Our Team

The Embrace Life team believes by introducing the team who are essential to the support of the day-to-day operations of the agency, also provides transparency to the community and guides trust to those looking for these types of services. With multiple years of experience over a variety of departments, together, Embrace Life strives to reach our Mission, Vision and Values for the members who are supported, and for the inclusive community to grow together for years to come.

Director

OPERATIONS TEAM

Directors

Gloria

Director of Residential Programs (Phoenix area),
3 years

Gloria's role as the director of Maricopa and North County.
Gloria oversees all Residential Programs, Day Programs, and HCBS services in her region. This includes supervising the East and West Valley directors to ensure they meet Embrace Life's weekly expectations for program operations. These operational duties include transportation, vehicle, and house maintenance, maintaining healthy grocery supplies for the program, and addressing issues raised by employees or guardians. Gloria oversees a Day Program Director who manages several Day Program operations in the Phoenix area.
Gloria also supervises the HCBS departments, ensuring that providers submit all required support documentation to the Quality of Care Department.

Amber

Director of South District (Tucson and surrounding cities),
3 years

Amber oversees the Day program, Residential, and HCBS services in Tucson and the surrounding southern cities, including Sierra Vista, Douglas, Yuma, and Nogales. In this role, she supervises the Day Programs' supervisors to ensure that all Embrace Life's weekly and monthly expectations for program operations are met. These operational duties include transportation, vehicle and program maintenance, maintaining program supplies, and addressing issues raised by employees or guardians.
Amber supervises the HCBS departments, ensuring that providers submit all required support documentation to the Quality of Care Department.

Vacant

Assistant Director of West Valley Residential Programs

Vacant

Assistant Director of East Valley Residential Programs

Director for the Deaf

We are currently looking for a Deaf Director to oversee ten departments. 

OPERATIONS TEAM

Jose

Human Resources
5 years

Jose began his journey with the agency in 2020. The role of Human Resources encompasses overseeing HR practices, processes, and strategies. Key responsibilities include managing recruitment, planning and implementing staff training programs with Training Supervisor, and ensuring adherence to best practices and company policies. Additionally, HR handles sending welcome emails, reviewing employee handbooks, updating employee benefits, and addressing legal matters related to the employee code of conduct and ethical concerns.

Pamela

Quality of Care Supervisor
4 years

Pamela is an agency Quality of Care Supervisor with four years of experience in the field. She is an instructor for Article 9, Positive Behavior Support, CPR/FA, and Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. Additionally, Pamela serves as a Behavior Treatment Plan writer for the agency.
In her supervisory role, Pamela oversees Quality of Care staff who conduct monthly program reviews and provide resources and support to our leadership staff. Pamela's primary responsibility is to ensure that all programs meet state requirements and receive continuous support.
Our Agency Training Specialist. Riley will be coordinating in-person training sessions for Direct Care Workers and management staff at our Mesa office, serving Maricopa County.
Riley oversees a team of training staff across different areas and is responsible for ensuring that all program training materials are current. This includes reviewing training documentation and employees' monthly training quizzes. Additionally, Riley manages our Continuing Education Unit, where she develops monthly educational training for our facilities to maintain up-to-date information.

Karen

Network Supervisor 
 

Karen's role as our Agency Network Supervisor. Karen coordinates with all State direct referrals to ensure that newly enrolled members meet the necessary requirements. This includes reviewing all support documentation from State Support Coordinators or parents before assigning new cases to HCBS Coordinators across Arizona.

 

Karen oversees our administrative support staff. She ensures that they complete all required background check documentation during the onboarding process and that new hires finish their training within the specified timeframe before working in the field.

 

Riley

Training Supervisor

Justin

Project Manager
7 years

With nearly a decade of experience at Embrace Life, Justin Gregory is our project manager, a professional in project management. Project managers are responsible for the planning, procurement, and execution of a project in any undertaking that has a defined scope, start, and finish for the agency.

Ruth

Administrative Assistant Supervisor
2 years

Ruth is a dedicated employee with a Hispanic background and is fluent in both English and Spanish. As a single mother, Ruth understands the importance of resilience and determination, which she brings into her work every day. Currently, Ruth works with the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), where she applies her skills and passion to support and empower individuals with disabilities. Ruth is committed to continuous personal and professional growth, and always striving to enhance her knowledge and abilities to deliver the highest quality of service.

Carrie

Agency Compliance Officer
5 years

Carrie has over 15 years of experience in the DDD community primarily in the residential department and as a former ADH provider. Agency Compliance Officer is a designated an officer within a government agency responsible for ensuring that the agency adheres to all applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies, particularly related to areas like equal employment opportunity and contracting procedures, by monitoring state compliance, investigating potential issues, and taking corrective actions when necessary; essentially acting as the point of contact for compliance matters within Embrace Life agency. 

Joseph

Owner/Chief Executive Officer
10 years

Joseph has been employed with a variety of agencies for many years in different roles and has participated in multiple volunteer organizations supporting members.