Woodland Palms Memory Care
Our Team

Mary Mizer joined the Woodland Palms community as Administrator in 2020, bringing over a decade of varied experience in social services and a genuine passion for helping improve the quality of life of others.

Having been raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania, one of Mary’s earliest childhood memories is of picking blueberries and baking muffins with her grandmother. “My whole life I’ve always felt a strong connection with elders”. As a US Navy Veteran, she enjoys a unique bond with residents who have also served. Mary earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from University of Maryland University College, completing most of her coursework while living overseas. She finds this career to be fulfilling, meaningful, and significant and can’t imagine working in anything other than a helping profession.

In her spare time, Mary is kept busy by her two young daughters, Alyssa and Katherine. She enjoys baking, reading, and visiting the gym.

Meredith Miller joined Woodland Palms as the Administrative Assistant in 2018. As she had the ability to connect with families and help them join the Woodland Palms family, she decided her goal was to become our next Community Relations Director. When the opportunity arose in mid-2020, Meredith went for it, and never looked back. She enjoys working with our elders and is looking forward to helping our community grow.

Although this is Meredith’s first time working in senior living, it is not her only experience. In fact, both her mother and sister have worked in senior care for many years and she has had the pleasure of volunteering at their communities.

At home, Meredith’s pride and joy is her daughter Mackenzie, a firecracker who loves keeping her mom on her toes. In her free time, Meredith loves to do art projects with her daughter such as drawing and painting.

According to Kathy, joining Woodland Palms has been a real joy! She says that most of her work experience has been in an office either as a secretary or a manager and that typing has always been the fun part. She likes being with seniors because, "they know what you’re talking about and referring to, like Clark Gable and dial phones." Her non-working time is mostly spent with her son and his family. His youngest daughter is definitely her best buddy and little shadow. If there’s any time left over, her hobbies are reading and writing murder mysteries.

Dawn has lived in Tucson since 2004. She joined Woodland Palms in 2019 as the Wellness Coordinator and moved up to fill the Wellness Director position in December 2022. She finds her nursing career very satisfying because the foundation of it is the ability to make someone else's day better. Getting to make a positive impact in someone else's life is very important and fulfilling for her. “I get to spend time with our residents and know them on a personal level. I take their health and well-being very seriously and am looking forward to providing nothing less than the best I can for our community." Dawn finds it rewarding to lead such an amazing team of caregivers and be a part of this facility, which has been nominated two years in a row for Best Memory Care Community in Tucson. She looks forward to continually improving our community and setting a high standard for what memory care should look like.

In Dawn's spare time, she enjoys the great city of Tucson with family and friends! She is a mother of 5 and loves to watch her children participate in sports. They love to get outdoors, go swimming, watch sports, go to the movies, and visit museums.

Teresa has been a caregiver since 2011 and joined the Woodland Palms team in 2023. She has the heart for the meaningful work we do and is full of compassion for all. Teresa enjoys close bonds with the residents and treats them as family. She is kept busy by her four children and enjoys camping, swimming, and going to the movies.

Ivan Mada joined Woodland Palms in 2020 as a certified caregiver. His mom introduced him to caregiving in 2011. He accepted the role as Wellness Coordinator in December 2022. Ivan was born in Tucson but spent his childhood in Mexico, coming back to Tucson when he was a teenager. He brings a lot of experience to our community and utilizes his Spanish on the job quite frequently. This helps a lot with our Spanish speaking residents.