Care Professional Awards & Recognition

Home Instead^® Care Professional of the Month Yolanda James Martin cares deeply for her clients because she first experienced the intense feeling of helping two people who she loved most.

“My family caregiving background has included taking care of my mother and grandmother. Those experiences cultivated a sense of an even deeper compassion and willingness to later be a good professional caregiver,” said Yolanda, an honored Care Pro at owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves south-central Houston, including Bellaire, Missouri City and Sugar Land.

Yolanda added: “Even though my mother and grandmother have passed away, my assistance to them has made me want to always care for my elderly clients as if they were my parents and grandparents. My love and care for the elderly come naturally to me. At the risk of repeating myself, I want to emphasize home care has always come naturally to me.”

Karrissa Newby had barely turned the page to her teenage years when she became a family caregiver. That formative, four-year episode of compassionate care for a family member eventually led Karrissa to a successful professional senior-care career. She recently was honored as the Care Professional of the Month for June at Home Instead^® of south-central Houston, where Greg Gomez-Mira owns the award-winning franchise.

“My caregiving experience started when I was about 13 years old. I had an auntie who was a quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair. Every day after school I would go to her house and take care of her,” Karrissa explained. “I made sure she ate dinner, had a bath and got in bed because we couldn’t afford caregiving services for her.”

She added: “I took care of my Auntie Rose until I was 17. She passed away some years ago. But I always knew that what I was doing was a true act of a service for God. I also had to be my mother’s family caregiver after she had brain surgery in 2020.”

Karrissa had quite a role model. Her mother worked in a nursing home. “I always went to work with her, so it kind of became natural thing for me to care for people. I enjoyed what I did. It’s the ‘Southern woman’ in me,” Karrissa said.

In the fall of 2025, Shaniya Lowe’s three-part mission was crystal clear: She wanted to continue a career of helping people in need while at the same time striving to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. To blend those two aspects of her life, Shaniya sought the third goal – an exceptional employer whose scheduling flexibility was unmatched in the Houston area.

Shaniya joined owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s Home Instead^® franchise in south-central Houston seven months ago. “I’ve done a lot of professional caregiving over the years, and Home Instead was always a company in which I had been interested. The agency also was on my mind because it was very visible. The Home Instead logo-wrapped company cars in which the Care Pros traveled caught my eye in the area of the city where I lived,” Shaniya explained.   

The Shaniya-Home Instead match has been nearly a perfect one. In May, the award-winning office honored Shaniya as its Care Professional of the Month. Home Instead General Manager Destiny Wesley said Shaniya embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.” Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown he or she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Empathy and compassion are considered for the award, as well as skill and wisdom for dealing with challenging situations.

Care Professional of the Month Robin Broyles knows how it feels “to hit it out of the park” and “spike the ball in the end zone.” The sports metaphors colorfully describe “doing something extremely well, achieving great success or exceeding expectations.” They fit Robin’s skilled senior-care work perfectly, and the honored Care Pro smiles when she thinks of such things while drawing on memories of her first client at Home Instead^® of south-central Houston.

“Mr. D., my first client, loved baseball and football. His favorite teams were pro football’s Houston Texans and pro baseball’s Houston Astros. He would record the Texans’ football games, and we would watch them together. That made his day. He was always in a good mood, so it made my day. When he saw me come through the door at the start of my Home Instead shift, it made him smile. Rest in peace, Mr. D.,” Robin said.

When it came time to move on to other clients, Robin tucked thoughts of those precious times with Mr. D. into the recesses of her big, compassionate heart. Robin possesses a vast reservoir of empathy, a nurturing nature and unconditional kindness. She has an unlimited capacity for storing her caregiving memories.

Home Instead^® Care Professional of the Month Nwanneka Achinivu is an encourager extraordinaire, and her inspirational methods take on many forms as she assists her clients. It’s fitting that Nwanneka’s name – with an Igbo origin from Nigeria – signifies the culture’s high value placed on family, kinship and unity. “Nwanneka” often celebrates the importance of a sister within the family structure. Home Instead’s Nwanneka elicits smiles and an easy lightness as she sprinkles in an occasional “mum” while talking about mothers.  

