Independent Living Archives

23 Jan

Danielle Olstedt

Danielle Olstedt developed a passion for caring and advocating for seniors and individuals with disabilities 9 years ago while working for the State of Oregon, Department of Human Services. Since then, she has worked with the geriatric population along with youth in Special Education. Danielle moved to Texas in 2022 with her husband and daughter from the Pacific Northwest. Her interests include spending quality time with family and friends, fun home renovations, and enjoying the outdoors. You will often find her out in the community engaging with our Abbey family over some fine dining or social activity.

12 Mar

Sahar Hussain

Sahar, Sales and Marketing Director, brings 16 years of Senior living experience to The Abbey. Sahar attended University of Houston with a background in Education. She has two beautiful children and has been married for 17 years.

She began her career working with seniors when she was a freshman in college. Her journey started as a receptionist at an assisted living and memory care community where she volunteered in activities department. She would spend time with the residents and their families engaging them in activities, such as arts and crafts, bingo, and many events. She became very close to the residents and enjoyed working with seniors so much that she decided to make it her career.

Sahar always enjoys helping seniors and working with them is a calling, passion, and a blessing. Overall, Sahar has many years of experience working with seniors in all levels of care. Her main goal is to make sure her residents get the best care and provide them with the quality of life they deserve every day! As Sales and Marketing Director, she promises to work with the expectations by providing high quality service and resources to help families and their loved ones find a forever home!

12 Mar

Irina Wardrip

Meet Irina Wardrip, Social Director in our Independent Living community. Irina comes with eleven years of experience in Senior Healthcare, Activities and Development at MorningStar Senior Living in Denver, Colorado, and most recently, at Village on the Park Steeplechase in Houston, Texas. She moved to Houston with her husband and is still acclimating to the humidity.

Irina loves to organize and host special events, fundraisers and plan meaningful activities to engage seniors. Irina’s calendar has included edan Art Show featuring The Abbey at Westminster Plaza’s residents’ collectibles, a dog show, “Pawject Runway,” Octoberfest, jewelry making, watercolor classes, published an Abbey Cookbook, coordinated a Vow Renewal Ceremony and other exciting events which are worthy of creating new and fun memories. She and her husband Tony are blessed to have identical baby boys!

12 Mar

Roger Elkhouri

CHEF ROGER ELKHOURI, CEC, CE, is an award-winning chef who is certified by the American Culinary Federation ACF as an Executive Chef CEC and Certified Evaluator CE. Chef Elkhouri has won numerous medals in ACF Culinary Sanctioned Competitions. He holds a culinary degree from the ART Institute of Houston. Chef Elkhouri has worked in the culinary field for over 28 years at a wide variety of restaurants, hotels, country clubs, college food service restaurant, and many other areas. Chef Elkhouri has taught many culinary classes for professionals as well as home cooks. We are excited to have such a passionate Chef at The Abbey who takes pride in serving the residents well in the area of fine dining. Come visit The Abbey and meet Chef Elkhouri!

12 Mar

Kathi Hill

Kathi Hill became a part of the Abbey family in 2016 as an Assistant Activity Director. In January, 2019, she became the Fitness Director for the Abbey. Kathi has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from Lamar University. She spent 36 years in the Education field before bringing her bright smile and endless energy into the lives of our seniors! She loves to sign, especially patriotic songs, and will spontaneously break into some dance moves for the residents at a moment’s notice! She has two children and 5 grandchildren who are her whole world. She and her husband, Glen, have been married for 49 years and are looking forward to the next 49! Kathi is beyond excited to be able to bring quality fitness/wellness programs to the residents of the Abbey in order to improve their quality of life and extend their longevity!

12 Mar

Gerardo Parra

Gerardo Parra is a Maintenance professional with over 14 years of experience supporting luxury retirement and family residential communities. His experience includes areas of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, painting, appliance maintenance, pool service and hardware installation. Gerardo ensures proper upkeep, per The Abbey’s community standards, of every apartment and also oversees the property grounds. Gerardo is a great fit for The Abbey because of his knowledge in prioritizing requests, multitasking, making cost effective decisions without affecting quality and ensuring timely delivery of work orders, while keeping the safety and living experience of residents as top priority. We appreciate his skills and are happy he joined our exceptional team at The Abbey at Westminster Plaza.