Welcome New Eden Team Members

The Eden Alternative team continues to grow, adding three new team members in the past few months. Learn about them here!

Juliet Tolbert 

What led you to The Eden Alternative?
The chance to do meaningful work that helps others and promotes lasting change.

What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.
Follow-through. I make lists, get clarification, complete deadlines, share results, and get ideas to improve the next round.

What excites or inspires you about The Eden Alternative?
The ability to help impact many lives, and to help elevate someone’s everyday experience.

What is your most cherished simple pleasure?
Taking a moment to recognize my breath and be thankful for a new day.

What is your role at The Eden Alternative, and what kinds of things do you do in this role?
As a Marketing Coordinator, I create engaging experiences to connect with the Greater Eden Alternative Community and promote successful techniques that improve Elder Care.

Stacy McCaney

What led you to The Eden Alternative?
I was introduced to The Eden Alternative during my sophomore year of college while taking a class called Therapeutic Recreation and Aging. The professor worked at a Registered Eden Alternative Community. A class visit to that community changed my outlook on Long Term Care. I had never seen elder care approached in that manner and with so much respect, understanding, and compassion. A few years later I returned to that community for an internship which developed into 12 years of employment. While working as a Recreation Therapist and later the Supervisor of Volunteer Services, I became a Certified Eden Associate and was an Eden Leader for my neighborhood. I later moved to another state and was working outside of healthcare. I missed connecting with and helping people and wanted a job that was more fulfilling and meaningful. That’s when I joined the Eden Alternative Home Office Team.

What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.
Optimism! I look for the positives and find the bright side in situations. Sometimes you need to look at things in a different way to see various possibilities and paths. I like to identify how small changes can have a big impact.

What excites or inspires you about The Eden Alternative?
I worked in a community that followed the Eden Alternative approach and I know what a difference it makes. As an Eden Associate, I experienced first-hand how the Eden principles and practices benefit elders, their families, and care partners. I am excited that I get to connect others with these principles and energize people who have an incredible impact on the lives of others.

What is your most cherished simple pleasure?
Holding my son and getting those sweet toddler hugs and kisses.

What is your role at The Eden Alternative, and what kinds of things do you do in this role?
I am the Education Community Outreach Specialist. I connect communities with Eden opportunities by assisting with the coordination of training and consulting. I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of connecting all the pieces like a puzzle and working out the details. I collaborate with team members to schedule, organize, and promote events. My role also involves community outreach and data entry.

Kristie Combs

What led you to The Eden Alternative?
In June of 2023, I lost the most influential and amazing woman in my life, my Memaw, to dementia. She wasn’t just a grandmother. She was my best friend, the woman who raised me and even shaped me into the woman I am today. She was a nurse for almost half of her life and making a difference in people’s lives was not only something that she took pride in, it was her life’s work. When I came across the mission of The Eden Alternative, I knew that I wanted to pursue the position here and that it would lead me to the feeling of purpose and making a difference I had been searching for since she was diagnosed.

What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.
I would have to say that my superpowers would be strength and agility. I love a good challenge and my strength proves I am always ready to take one on. My agility proves that I am adaptable, and always ready for new responsibilities or challenges. With that also comes lots of new ideas from many angles! I look forward to using both of these to become a strong base member of our home team here at The Eden Alternative.

What excites or inspires you about The Eden Alternative?
What excites and inspires me most about The Eden Alternative is the desire to ensure that no matter what walk of life you’re from, you have a right to a life full of purpose and connection, leading to the most important element of all – happiness! I am so excited to be a part of such an inspirational team that wants to empower those partnering in the care of the world’s Elders so that they can make sure they continue giving the best care possible. I can’t even describe how it makes me feel to know that I’m part of making a difference and knowing that I’m making my family proud.

What is your most cherished simple pleasure?
Farmers market scouting with my husband…
Firepit nights with my dogs running around the yard…

What is your role at The Eden Alternative, and what kinds of things do you do in this role?
I am the Member Support Specialist here at TEA, working alongside Denise! I will be collaborating on expanding our member base and enhancing the services and features that we offer to our members!