Meet Our Team

In 1996, Jeanne McCusker and her family had a life-altering experience. Six months after moving to the Charlottesville area, Jeanne’s Mom was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease at the age of 51.

The next four years the family rallied around caring for her Mom at home and making sure she had the quality of life that we all would want for our loved ones. Initially the process started with being support for her Mom as her physical capabilities started to change.

First, her Mom lost her ability to speak which was ironic since her Mom was a speech pathologist and audiologist. The challenge of the disease continued and slowly she started losing other abilities; typing on her communication device, feeding herself through her feeding tube and eventually she started falling.

“After a few scary trips to the hospital we knew things had to change. The worst was when we found my mom laying on the driveway with her head split open-- it was dark, 40 degrees and my Mom couldn’t get up. She had to get staples in the cut on her head. The next day we made a change.”

As Jeanne often tells the families she works with, it is best to try to avoid crisis whenever possible, but if it does happen it is time to swiftly make a change. She hired a caregiver immediately to help with her Mom.

The next year or so her family had this wonderful person in the house during the day helping the family and making sure her Mom was safe. As the disease came to the end stages they had to split the shifts: her Dad took the overnight shift, the private caregiver helped during the day, her sister in the evenings, and Jeanne did the weekends since she traveled for work all week. But without their steady and competent caregiver, the family alone would be overwhelmed to provide the excellent care that her mother needed and deserved.

This whole life-changing journey inspired Jeanne as she considered the invaluable service that caregivers contribute to our society. It became her personal mission to provide our community with the most qualified and reliable caregivers available. In 2003, Jeanne opened the doors of Home Instead Senior Care of Charlottesville which has served individuals and families for over 15 years.

Carolyn joined Home Instead Senior Care as a Staff Coordinator in, 2010. In 2013 she was promoted to Operations Manager. As Operations Manager she is responsible for client billing and CAREGiver payroll. Carolyn is a lifelong resident of Central Virginia, and enjoys landscape painting, classic movies, reading, science, and learning new things. A self-proclaimed “education junkie” and nontraditional college student, Carolyn received a Master of Business Administration in May 2010.

A native to central Virginia her entire life, Colleen values her community and its neighbors with great pride. Her nursing career has primarily been in the float pool, at bedside within the hospital setting and her skills range from pediatrics to geriatrics, and intermediate care. She has also spent some time as a travel nurse, expanding into the rehab and post-acute setting. Colleen refers to herself as an avid advocate for her patients and her peers. In her free time, you will find her at the baseball or softball field with her son and daughter or outside in any capacity enjoying glamping life with her high school sweetheart, their two children and silver lab, Zoie. 

Sherrica joined Home Instead in October of 2005 as a CAREGiver for the elderly. In 2009 she was promoted to our Recruiting and Retention Team. Sherrica left in 2019 to help her husband with his own business and has since returned in 2021. Now, as Client Care Coordinator, Sherrica’s upbeat personality and beautiful smile make her the perfect person to greet all our companion clients and their families. With over 15 years experience with Home Instead, she ensures that our companion clients are receiving the best care possible.  Sherrica enjoys spending time with her family and friends, being outdoors, cooking and watching the Discovery Channel.

Denise worked in the healthcare sector for 18 years before coming to Home Instead. In fact, She was once a full-time caregiver in an 8-bed facility, and ultimately became a mental health healthcare liaison that catered to the Las Vegas Valley. In her spare time she likes to dance, travel, read, listen to music and work out. She loves all kinds of food, and when she is in the mood, she will even cook. Denise especially loves helping people and is happy to be a part of the Home Instead Team!

Nicole (“Ziggy”) has over 15 years of HR and business managerial experience, specifically in logistics, retail, and production. Her passion is finding talented care professionals to join our team. She is an avid reader, loves to play Minecraft and word games. She is mom to one daughter, two cats, and one dog.

Cheairs holds a master’s degree in Gerontology and has over twenty years of experience working in the field of aging. She is a certified Positive Approach to Care Dementia Trainer and Engagement Leader. Cheairs believes in providing care professionals with learning opportunities that will empower them to provide extraordinary care to those that Home Instead serves. Her passion is working with care professionals, community partners, and families in providing educational programs that focus on how to best support a person living with the brain changes of dementia. When she is not at work you can find her cheering on her daughter from the sidelines of a field hockey or lacrosse game. You might spot her at the bowling alley with her son or taste testing cookies that her husband bakes. You might also catch sight of her on a long walk, reading a good book, or planning a trip to the North Carolina mountains.

Paul started with the Home Instead in February of 2016 as a CAREGiver. He finds that working with people with special needs is so rewarding and such a joy. Now, as the CAREGiver Ambassador, he gets the best of both worlds. He gets to see all of the wonderful clients, meet, and get to know the CAREGivers, who are the back bone of the company. In Paul's spare time, he likes to listen to classical music, sit in front of a roaring fire surrounded by lots of dogs, and garden.

We are so lucky to have a people person such as Christy. She says that taking care of people is just who she is, and in fact feels that it is her purpose. Furthermore, she says caregiving does not feel like a job to her. It’s more like being with family. Family is everything to her and she spends her free time with her children and grandchildren or watching her favorite TV dramas.

Beth has been with Home Instead for over 5 years now. Her favorite thing about caregiving is having the pleasure of knowing that she makes a difference in the lives of her clients and being there for them when no one else is. This is the 2nd time that Beth has been chosen to be Care Pro of the Month.

Cory’s clients love him; and because he is very engaged with his clients, the client’s families can see the difference in their loved ones. He is also very proactive and willing to take the lead to ensure that his clients live their best life possible.

Dianne has been with Home Instead for 17 years! Dianne is the Care Pro that we would all want to be taking care of our own parents or ourselves! She is most reliable, and an all-around great caregiver. Diane is genuine, has a big heart, and is very dedicated to her clients.

Gail just loves being with her clients and finds it rewarding when they are improving or just having a good day. When it comes to her client’s needs, she is proactive, and her documentation and reporting are excellent.

Emily absolutely loves her clients. She says it may be cliché, but she loves helping people and being needed. It gives her a sense of purpose, and she likes being able to protect them from harm and to be their advocate.

Sandra is amazing—she is always on point with taking care of her clients, and they just love her. She is also always at-the-ready and willing to pick up shifts. Mostly, Sandra is just an overall sweet person. And we appreciate how she keeps us abreast of any changes-in-condition with her clients.

Liz is very reliable and very personable. She is very intuitive at anticipating her client’s needs. And as a result of Liz’s support and encouragement, her client’s physical condition has noticeably improved.

Emma has been with Home Instead now for over 5 years, and in that time has had an almost perfect attendance record. Emma is always at the ready to pick up shifts and fill in where necessary. She is dedicated to her clients and always shows the upmost professionalism in her work.