CAROLYN ‘CJ’ MATTHEWS, Founder and Managing Member

• Former Director of Marketing for Residential Assisted Living Academy
• 35-years experience as a Business Strategic Management and Marketing Consultant
• Appeared on NBC, ABC, and FOX as an expert in building business through webinars and social media

Carolyn is the former Director of Marketing for the Residential Assisted Living Academy (RALA) and is a founding member of the Residential Assisted Living National Association, which helps to protect the rights of the Residential Assisted Living owner/operator. She is trained and certified as a Residential Assisted Living Specialist and has helped train and support other RAL owners start their group homes from the ground up. This first-hand industry experience with a reputable Assisted Living Academy is priceless information that will be used to successfully own and operate her own care home.

Carolyn is also the founder and CEO of High Octane Systems, Inc., and a B.S. Business Marketing Honor graduate from Oregon State University. Her specialties include strategic consulting and coaching for rapid business growth, personal development, negotiation training, marketing strategy plans, sales copy collateral, team building, cultural design, and development for in-house staff and customer/tribe attraction and retention. Through the use of webinars as a training and consulting tool, she has helped thousands build businesses on an international level. This experience will directly translate to efficient and effective marketing of the elder home which will equate to a quicker ramp to stabilization upon start-up and long-term steady profits.

CJ has developed powerful systems for sales, management, and marketing and used these skills to become the #1 National Sales Agent for GE Long Term Care Insurance. This role gave her the opportunity to dive into the ins and out of the assisted living industry. Most importantly, it gave her direct insight into the care setting preferences from the elders and their families. Carolyn is a voracious reader and lover of learning with a travel addiction. She can often be found in museums and historical libraries in her travels.

NICK KITTLE,  Founder and Managing Member

• Certified Caregiver and Medication Technician
• Associate trainer for The Eden Alternative
• Chronic Illness, Infection Control, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Endorsements

Nick’s fondness for the elderly began at an early age when he and his grandfather would spend time visiting senior care homes. Nick would tap dance, accompanied by his grandfather’s barbershop quartet. Many years later, these fond memories and some guidance from a mentor led him to the decision to expand into assisted living.

Nick has passed the State of Nevada required Health Care Quality and Compliance exam and completed Elder Abuse training as well as the Residential Facilities for Groups Intro class given by State Health Inspector, Donald Sampson. Nick is a certified Medication Technician and Caregiver with additional training in Infection Control, HIPAA compliance, Chronic Illness, and Alzheimer’s and Dementia care. All of his training took place at the ABBA Learning Center with Rosemary Womack. This training and knowledge will give Nick the ability to assist in the staffing and day-to-day operations of the care home.

Nick is an associate trainer with the Eden Alternative, an international, non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to creating a quality of life for Elders and their care partners, through education, consultation, and outreach. The Eden Alternative is a decades-old, internationally recognized brand, and its recognition helps funnel potential residents to care facilities in the Eden registry, of which The Quail House is the only group care home in the Vegas valley that has been Eden certified. This sought-after certification will give Nick a leg up on the competition when instilling resident-centric care in the elder care homes.

Nick’s more extraneous educational credits include the Dale Carnegie Communications Course Certification, accreditation through the National Outdoor Leadership School, two-week Desert Survival courses, and membership in PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America). He has traveled all over North America hitchhiking and staying in hostels while doing activities such as skiing, skydiving, bungee jumping, and numerous other outdoor adventures. Fun fact: Nick performed as a Blue Man in the world-renowned Blue Man Group at the Venetian in Las Vegas from 2007 – 2010, Nick brings to the team skills in leadership, communication, and networking. His focus is design & research, hiring, and overseeing day to day operations.

JUSTIN KNORR, Founder and Managing Member

• BS. in Biopsychology (Behavioral Neuroscience) from the University of Michigan
• 16 years of experience in facility operations, leading and managing teams across the customer service, hospitality, and extreme sports industries
• Managed a small business for 9 years, grossing more than $2M annually

As a detail-oriented scientist and an engineer at heart (he taught himself AutoCAD to create the plans for the Quail House Project), he claims problem-solving as his art form, and specializes in finding creative solutions to complicated problems. In 2007, he was recruited as an Instructor and Facilities Manager at Vegas Indoor Skydiving and quickly started making improvements. Through the tough recession and economic challenges, his eye for increasing efficiency consistently brought higher profits to the company. As a result, through these improvements and adjustments of internal processes and equipment, he was able to reduce the utility costs by 50% and lowered annual downtime from an average of 4-6 weeks to only 1 week. This experience and meticulous attention to detail will be invaluable when it comes time to oversee renovations and prepare for inspections from City and State officials.

Justin completed the State of Nevada required Health Care Quality and Compliance, Residential Facilities for Groups, Homes for Individual Residential Care, and Elder Abuse Training courses. He gained much experience while in the development process of two new 19 and 48 bed assisted living facilities (ALFs) where he was directly involved in the creation of the architectural plans as well as facilitating permitting and zoning. During the analysis of potential ALF acquisitions, Justin has gained a thorough knowledge of the local competitive ALF market, the City/State zoning and licensing requirements for such businesses and in-depth insight into the P&L’s of running a successful ALF business. He is focused on assisting the group build long-term wealth through acquisition and improvement of existing residential assisted living homes, and the development of new ALF projects in Las Vegas and other targeted communities around the country.

Outside of the workplace, Justin is an avid sailor, skier, and former competitive mountain biker and collegiate basketball player. He is also a successful financial forex trader, averaging a 100% annualized return. Recently, he sailed Lake Michigan for a month in a 1978 C&C 38. In his off time, has rebuilt several motorcycles, specializing in classic Japanese bikes.

        Dawn Aikels MSPT, RFA  Administrator

Dawn’s passion has always been to assist others. She started by obtaining her bachelor’s degree in athletic training and continued with a master’s in physical therapy. Her experience encompasses 30-plus years in the medical field, specializing in elderly therapy and their distinctive PT needs. After seeing, firsthand, the care of our seniors and understanding the wave of need that has been growing dramatically, Dawn decided to pivot her experience and knowledge into healthcare administration.

Now, as the administrator of the Quail House, she is able to focus her efforts on furthering the culture of quality senior care in Southern Nevada. She remains passionate about creating vibrant resident-centric environments in assisted living and memory care homes like the Quail House.

GENE GUARINO, President, and Founder – Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is a seasoned practitioner in the senior assisted home care industry. As a master trainer, he has helped thousands of entrepreneurs enhance their lives by helping them reach their business and financial goals. Gene is a 35 year business professional, a CFP (Certified Financial Planner in the US and Australia) and a published author. Mr. Guarino is president of Residential Assisted Living Academy™, “America’s Premier Training Organization in Residential Assisted Living Care Homes”. Mr. Guarino has been contracted by National Platinum Group, LLC to consult on an ongoing basis.