Leadership Team
Compassionate. Motivated. Caring. Meet the team.
We are eliseo, a full-service Life Plan Community who empower our residents to strive to meet the impossible every day. Meet our executive team of experts specializing in senior living.
Brian MacDuff is the Executive Director at eliseo. He was born and raised in the Tacoma area and has spent most of his life in the PNW. After serving five years in the Navy onboard the USS Kittyhawk in Yokosuka, Japan, he completed his degree in Social Welfare at the University of Washington -Tacoma. Brian has worked in social services for the past eight years, with five of those being served at eliseo.
In his free time, Brian enjoys playing golf and basketball, supporting local sports teams (go Seahawks and Mariners!), fishing, and spending quality time with his wife, four boys, and three dogs.
Audrie is the Director of Development and raises funds for the eliseo foundation and resident care programs. A Texas native, she has worked with nonprofit organizations for the last eight years in Midland (West Texas) before moving to the Auburn area in fall 2020. She has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Texas and spent six years as a newspaper reporter before starting a new career path in fundraising. In 2016, she earned both a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Texas-Permian Basin and her CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) credential.
She enjoys getting to meet donors and their families and connecting people with causes that matter to them. There is a joy in giving and she considers it a blessing to get to help others experience that joy for themselves. In her spare time, she likes to run, swim and cook as well as help her husband care for his family’s six-acre blueberry farm.
Tyra is the Director of Sales at eliseo. She brings 15+ years of experience in the healthcare field which included roles as an Administrator, Admissions Director and Marketing Director for Home Health. She and her team are excited to embark on the journey of educating the community about the new expansion and growing our community by engaging and building relationships with both current and new residents.
When she is not working, she enjoys spending quality time with her family, friends and attending The Seattle Seahawks games as a season ticket holder for the last 13 years! GO HAWKS!
Chaplain Anna Bonaro recently served as the Associate Pastor for eliseo prior to serving as the Chaplain. Anna earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Communication from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, a Master of Divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, CA, and completed a year hospital chaplain residency at UCSF in San Francisco, CA. She and her husband Adrian (also a Lutheran pastor) have two very active boys. Their family is rounded out by their miniature schnauzer, Gus.
Shernell is the Community Life Director at eliseo. Born and Raised in Southern California, she served in the US Army as a Medical Specialist before beginning her career working in the senior community. For more than 25 years she has been fortunate to combine her passion for seniors and work in roles such as Executive Director for Assisted Living, Resident Manager for independent Living and Activities Director. She joined the eliseo family in November 2021 and loves working with our awesome residents and staff!
Shernell enjoys spending time with her husband, children, grandchildren, and her Japanese Akita Suki. She also enjoys traveling to places such as Mexico, Hawaii and someday hopes to travel to Africa. She is Seahawks fan and has become a Washington State Cougar fan since her granddaughter started attending WSU. Go Hawks, go Cougs!
Tiffinie Isreal is the Director of Nursing at eliseo. She is an Atlanta, Georgia native that completed 21 years of service with the United States Navy before retiring in June 2023. She has a Doctorate of Science in Nursing with a focus of leadership from Jacksonville University, FL. She completed an ANCC Nurse Executive (NE-BC) certification in 2021 and plans to pursue an applied law degree in the future.
Tiffinie enjoys crafting, refurbishing and repurposing furniture, and spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She has traveled to Spain, Germany, Iceland, and Italy with the Navy, but plans to add many more locations to her list in the upcoming years.
Tara Brooke is the Culinary Services Director for eliseo. She grew up in Northern California and originally moved here in 2001 to attend Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington to obtain my Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition. Tara enjoyed the area so much that she has been here since, aside from a brief move back to California.
Following her graduation in 2003, Tara had the opportunity to work at a local skilled nursing facility. She obtained her Certified Dietary Manager Certificate shortly thereafter, has found this type of work to be extremely rewarding and have worked in Long Term and Skilled Nursing Care ever since. Twelve of those years have been spent working at Life Plan Communities. Tara has a passion for leading her team to serve the residents of eliseo.
Tara has two daughters and in her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, working in the yard, cooking and bird watching. She is excited to be a part of the eliseocommunity.
John Powers is the Facilities Director for eliseo, joining the team in 2023. John was born in Seattle and lived in Port Orchard until he was 18. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon and worked at a sawmill for Weyerhaeuser for 29 years, moving up through the ranks. After Weyerhaeuser sold the sawmill, John returned to Port Orchard, working as a Facilities Director in various Retirement Communities for the past 12 years.
>Hobbies and part time activities include gardening, collecting tools and exploring the Puget Sound on hisboat. John lives on the water and loves taking his 2 dogs, a Border Collie and Australian Shepard to the beach. John has shared he loves working at eliseo and has found the residents and staff to be a pleasure to work with.
Karrie Lewandowski has served as the Human Resource Coordinator for eliseo since 2014. She enjoys assisting eliseo employees with payroll and benefits concerns, redirecting new employees when they get lost on the large campus and serving as a sympathetic ear when employees need to talk. She is proud of the fact she knows each and every employee!
Karrie is a native Washingtonian and has been happily married to her high school sweetheart for 36 years.Together they have two beautiful daughters and 7 grandchildren. When Karrie is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, gardening and traveling.
Steve Appleby is the Controller at eliseo. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Computer Science from Whitworth College in Spokane, WA. He has worked at eliseo since 2006 and enjoys spending time with and getting to know the wonderful residents who live here. Steve and his wife were foster parents for 13 years and saw 30 kids come through their home. He also spent many years as a Boy Scout leader for his three boys who are all Eagle Scouts. Now he is learning all about chickens, as his daughter is in 4H and has begun to show one of their chickens (they have twelve hens and a rooster).
In his free time, Steve enjoys spending time working in his yard, watching movies, and spending time with his wife, four children, and grandchildren.