Naples senior living exec reflects on personal career 'why'

Kristina Carlevale was her grandmother’s caretaker during her battle with Alzheimer’s disease. “I watched Alzheimer’s take over right before my eyes,” she says. That experience has inspired her 12 years of work in the senior living field, which began in nursing home administration and then transitioned into the independent living sector. 

Now as executive director at Discovery Village Independent Living at Naples, Carlevale leads a community of 185 residents. “I love the relationships you get to build both with the residents and your team,” she says. “I always tell my team members to get to know the residents. These people have lived a long life, and they’ve been through so many things…The residents love telling you about themselves, and you build that relationship that makes those residents feel like your family.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Of course, it’s not always easy to care about people that much and then see them reach the end of life. “It doesn’t get easier,” says Carlevale. “But now the way I view it is, I’m lucky to have known them for the time that I’ve known them. And I will take that over not knowing them.”

When it comes to building and leading her team, she draws on lessons learned from her mentor and former boss, Allen Geckle. He hired her when she only had a couple of years of experience and guided her as she grew in her career. “Anytime I would have a concern, he was always available and always accessible,” she says.

He encouraged her to come up with solutions to her own problems, something she does with her team today. “He taught me autonomy and taught me the fact that there are multiple ways of doing one thing,” she says. “I think the right mentor can really make you a phenomenal leader. It gives you the foundation that you need to be very successful, and I wish that everybody would have one just like I did.”

Carlevale’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Moscow when she was 12, and she and her sister worked in the European-style grocery store her father started. But when it was time for college, her parents wanted their children to follow their own paths. The mom of three — a champion figure skater when she was younger — now has her own family to care for along with her residents at Discovery Village, who remain a priority.

“My career is very important to me,” she says. “I always say I have my babies at home, but my career is also my baby.”