“I like being part of my clients’ process at this stage of their lives. I give my clients the kind of care I would love to get if I were them,” said Nwanneka, who, on Aug. 20, 2025, joined owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves south-central Houston.

Nwanneka explained: “I like that I can encourage my clients to see that it’s a blessing to reach their ages, and that it’s time to live and keep living with great expectations. I like coming alongside them and supporting them as they push through challenges that frequently include sicknesses or the aging process. I hope to inspire my clients to not pack up, but to finish the race as strong as possible.”

After Brenda James told a friend that she had ended her retirement in October 2024 and re-entered the workforce with Home Instead^® of south-central Houston, the friend noted Brenda’s deep spiritual faith and said, “You are continuing to help others ‘for such a time as this.’ ” The phrase wasn’t lost on Brenda. Taken from Esther 4:14 in the Old Testament, those timeless words signify that God intentionally places people in specific positions, locations and circumstances for a purpose, often to step out with faith during difficult times.

Brenda had worked for the State of Texas for 19 years, serving with the Health and Human Services Commission, which is responsible for managing SNAP food benefits and Medicaid. Brenda liked the fact she could help others by navigating the sometimes-complex steps to receive aid. Referring to her unsettled retirement plans, Brenda recalled, “The Good Lord said, ‘Not yet’ when I thought I was done working. So, I wondered, ‘What will I do?’ I decided I just couldn’t sit at home and do nothing. I always have helped people, whether it is through work, as a volunteer or as a family caregiver. If I can meet someone’s needs, it makes me feel fulfilled.”

Before joining the State of Texas, Brenda had worked as a hospital CNA for seven years. “I was on the neurology floor, and I enjoyed helping the patients while working the graveyard shift,” Brenda said. “Some patients could be challenging because they were sundowning or showing other behaviors that stemmed from dementia or another kind of neurodegeneration. I tried to calm them. My heart went out to them, and I provided dignity and respect.”

Home Instead^® Care Professional of the Month Mawazo Nyabenda gets down to brass tacks when she is asked about the priorities in her position with the award-winning franchise in south-central Houston: “I bring all necessary assistance to my clients and give them a smile while honoring and respecting them.”

Since joining Home Instead on May 27, 2025, Mawazo has been making outstanding impressions on her clients, their family members and staff at the franchise that has been owned by Certified Senior Advisor Greg Gomez-Mira since 2013. As the calendar flipped into late autumn, Mawazo was honored as one of Home Instead’s Care Pros of the Month.

Mawazo’s clients could feel her compassion and empathy on the first day she arrived to assist them. Those are two of the characteristics that are evaluated when a Care Pro is considered for the employee of the month award. Of course, there are others. Has the Care Pro gone above and beyond the call of duty? Does the Care Pro possess the skills and wisdom to be highly successful? Is the Care Pro exceptional at her work with any client? Finally, does the Care Pro focus on Home Instead’s training, processes and procedures of successful caregiving? In other words, does the Care Pro work at getting better?

For Home Instead Human Resources Manager Margi Kenny, the answers were yes. When Margi announced Mawazo had been honored as Care Pro of the Month, Margi said Mawazo displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.” Referring to Mawazo’s team-first efforts, Margi added: “Home Instead’s mission is to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families, and to pioneer greater professionalism within care work. Mawazo has truly helped us create a care experience that’s based on human touch, transparency and compassion.”

Four seniors – two couples – are regular Home Instead® clients of Care Professional of the Month Terry Jordan-Keets, and they couldn’t be more appreciative of Terry’s assistance. The clients could feel Terry’s compassion and empathy on the day she showed up to assist them. In fact, one of the clients told Terry at the end of her first shift: “I like you and want you to come back. I will call the office to arrange it.”

The 71-year-old client likes the way Terry interacts with her 81-year-old husband, who lives with dementia and uses a walker. Among the many ways in which she helps, Terry encourages him to walk inside the house with her, and they go outside if the weather permits. His wife is a retired pastor who appreciates Terry’s compassion. Remarkably, with Terry’s other client couple, the 80-year-old husband also is a retired pastor. He too appreciates Terry’s help, and he loves to joke with Terry and also prays with her.

