Your Care Team
Meet the amazing team of people behind your care!
Open Arms is a local Chicago senior care company, and we are proud of the quality of our relationships with our clients and with each other.
Meet the faces behind the company and what they love about creating meaningful senior care experiences.
Our Leadership Team
Julie Kollada
President & Founder
Prior to the founding of Open Arms Solutions, Julie established an impressive track record as a successful entrepreneur and respected business owner. For 18 years, she cultivated and prospered with an emphasis on quality service and building professional relationships. Ultimately, however, it was the experience with her own mother Jeanne a few years back that set her on a passionate course that led to the creation of Open Arms. Jeanne, a bright and vibrant woman, was given a diagnosis of Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease that left her completely dependent. Without warning, Julie and her family were left to figure things out – where was her mother to live? Who was to care for her? How would long-term care insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid figure into the financial picture? And who was there to help Julie untangle the vast web of questions? An intense education in and introduction to the warm and caring world of healthcare heroes followed. Home care, assisted care, skilled nursing, hospice, attorneys, physicians, nurses, and therapists – the list goes on. Julie has made the long-term commitment to giving back, guiding families through the toughest of times, and helping seniors and the infirm regain, maintain and preserve their quality of life with help from Open Arms Solutions.
Craig Reiff
Partner
With over 30 years of experience in healthcare, including medical device development and manufacturing, post acute provider services for seniors, physician services and Medicare and Medicaid managed care insurance companies, Craig is a principal in Post Acute Network Solutions. Craig was previously CEO of Home Physicians, a Chicago-based healthcare service business that provides home-based primary care and podiatry physician services for over 15,000 Medicare patients in Chicago and Baltimore. In addition Craig has held sales, marketing, management and leadership positions with American Hospital Supply Corporation, Baxter Healthcare, Allegiance Healthcare and Cardinal Health. His knowledge of the post-acute continuum of care, provider relations and in-home care helps guide Open Arms Solutions business development and operational initiatives.
Rachel Harris BSN, RN
Director of Operations
Rachel joined the Open Arms Team as a Nurse Manager in 2017 and was promoted to Director of Operations in January 2022. While Rachel was completing her Bachelor's degree in Science of Nursing at the University of Michigan, she worked in the sports industry, helping guide student athletes and families through the recruiting process. Through these experiences, she has developed an empathetic approach that allows her to guide and comfort families through the difficult and sometimes unknown waters ahead. Since then, she has come back to the healthcare field with an excitement and compassion for helping others. She is a team player and her positive attitude helps to connect and bring joy to both our clients and families.
Our Sales Team
Michelle Rubio, MSW, LSW
Senior Care Advisor
As a Senior Care Advisor, Michelle helps seniors and their families enrich their lives by providing counseling, education, and resources. Her passion is creating safe, nurturing spaces through her counseling work for both clients and their families to navigate challenging moments. Outside of work, Michelle enjoys spending time with husband and daughter, going to concerts, and hiking.
Amanda Puls BSN, RN
Senior Living Community Nurse Manager
Amanda's passion lies in helping seniors with the journey of aging and navigating the physical & emotional health of the family system. She is also passionate about her two boys, spending time with them as they grow up.
Mackensie Barone , MBA
Community Manager
Mackensie enjoys meeting with seniors, and their family members to discuss the best path to meet their social, emotional, and physical needs, while maintaining their independence for as long as possible. Mackensie also loves spending time with her husband and four children outside of work.
Our Recruiting Team
Danielle Berger
Senior Recruiter
Danielle loves finding awesome, new caregivers and working with them in the beginning of their OAS journey. After our caregivers, Danielle loves going for walks and playing catch with her dog Brodie.
Julianne Hirsekorn
Senior Recruiter
Julianne loves finding the right caregivers who embody our core values. It is her passion to be able to match the right caregiver with the right client and help them live more independently. In her free time, she enjoys baking and spending time with her family and friends.
Alicia Szczapa
HR Compliance and Training Specialist
As a member of the Recruitment Team, Alicia serves as a source of guidance and knowledge for our caregivers. After work, Alicia uses that love of knowledge when trying new recipes with her husband and son.
Our Finance Team
Niki Williams
Finance Coordinator
As Finance Coordinator, Niki is responsible for many important aspects of the home care business involving both the clients and caregivers of Open Arms. She is enthusiastic about accounting and payroll with 20 plus years of experience.
Sakethia Redmond
Finance Coordinator
Sakethia graduated from Colorado University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. And with 10 years of experience in the accounting and finance department and is very passionate about what she does.
Our Operations & Care Coordination Team
Shari Capaldi
Senior Operations Manager
As Care Coordination Manager, Shari understands how important it is to understand each client as a person, not just what they need help doing. Seeing the connections between a caregiver and client develop and grow is what her work is all about. After work, Shari can be found cheering on her favorite team, University of Michigan football, with her family.
