Meet Our Team

"PNW Kupuna Care, LLC" is a name we chose that reflects a mix of both of our backgrounds and a foundation for our vision. Kupuna is Hawaiian which, when said with much respect, means "grandparent" or "ancestor". Kupu means to grow and bring forth. Puna refers to a spring of water symbolizing our existence. In short, without our Kupuna we are without our own sense of individuality and rich history that helps us form who we are today. As a pharmacist, most of my responsibility was caring for our elders and community by diligently counseling on the management of their health and well-being and most of all to form genuine connections. We both have also been able to witness our grandparents age in our family homes and know the compassion and care it takes to keep our own grandparents comfortable in those precious years. We strive to continue in our mission to provide the most optimal care for our community and help enhance the lives of those we serve.

Kathleen originally paved a path here from Hawaii to attend the University of Washington where she eventually completed her Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. It wasn't until she met Isaac that she really developed her love of the Pacific Northwest. It was truly the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula and the closeness in the community here, that she was greeted with the familiar feeling of "home". Kathleen can be reached at Kathleen.schmidt@homeinstead.com.

For the last twelve years Laura Mary has been visiting with new clients and family members performing needs assessments and recommendations for a person-centered plan of care. Once the client is established and the plan of care is being implemented, she performs regular follow-up evaluations to ensure our high quality of care standards are being met. She also provides support for both the client and CAREGiver when they have concerns or questions. Laura Mary has a degree in Psychology and has worked as both a parent educator and parent coach. Before moving to the Olympic Peninsula, she spent 20 years in Switzerland where she taught ESL for all ages, taught a French/English kindergarten class and worked as a family counselor.​​ Laura Mary can be reached at laura.christenson@homeinstead.com.

After living in Auburn for over 30 years and working for a trucking company for 18 years, Kim and her family moved to the Peninsula and made Sequim their home.  After getting settled in their new community, she decided that senior care was the industry she wanted to be a part of. In 2016 Kim was hired as a CAREGiver, made the move into the scheduling position a year later, and in 2018 became the Recruitment, Training & Engagement Coordinator. She is responsible for recruiting and hiring all the CAREGivers.  She trains them in the classes that Home Instead requires and helps non-certified CAREGivers navigate the state required training making sure they are following all the state deadlines for training and certification. Kim works alongside the rest of the key players to provide a great place for the CAREGivers to work by supporting them and showing appreciation throughout their career with HISC. Kim can be reached at kim.cleary@homeinstead.com.

Trisha lived in Southern California for 32 years where she worked in Customer Service for over 12 years. That experience shows as she is an expert at making sure everyone is content and managing any situation she meets with compassion and a smile. As the Office Coordinator, Trisha is a master at multi-tasking - answering the busy phones with heart, billing, payroll, human resource tasks, as well as setting up care consultations and managing the overall calendars of key team members. Moving to the friendly and welcoming community of Sequim was a big but amazing life change and felt like home right from the start. Trisha can be reached at trisha.rodgers@homeinstead.com.