Meet The Team | Senior Helpers of Burnsville

Meet Our Office and Our Team

More than 90% of seniors want to be able to age in their own home with dignity but getting the right type of care can seem daunting. At Senior Helpers Burnsville and South Metro we believe that getting the best care for your loved ones should not be complicated. We recognize the growing need for in-home care services, and with our passion for helping others, we are committed to delivering the best possible care to seniors in the communities we serve.

We take the opportunity to provide care in your home seriously and make it a priority to provide the highest level of client service possible. We have built an exceptional team of care professionals, each committed to remaining at the forefront of the in-home care industry through our proprietary ongoing training and education programs. You can feel confident that your loved one is in good hands with Senior Helpers.

Our History

Senior Helpers was founded in 2002 by Tony Bonacuse with the help of Peter Ross after their firsthand experience in caring for their respective family members. Tony and Peter identified a need that was not being filled properly by the other companies. They realized that most seniors would prefer to age in their own home rather than move into an unfamiliar institution. Unfortunately, the options available to most seniors were very limited. Most seniors did not have access to well-trained, dependable and affordable in-home care. This was the mission-driven spark that started Senior Helpers.

The first office opened in Baltimore and quickly developed a reputation for delivering excellent in-home senior care with their well-trained staff of professional caregivers. Based on the success of the Baltimore location, the company began to expand. Over the past 13 years, the Senior Helpers family has grown to include a network of more than 300 locally owned and operated franchises across the United States.

Senior Helpers Burnsville and South Metro was proud to join the system in 2007. Like every other owner, we too are fully-committed to the original goal of providing dependable and affordable in-home care with well-trained caregivers. Nothing is more important to us than being the best available resource for seniors and families in our community.

Our process

The first step in the process is a complimentary, initial in-home care assessment with a Senior Helpers consultant. This assessment can help you understand the true needs of your loved one and your options. Together we can discuss their needs, review our senior care services and determine what’s best for your entire family.

We will cover:

Your family's specific goals

Your loved one's daily plan design and schedule

Pricing and payment methods

Implementation process

Ongoing communication and follow-up plan

Meet the Burnsville Team

Steve Smela

Owner

Steve Smela understands that the availability of quality home care helps maintain housing options for seniors. Because in-home care was not an option for his parents, they moved into an assisted-living facility, which was a difficult transition for his mother. Steve’s dad also has advanced dementia, which further motivates Steve to provide the best care available.

Steve and the Senior Helpers caregivers look forward to working with clients and their families to provide customized, dependable and affordable care.

Jannine Graham

Director of Care Coordination

Jannine has worked at Senior Helpers for almost 10 years and it is such a pleasure for our clients and caregivers alike to be greeted by her cheerful smile and sunny personality. Her favorite part is seeing the unique bonds our caregivers make with each client.

She started her lifelong career in healthcare at age 18 as a CNA at Masonic Nursing Home in Bloomington, Apple Valley Health Care Center and a few other area nursing homes. Jannine then worked as an EMT for 5 years and co-owned a medical transportation business.

Jannine has always had a passion for working with those living with Alzheimer's and believes you really need to "step into their world" to provide them the best quality care. She managed an Alzheimer’s unit of 30 clients for 8 years and loved it!

We are so lucky to have this incredibly caring professional as part of our team. In her spare time, Jannine enjoys spending time with her husband, 6 children, 7 grandchildren and 3 dogs! She also loves to travel.

Samantha Langmo

Director of Nursing

We are so excited to introduce you to Samantha Langmo our new Director of Nursing. Sam is an experienced and enthusiastic RN who comes to us with an exceptional and extensive nursing background covering acute care, chronic and palliative care, home health, hospice, and mental health. She is passionate about client care and enjoys developing relationships with seniors, their families and the wonderful staff of caregivers here at Senior Helpers.

For Sam, it's a labor of love to lead our caregivers in meeting the needs of our seniors, and maintaining our quality of care at it's optimum level. She thrives on navigating the perfect balance between assessment of client's care needs, addressing family concerns and providing caregiver support. This involves careful oversight of client care plans and ongoing training & supervision of caregivers as well as maintaining accurate regulatory compliance. When asked what accomplishment she is most proud of, Sam said “I am most proud of making it through nursing school as a single mom with a toddler. It was hard work, and I couldn't have done it without the support of my family."

Samantha is engaged (but she calls him her husband) to Gary. According to her, "He's the cutest ginger she's ever met.” When she is not working, she loves spending time with Gary, her kids and her pets. She has one biological daughter (Brynleigh), and two bonus children (Aubrey and Soren). All three are in line at ages 13,12, and 10. and Sam feels blessed with all three of them! She also has two great dogs. Hattie is a 7-year-old Yorkie and Bruce is a 1-year-old Mini Goldendoodle.

Suzy Walter

Registered Nurse

Suzy brings a breadth of professional health care experience and a depth of care expertise developed over the last two decades. She started her career as a young woman working as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and trained medical assistant (TMA) in a long-term care (LTC) facility before going on to college to become a Registered Nurse (RN). Suzy worked with adults in hospitals for several years, moved into Pediatrics where she spent 11 years working as a NICU (neonatal ICU) nurse then as a surgical OR nurse. More recently she has been a manager and director of nursing (DON) in both assisted living and long-term care facilities.

