Her Story
About Claudia
I graduated from Cal State Northridge with a background in liberal studies and did teaching for a couple of years with youngsters. I was commuting from LA and it was too long of a commute, so I dropped my other job working at a pharmacy as a clerk. I happened to find an ad for senior living and started in 2012 with no experience, thinking it was just going to be temporary part-time. Long story short, I'm drawn to it now - it's become my career passion. I started as a frontline team member from the ground, working the floor, and with experience I built my resume. It took about 5 years to work my way up to the director role, where I've been for about 7 years now. Being able to speak to the work from a personal level because I've done it myself has helped me become a better director to my team. I discovered Memory Care and since then I've been in that area, focusing on advanced stages of the journey. I obtained a certificate with TEEPA SNOW, which is the Positive Approach to Care, and then obtained my RCFE, the Title 22, as administrator in 2020. The nature of my work involves locating loved ones on their journey, teaching and coaching, training team members, and onboarding. It's a variety - like running a home - assisting residents with their daily living like showers, restroom care, and dress care, but also the life enrichment programming and dining. I love the flexibility of not just being behind the desk but being very much involved with residents hand-in-hand and with their families as well. It's a very community-based industry, and it's different every day.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Claudia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to dedication - just not giving up and showing up. I think it's really about being consistent and committed to the work, even when things get challenging. Starting from the ground as a frontline team member and working my way up over 5 years to a director role required that kind of persistence and willingness to keep showing up every day.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to be open-minded to the unknown and to question the why. I've learned that sometimes giving pushback is not a bad thing. It's important to not just accept things at face value but to really understand the reasoning behind decisions and to be willing to challenge things when necessary. Being open to questioning has helped me grow in my career.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say be open-minded. I started within senior living with no experience, and I thought it was just gonna be temporary part-time, and then long story short, I'm drawn to it now - it's become my career passion. I got into it by accident, just looking for a part-time job with a shorter commute, and I happened to find an ad. What I love about it is the variety - it's like running a home. You get to assist residents in their daily living but also handle life enrichment programming and dining. The flexibility of not just being behind the desk but being very much involved with residents hand-in-hand and with their families is what makes it special. It's a very community-based industry and it's different every day, so come in with an open mind and you might discover a passion you didn't know you had.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field right now is recruitment and training opportunities for frontline team members. It's not easy to find a person that is willing to learn the skill set, or I should say, have the right approach. You need a lot of patience to be able to handle the constant changes. Recruitment is always a challenge. As for opportunities, I see more need for skill set development, especially since memory care requires more of that higher acuity care for residents. Having the means to actually go to a school, like a CNA school, or further advance in the health industry and healthcare - those are the opportunities I see for growth in our field.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are integrity and trust. The nature of the work that I'm in requires a lot of integrity - doing what's right because it's right, not for who's watching or who you're reporting out to. I'm really speaking on behalf of those that don't have the voice. Our residents living with dementia don't necessarily have advocates for them, so it's important to be surrounded with caring people. Trust is also very important in this work, especially because families are already nervous about placing their loved ones in our care.
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