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Management Team

Elie

Elie Pollak

CEO/President

Elie joined the Handmaker team in 2019 as Chief Executive Officer. Since his start, he has successfully streamlined various business processes and effectively led the growth, expansion, and innovation for Handmaker.

Elie was born and raised in New York City and is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator in both the state of Arizona and New York. Elie has a passion for Long Term Care and bringing quality care to the Geriatric population. He has successfully overseen many different Skilled Nursing Facilities in a wide range of acute and clinical settings. Elie has four boys; Joshua, Dovi, Benny, and Joseph; and one daughter, Shari, with his wife Talia.

Kristin-Oeder

Kristin Goldstrom Oeder

Regional Director of Operations

Kristin is an experienced healthcare executive with more than two decades of leadership in skilled nursing and senior care. She brings a deep commitment to quality, compassion, and operational excellence, with a career focused on building strong teams, stabilizing complex organizations, and improving outcomes for residents and families.

Kristin holds undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Gerontology/Nursing Home Administration, an MBA in Healthcare Management, and is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator and Assisted Living Administrator. She is also completing doctoral studies focused on gerontology and leadership. As a Certified Credentialed Gerontologist and Certified Dementia Practitioner, her training and academic background, combined with hands-on operational experience, allows her to approach senior care through a human-centered lens.

Throughout her career, Kristin has led facilities through periods of growth, regulatory challenge, and transformation, always with a focus on dignity, safety, and person-centered care. She is known for her collaborative leadership style, transparent communication, and ability to create cultures where staff feel supported and residents feel truly at home.

Kristin is passionate about advocating for older adults, supporting caregivers, and ensuring that long-term care environments reflect respect, integrity, and excellence. She is honored to serve residents and families and considers it a privilege to be entrusted with their care. 

Brian Balliet

Brian Balliet

Administrator

Originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Brian spent the first 13 years of his working life working at a nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pennsylvania. His bachelor’s degree in safety management led him to his second career, in the nursing home industry as a Risk Manager in a 790-bed, county-owned, nursing home in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. After earning his certificate as a Nursing Home Administrator and then his license, he went on to be one of two Administrators in that same nursing home.

Brian and his wife moved to Tucson in 2014. Brian has served as the Administrator at several nursing homes here in Tucson before making his way to Handmaker, where he plans on staying until his retirement.

He and his wife have a blended family of four children (three girls and a boy) ranging in age from 34 to 42, and six grandchildren ranging in age from three months to 22 years old.

In his spare time Brian can be found at the Tucson Convention Center, where he is a Supervisor of the American Hockey League Off-Ice Officials. He and his wife also enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and traveling to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Taylor Pouder

Taylor Pouder

Director of Nursing

Taylor was born in Northern Arizona and has lived in Arizona her entire life. She began assisting residents at the age of 12, helping with call lights and passing water and ice cream in a nursing home where her mother worked as a wound nurse, laying an early foundation for her passion for long-term care.

Taylor officially entered the nursing profession as a Certified Nursing Assistant at age 18, worked her way through nursing school, and became a Registered Nurse in 2014, shortly before the birth of her first child. As a new mother, she continued her professional growth by earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University (GCU) through online studies while working as an Assistant Director of Nursing in Sierra Vista.

Her dedication to compassionate, dignified care was further shaped through deeply personal experience when she cared for her terminally ill brother and later took in and helped raise his children. These experiences strengthened her empathy, resilience, and unwavering commitment to advocacy for both residents and families.

Taylor leads with a collaborative and approachable leadership style focused on quality outcomes, regulatory excellence, safety, and staff development. She believes that strong teams and compassionate leadership are essential to delivering exceptional care.

Outside of work, Taylor enjoys spending time with her husband and their three beautiful children, as well as caring for her beloved french bulldogs. These moments at home help ground her leadership in compassion, balance, and the importance of connection.

Photo of Travis Wissinger

Travis Wissinger

Chief Financial Officer

Travis joined Handmaker in February 2020. He is a seasoned finance and accounting professional with over 15 years of healthcare industry experience. Travis is responsible for financial matters at Handmaker, including budgeting, internal and external reporting, and assisting the CEO with business development. Before joining Handmaker, Travis was the Controller at Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, Arizona.

Travis earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona, and Master’s degree from the University of Phoenix. In his spare time, Travis enjoys spending time with his wife and children, hiking, watching sporting events, and the outdoors.

Jena-Vass

Jena Vass

Assistant Director of Nursing

Jena is a passionate and dedicated Licensed Practical Nurse with over 12 years of healthcare industry experience. Her current focus is to provide quality care in Long Term and Skilled Nursing Facilities. Before joining Handmaker in March of 2025 she worked at multiple facilities in the Tucson and Sierra Vista areas.

Jena grew up in Sierra Vista and graduated from Cochise College of Nursing with her Practical Nursing License. Her next educational goal is to attain her Registered Nursing license which will allow her to grow professionally while continuing to provide compassionate and quality care to our Handmaker community.

Cydney Turner

Cydney Turner

Marketing/Admissions Coordinator

Cydney is passionate about the senior living industry, with extensive personal and professional senior care experience, including over 20 years at Handmaker. She offers compassionate guidance to seniors and their families as they make important decisions about this stage of their lives, and her vast knowledge and understanding of the operations and staff at Handmaker help to inform these decisions.

Born and raised in Tucson, Cydney knows the community well and utilizes all of her resources to make sure that each resident receives the care and personal assistance they need. When she is not at Handmaker, Cydney can be found spending time with her family and her horses.

mikefelde-small

Mike Felde

Director of Food and Facility Services

Mike has been in the food service industry for nearly thirty years. During this time, Mike has worked at a wide variety of restaurants and hotels in Tucson, starting as a dishwasher, and learning new skills in order to advance his career as a Chef. Mike has been the Sous Chef at several notable fine dining and four-star restaurants, including The Lodge at Ventana Canyon and Hacienda Del Sol.

In 2006 Mike started at Handmaker as the Executive Chef, and is now the Director of Food and Facility Services. During his time at Handmaker he has learned a great deal about Kosher foods and the role it plays in the lives of Handmaker residents.

Rachel Dorf

Rachel Dorf

Human Resources Director

Rachel began her career at Handmaker as a volunteer in the HR department. Her passion and dedication resulted in her hiring in 1997. After nine years, she became the Director of Human Resources in 2006. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management.