As much as Terry’s assistance is appreciated, Terry said she receives fulfillment from the deep bonds she has forged with her clients. “They are a source of moral support,” said Terry, a widow who has the full-time responsibility of taking care of three grandchildren. Her youngest grandchild was orphaned in January 2023 when her mother was the victim of a homicide in their native Indianapolis, Indiana. The other two grandchildren were orphaned when Terry’s oldest daughter died in April 2020 as the result of severe diabetes. “I am here all alone with my three grandchildren without other family, but I do have a good friend here,” she said.

Jerald Thompson recalled one of the biggest challenges of his life – a family caregiving season of life – as he and his siblings tended to their father. The fulfilling undertaking, which had its expected ups and downs, propelled Jerald toward a Care Professional position with owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s award-winning Home Instead® franchise that serves south-central Houston.

“We cared for my father after my mother passed away. I knew a professional in-home caregiving job would include a lot of the same tasks I had experienced with my father. One-on-one care is far preferable for senior loved ones,” Jerald explained.

Jerald noticed Home Instead on a television commercial and made a phone call. On May 24, 2023, he joined the Home Instead franchise that Greg, a Certified Senior Advisor, has owned for the past 12 years. Greg’s franchise area covers more than 20 Houston suburbs, including Bellaire, Missouri City, Pearland, Sugar Land and Stafford.

In October 2025, nearly 2½ years after Jerald came aboard at Home Instead, Human Resources Manager Margi Kenny announced Jerald had been honored as a Care Pro of the Month. Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown he has gone above and beyond the call of duty, Margi pointed out.

Empathy and compassion are considered for the award, as well as skill and wisdom for dealing with challenging situations. Jerald embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”

Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Miriti Zakios says there can be many facets to outstanding senior care and caregiving skills are important, but her primary goal boils down to one phrase: “I take my clients’ pain and try to turn it into comfort for them.”

Miriti’s empathy and compassion for her clients and their families have been on display at owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s Home Instead® franchise in south-central Houston since the end of December 2022. “I applied for my Home Instead job in November 2022 when I talked to Margi Kenny, our human resources manager, before taking the job,” said Miriti, who began working as a senior-care professional in February 2020.

Miriti’s uncompromising loyalty to a longtime client held up her arrival at Home Instead until the client passed away Dec. 21, 2022. “I had decided to make the move to Home Instead,” Miriti explained, “but I could not leave the client until after her death. I value all my relationships with clients and the ties I have with their family members. Your heart goes out to them.”

During a life-changing transition for her 81-year-old client, two-time Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Linda Flores-Roque has been a consistent source of reassurance. Linda has been assisting the client for nearly a year, and their bonds included a strong emotional thread the client sorely needed during a stressful time.

“My client recently moved to assisted living after having lived with a family member. At first, she didn’t want to go,” said Linda, who is her client’s only Care Pro and is a member of the award-winning team at Home Instead of south-central Houston. “On that first day, she asked if she could go home. She was in a bit of a panic and didn’t want to be left alone. I comforted her and helped her to ease into her new surroundings.”

Linda added: “Before I left on that first day, I took my client to the dining room and promised I’d be back in two days. As I had anticipated, she was eager to see me return. She knows who I am but does not remember my name. Each time when I arrive, she says, ‘I am always looking for you to return and am happy when I see you.’ ”

The client was especially happy on a June day when Linda arrived on the client’s birthday with balloons and candy. “She remembered her birthday on the Friday before it occurred on a Monday. She was anticipating it, and I had not forgotten. She thanked me. She’s a sweetheart. Nine out of 10 times she is in a very good mood. She can be repetitive, and sometimes she realizes and apologizes, but I reassure her that it’s nothing to worry about. I listen to every word.”

Linda’s patience, empathy and compassion are among the many reasons why she was honored as a Care Pro of the Month for the second time in 13 months.