Suzy loves geriatrics! You can see it in the wonderful care she provides our clients and the helpful care insights she provides our caregivers. In addition to working at Senior Helpers, she works part-time as a Hospice RN. Suzy is a wife of 34 years, a mother of two grown sons and a grandmom of 8 beautiful grandchildren. One of her hobbies is music and she enjoys using her music as she leads a women’s group that meets monthly.

Her passion in nursing has always been to see that all people: infants, young, middle and elders be as healthy in body, mind and spirit as they are capable in their home environment. Suzy believes in teamwork and it is truly dreamwork. She believes that Senior Helpers in Burnsville is a great team that provides exceptional care and she is proud to be working with this team of professionals!

Elsie Wachori

Client Services Manager

Please join us in welcoming Elsie to her new position at Senior Helpers of Burnsville and South Metro. If you don’t already know her, you will quickly learn that Elsie’s kindness and infectious smile just starts your day off right!

Elsie has served as one of our very best Caregivers for the last 2 years where clients, their families and our staff sing her praises. She also possesses a strong professional background in both healthcare and financial. So it was a perfect fit to have Elsie move into her new role as Client Services Manager where she will meet all our clients and follow up on a regular basis. She will provide an individualized and professional touch by going out to meet each client and personally introducing them to the new caregiver.

Elsie brings a wonderful zest for life and a willingness to help, learn and teach. When she is not at work, she loves to spend time with her friends and family. She also plays, listens and loves music.

Georgene Vesey

Community Relations Manager

We want to welcome Georgene Vesey to our team. She is our Community Relations Manager. As our principal ambassador, she’ll be reaching out to engage, support and partner with senior centers, veteran’s organizations, hospitals, rehab centers and other senior-related activities throughout our 20-city franchise.

Georgene has come on board with a degree in Marketing and a boatload of experience from her successful career in helping grow small businesses. She has earned a well-deserved reputation as "Best Networker".

Georgene is a very caring and compassionate person so having her join Senior Helpers is a true blessing for all of us. When she’s not at work, she loves spending time with her husband of 27+ years, or her two adult children. You can also find Georgene helping at the local food shelf, church, or anywhere she can donate her time to help people in the community.

Nancy Branton

Recruiting and Hiring Coordinator

Nancy is passionate about hiring caregivers who are caring, capable, and dependable. When her mother had Alzheimer’s, she gained an understanding of the disease and employed useful techniques to interact effectively with her. After her mother passed away, she was a part-time caregiver for persons with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. She loves to sing, and she discovered how much her clients enjoyed singing and/ or listening to music.

Nancy’s professional career includes many years of human resources management and development experience at several Minnesota state departments. She was also a professional career, life, and leadership coach. Additionally, she trained people to be leadership and career coaches. Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from St. Olaf College and a master’s degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has completed numerous professional coaching courses and earned many coaching certifications.

Nancy and her husband have two adult children and one grandchild in Colorado. They love taking trips to Denver and Aspen to spend time with them.

Nazly Elemary

Human Resources Manager

Nazly was hired as our Human Resources Manager after serving as one of our best caregivers for several years. She stood out as a very caring and dependable caregivers who was attentive to her client’s needs. In addition, she was an online trainer for art classes.

Nazly came to the United States in 2019 with her two sons. One son is studying computer science in Germany. The other son lives with her and attends middle school. They both enjoy boxing training. Nazly loves the arts and enjoys painting landscapes, sewing, making and selling dolls, and other art activities. She misses the rest of her family who live in Egypt.

Nazly was born in Cairo, Egypt and speaks Arabic. She learned to speak English in school. After graduating from high school, she studied law and earned a law degree. She did so primarily because her father was a lawyer, and he wanted her to become one, too. However, Nazly didn’t love the law. Instead, she worked for an advertising company in Dubai for 18 years.

Marylou Hay

Digital Marketing and Social Media Manager

Marylou has been providing insightful strategic and innovative creative marketing leadership to a wide range of Twin Cities companies for over 30 years. She draws from vast industry knowledge to understand potential connections people have with brands that excite and endure. She brings a passion for social media & digital marketing, and a deep understanding of its power to drive brand awareness, connect and engage audiences, and ultimately generate leads to build business.

What sets her apart is her ability to combine creativity with strategic analytical thinking, all within an entrepreneurial point of view. Building on her solid foundation in understanding audience behavior and ability to craft compelling messages, Marylou has transitioned her branding expertise and honed her skills in social media management, content creation, and digital marketing. She believes in the importance of building genuine online relationships and trust, which is reflected in the engagement and loyalty of our audience.

Marylou was drawn to Senior Helpers of Burnsville & South Metro because of their commitment to making a positive impact of the daily lives of Seniors living in the South Metro community of the Twin Cities. The mission of making a difference in the lives of Seniors aligns perfectly with her own values and she is excited about the opportunity to contribute her skills in the effort to help transform senior care through providing the highest quality in-home care allowing seniors to age safely in place, in their own homes. She loves working with Steve and the crew at Senior Helpers of Burnsville.

Meet Our Office and Our Team

Our History

Our process

Meet the Burnsville Team

Photos from the Burnsville Office

Areas We Serve