Meet Our Team

Susan Connor is the Executive Director for The Blake at Miramar Beach. Susan has more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare management and previously served as the Executive Director at The Blake at Lafayette in Louisiana. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and has experience in new development and senior living.

Prior to her career in senior living, she served as the regional director of United Blood Services covering the southern Gulf region. While Susan lived most of her life in Louisiana, she was often a visitor to the Florida panhandle and is excited about being able to work in such a beautiful area.

Lauren grew up in sunny Navarre, Florida and graduated from the University of West Florida with a degree in Business Management.  She spent years in advertising and technology sales before she discovered her love of working in senior living. Lauren has more than 5 years of experience in senior living and she is so excited to be a part of the compassionate team at The Blake at Miramar Beach! Her favorite part of working with seniors is getting to know each resident and their family. She loves learning about their history and seeing the positive changes that come when they receive excellent care, delicious food and enriching activities! Lauren and her husband have followed his military career to California and then the United Kingdom. She has enjoyed the adventures she’s had by living in new places, but is excited to be back home to settle on the beautiful Emerald Coast! Lauren lives in Niceville, Florida with her husband, their daughter, the family dog and newly adopted cat. When she’s not at work, Lauren loves spending time with her family, traveling, cooking and gardening.

As a military kid (her dad was in the Air Force), Amy was raised all over. She was born in Montana, raised in various states across the US, and lived in Germany for over 5 years. Nonetheless, she considers Florida her home. In her words, "I have lived here in Florida longer than I have lived anywhere." She spent nearly a decade working for programs contracted with the Department of Juvenile Justice; during 9 of those years, in her position as assistant to Director of Nursing, she helped to oversee seven nursing departments. She moved to an assisted living facility, first as a ADORS, then progressing to DORS, before deciding that she wanted to go back to floor nursing. She started at The Blake Miramar Beach as a floor nurse in July of 2021 and moved up to Director of Wellness in October of 2022. Besides being a nurse, she is a Certified Dementia Practitioner.

Her favorite part of working with seniors is the history they share, the love they give, and the sense of fulfillment that she gets from feeling like she's filling a need. "They give so much back to me just by being here," she says. Of the many things she loves about working at The Blake, she is most appreciative of the people, both workers and residents, which she describes as being like a big extended family. She loves the support offered and the gratitude and appreciation expressed for something as simple as doing one's job. She states, "I'm just grateful to be able to do what I love to do, which is taking care of those who have taken care of us."

Her favorite thing is spending time with her kids and grandchildren. She also loves to piddle with her plants, crochet, read, spend time on the water fishing or paddle boarding.

Alicia is originally from Alabama, but she has been in the Miramar Beach area for over 20 years. She graduated from Northwest Florida State College with a degree in Business Administration and is also Florida Core Certified. She has 20+ years experience in all aspects of senior living. Her favorite part of working with seniors is getting to know the residents and listening to their stories and history. Alicia also enjoys the camaraderie and family atmosphere between the residents and being a part of a  great team at The Blake. 

When Alicia is not working, she loves spending time with her “littles” (grandchildren) and enjoying the beautiful beaches in the Miramar Beach area. She is a professed ‘Beach Bum’ most weekends and feels that she is so very blessed!

Ashley Gary currently resides in Crestview, Florida and has recently assumed the role of Assistant Director of Wellness at The Blake. Having obtained her nursing license in 2012, she immediately began working as a floor nurse in a Skilled Nursing Facility. While there, she received an Employee of the Quarter and an Employee of the Year award. She also worked her way onto the wound care team. Following that, she was a GI nurse for 5 years, and then moved on to home health for the next 4 years. Much of her experience comes from working with the elderly. She enjoys listening to the stories, experiences, and humor of the residents that she cares for. In her free time, she likes to work on little projects in her house, practice self-care, and devote the rest of my time to my family.

Crystal is the Assistant Director of Sales at The Blake. She is originally from Warsaw, Virginia and recently moved to Crestview to be closer to her son who is serving in the US Army with the 7th Group. She is CPR Certified and has a passion for working with Seniors. Crystal has previous experience in banking before transitioning to Senior living. She has worked in Activities as well as the Administrative Departments and has experience in all aspects of the community! She began her career with The Blake as a Personal Assistant where she got to know the residents and loves hearing their stories. Her favorite part of working with seniors is helping them to feel connected to the community that they are a part of and to learn all about their history and past experiences. Crystal’s favorite part of working at The Blake is how quickly the staff and residents have become like family for her and helped her to settle into her new home! When she is not at work, Crystal loves adventure! She enjoys checking out new places and spending time with family whenever she can. She also loves relaxing at home with her dog, Holly, and her cat, Bijou!

Emily is originally from Flomaton, a tiny town in Alabama. She is currently working on her Activity Director and Dementia Practitioner certifications. She started her work in senior living as an aide on the floor, then progressed to become a medical technician. After this, Emily had the opportunity to become an activity assistant and, over three years, worked her way up to the position of activity director before coming to The Blake. Emily loves getting to know each of our residents and knowing that she brings joy to their lives. She loves the atmosphere; the employees and residents are the best part. She says, “it really feels like a family here”.

When she’s not working, she is with her family. She is the oldest of six and can’t imagine life without them. She is also very much into photography and being crafty whenever she can. When she first got into assisted living, someone shared a quote with her that really stuck: “To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care enough and be there.” She thinks everyone should strive to make someone’s day just a little better and by doing so we will make the world a lot better.

Azilee is originally from Waverly Hall, Georgia, but has spent most of her life in Northwest Florida. She attended WCDC in Defuniak Springs for her LPN, as well as Fortis College in Pensacola Florida for her RN. She is also VOHRA wound care certified, BLS, and has experience in LTC Infection Prevention. Azilee has 16 years in LTC/SNF including Medical Records, MDS, Charge Nurse, Evening Supervisor, Unit Manager and Director of Nursing. Her favorite part of working with seniors is helping them return and maintain their prior level of function. She lovesseeing them progress in their ADL’s, while building confidence. Her favorite part of working at The Blake is building relationships with the residents and families.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

When not working, she can be found reading or playing with her 2 dogs and 3 cats. She is also a mother to 2 boys. Montana, who is 21 years old and has been in the navy for 3 + years, while Dakota, 20, is in RN school.

Karen grew up in Freeport, Florida and truly loves being a part of this amazing community. When she is not at The Blake, Karen enjoys spending her time with her family and friends. As our Walk with Me Coordinator, Karen brings activity, excitement, and joy to our Memory Care residents. She coordinates our daily activities and events and makes it her mission to build a relationship with each resident and their family. Prior to joining The Blake, Karen began as the Activity Director before moving to the Marketing Director for a local non-profit community and is a trained Med tech and both first aid and CPR certified. Karen is strong in her faith and passionate about helping residents live an enriched life. For Karen, working with seniors is not just her chosen profession, it is her calling. She loves spending time with seniors to learn the wealth of knowledge they share with her and hearing about their childhoods and other events that shaped their lives. Karen’s favorite part about working at The Blake is the professionalism among the staff and the smiles from the residents!