Heather Reed
Office Manager
Heather is dedicated to keeping our office organized as well as providing support to caregivers, clients and staff. She has over 20 years of administrative experience in healthcare, education and human resources. She obtained a BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois Chicago and an MA in Teaching from Columbia College Chicago. In her spare time Heather enjoys drawing, painting, swimming and golfing.
Kristin Reichert
Senior Scheduling & On-Call Manager
Kristin's ability to find just the right caregiver for each client is a gift, she is able to determine what care they need and who can help. After hours, Kristin spends her time with family, friend and of course her bulldog Lily.
Rachel Shammo
Care Coordination Team Lead
As one of our In-Home Care Coordinators, Rachel enjoys spending quality time with her clients; reminiscing with them and sharing stories together. Outside of work you can find Rachel crocheting goodies for her friends and family.
Taylor Burnham
Scheduling Team Lead
Before beginning her role as one of our Scheduling Coordinators, Taylor worked as a caregiver for more than 7 years helping seniors in the community. The insight and advice clients have shared with is Taylor favorite part of her role. She has taken that advice and applied it to her daily life with her fiancé and their fur babies.
Angelina McMahon
Senior Living Care Coordinator
Building close relationships with clients, residents, and their families is Angelina's favorite part of working at Open Arms. When she isn't building client relationships, she is spending time with her friends and family.
Toya Sprott
Senior Living Care Coordinator
Toya's senior care journey began as an Open Arms Caregiver many years ago. In her current role, she continues to take care of every client and puts a smile on their face each day. When she isn't working she enjoys spending time with her daughter and relaxing.
Titilola Ajayi
Senior Living Care Coordinator
Just like so many of our wonderful team members, Titilola began her senior care journey as an Open Arms Caregiver. Her passion is helping others, caregivers and clients, in whatever they need. When she isn't helping others, Titilola loves reading a good book outside on a beautiful day.
Malissa Jarosz
Senior Living Care Coordinator
Malissa joined the Franciscan Care Solutions team as one of our Senior Living Care Coordinators in August 2023. Before joining Franciscan Care Solutions, Malissa received her Master’s Degree at University of Illinois at Chicago in Social Work and worked as a school social worker for 5 years. Her favorite part about working at AV is building rapport with the clients and their families and ensuring that their Plan of Care is comprehensive of their needs. In her free time she enjoys practicing yoga and Pilates and getting outdoors with her puppy and partner.
Alexia Lang
Senior Scheduling Coordinator
As a member of the Scheduling Team, Alexia is a crucial part of our caregiver/client matching process. She is also a crucial part of her camping trio, including her dad and sister.
Elfrida Gjoshi
Scheduling Coordinator
Elfrida has always been passionate in helping others. As a scheduling coordinator, she brings that passion to match you or your loved one with the right caregiver. In her spare time, Elfrida loves spending time with her family and enjoys cooking.
Kseniya Levinstein, RN BSN
Client Support and Compliance Nurse
Kseniya love's her role as an RN! Providing meaningful care and support to our elderly clients and positively impacting so many lives is her passion! After hours, Kseniya spends her time outdoors exploring forest preserves and dog parks with her miniature Dachshunds, Ruddy and Romeo.
Jazmin Bingham
On-Call Coordinator
Jazmin takes joy in working with our senior clients to ensure they have all the services they need to remain comfortable at home. She also loves helping our clients and their families navigate senior community living and assisting with any concerns that may arise while our caregivers are on shift. Some of Jazmin’s favorite hobbies are spending time with friends, family, and her five-year-old son, at concerts or watching movies.
Jackie Arreola
On-Call Coordinator
Jackie loves the relationship she has built with caregivers and playing her role to help seniors stay home. Off hours, Jackie likes to read, find healthy & delicious cooking recipes, work out, and spend quality family time with her husband and three daughters.
Megan Duprey
Care Coordinator
Megan enjoys listening and learning about her clients and families. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her two young children, husband and dog Archie.
Kailyn Loureiro
Care Coordinator
After pursing an undergraduate degree in forensic psychology and a graduate degree in family and human development, I knew I wanted to be in a career where I was helping others. As a care coordinator, I enjoy getting to know my clients and building a relationship with them. Outside of work, I love spending time with my family and traveling when able too.
Britta Woods
Care Coordinator
Britta has always worked as an advocate in some form, whether with seniors or children with special needs. She is passionate about helping others find ways to live a life that is happy and healthy. When Britta is not at work, she is enjoying the outdoors, reading or spending time with her three teenage sons, husband and dog.
Veronica Moore
Training Specialist
Veronica Moore has worked with Open Arms since May 2017 and it was clear she would be perfect for our Embrace Memory Care program. Veronica was the perfect choice for Care Coordinator given her ability to empathize with any situation and put those around her at ease, whether it’s a client or a new caregiver.
Our Caregiving Team
