Matthew Kern has more than 18 years of leadership experience in the post-acute, skilled nursing and rehabilitation sector, including roles serving non-profit, for profit and multi-facility organizations. He holds a master of business administration from the University of Phoenix and is licensed as a nursing home administrator in multiple states.

Photo and bio coming soon.

Katherine Kopp has over 25 years of experience working in both proprietary and nonprofit senior housing organizations. Areas of expertise include market identification, site selection, program analysis, financial analysis, design development, project coordination and Medicaid and Medicare eligibility. She has extensive experience partnering with public and private entities to develop projects that meet the unique needs of the community and was directly involved in development and/or management oversight of over 50 senior housing facilities in Minnesota and Colorado. Ms. Kopp has served on numerous committees to advance appropriate regulation and reimbursement for senior services. She earned a BS degree and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and is a licensed nursing home administrator.

Ms. Hope has worked in the long term care industry for major chain organizations as director of reimbursement since 1987 and has considerable experience with all third-party-payer billing. She has also worked as a business office consultant for CliftonLarsonAllen where she spent many days on the road doing seminars and assisting clients with billing issues. Currently, Ms. Hope is working for Augustana Care heading up their centralized billing department.

Photo and bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Dave Saemrow develops, implements and oversees marketing and advertising for Augustana Care’s health care centers, housing properties, adult day programs, therapy services and community-based programs. He has more than twenty-five years of experience in acute health care, managed care and in service to older adults. He has managed start-up marketing for assisted living and memory care and initiated several specialty care programs. Mr. Saemrow has considerable experience in both for-profit and nonprofit communities and organizations. He also has a significant marketing management background, including experience in business and marketing plan development; strategic planning; sales training and supervision; and consumer brand loyalty programs. He earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Minnesota.

George Serra brings over 30 years of culinary arts experience to his position at Augustana Care. Chef George worked for Hilton Hotels International, where he was instrumental in hotel start ups in global markets. He also worked at the world-famous Waldorf Astoria in New York City; and at Hilton’s Los Angeles headquarters where he served as a member of the corporate executive committee, the only chef in Hilton history to do so. He is one of only 58 internationally certified chefs in the United States today. Chef George is responsible for menu planning, product quality and creativity in the planning process. He is also responsible for supervising a professional staff and catering team. Chef George is a member of the American Culinary Federation.

Julie Thurn has career-long experience in nursing and long-term care. Prior to arriving at Augustana Care, she was employed at CliftonLarsonAllen as a clinical consultant and before that was the director of nursing in a long-term care hospital. She is responsible for managing patient care services in Augustana Care’s long-term care facilities including, but not limited to, quality of nursing care, effective utilization of personnel and compliance with facility policies, development and implementation of nursing goals and objectives. Ms. Thurn is a registered nurse who received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Minnesota. She is a certified registered nurse assessment coordinator and an active member of Aging Services of Minnesota.

Mary Jo Thorne has more than 20 years of experience in housing with services settings and is a passionate advocate for older generations and for all those we serve. She is responsible for the oversight of a variety of housing locations at Augustana Care. Her areas of expertise include market identification, project coordination, section 8 requirements, alternative care and elderly waiver programs and leasing. Her responsibilities include fiscal and personnel management, quality assurance, resource development, public relations and marketing.

Shabir Walji has been with the Augustana Care team for more than 40 years. He oversees housekeeping, maintenance, janitorial and laundry duties for all Augustana Care locations. Mr. Walji is responsible for planning, organizing, developing, evaluating and effectively directing the environmental services staff and programs in order to ensure a safe and secure environment for all residents, staff and others consistent with regulations and established best practices. He oversees maintenance technicians, engineer technicians, engineers, housekeepers and the use of contracted services for the building, ground and equipment maintenance. Other duties include hiring, training and supervising staff, including assigning tasks and completing performance evaluations, managing department budgets, purchasing supplies and keeping abreast of federal and state regulations.

Sharon Wilson has been employed with Augustana Care for the past 22 years. Within the Minneapolis Health care center she has worked as a unit nurse, in quality management and in staff development. Previously, she worked on a hospital medical surgical unit and as a volunteer working with homeless people. Ms. Wilson works with alternative care facilities, entities and programs in the areas of compliance, quality management, housing/community based services and clinical support. She holds a BA degree from College of St. Benedict, an RN degree from College of St. Catherine and a masters in health and human services from St. Mary’s University. She is also a licensed nursing home administrator and is certified in health care quality.