintenance, repair, housekeeping, landscaping, and safety at The Blake at Miramar Beach. He transplanted from Wisconsin five years ago, where he had a career in building and grounds maintenance. He attended college at University of Wisconsin - Stephens Point, majoring in Forestry Recreation. Mike's career has been full of diverse and exciting experiences: his career journey began in golf course operations, but he has also maintained historic cemeteries, worked for the National Park Service, superintended airport operations, and maintained a luxury hotel. Along the way, he even worked at a college in food service, at an ice cream shop, and learned to drive a Zamboni.

Of all these experiences, he considers the ones that he has at The Blake to be invaluable. His favorite part of working with seniors is listening to stories about their past journeys as told by them. In his spare time, he enjoys working on landscape projects, water activities, riding his mountain bike and traveling. He takes pride in providing a high class, properly maintained community facility that is safe and pleasurable to live at and looks forward to meeting new residents and learning about their lives.

Keith serves as the Executive Chef and the Director of Dining Services at The Blake at Miramar Beach. He is originally from Louisville, Kentucky. He has owned 2 restaurants in the local area, both of which he designed and developed. In addition, he has been a private hired chef for weddings and special occasions. He was taught by a classically trained European chef at his restaurant in Bonn, Germany. Thanks to his training, experience, and excellent culinary instincts, he was nominated by Emerald Coast Magazine as best chef on the Emerald coast for five consecutive years.

Keith’s favorite part of working with seniors is seeing how appreciative they are to experience a positive dining experience. He appreciates how professional The Blake is and how dedicated they are to being and doing things at a high level. The leadership team he has met are all a joy to know and work with.

Keith loves to travel abroad, cooking (of course) and gardening. He is truly thankful and blessed for the opportunity to be with The Blake and he is driven to be the best Blake chef possible!