Board Members

President

Darra Wray

Founder and Care Coach

Darra Wray is a business professional, senior care consultant, and caregiving advocate from Boise, Idaho.  Darra has over 30 years of practical business and finance experience and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.  She also has a lifetime of personal experience as a family caregiver and patient advocate.  She developed a true passion for family caregiving and elder care services through her personal life experiences. 

In 2018, Darra became a Certified Senior Adviser (CSA) and launched My Care Companions.   The mission of My Care Companions is to provide education, tools, and resources to older adults and family caregivers.  In 2020, she founded LEARN - Lifelong Education and Aging Resources Network Inc, a non-profit organization with a mission to help people navigate the joys and challenges of aging and caregiving.   Darra received the Service to Seniors award at the 2024 CSA Conference in recognition of her leadership of LEARN. 

Darra co-authored the book Winning Strategies for Family Caregiving: Lessons from Family Game Night to help families learn how to “play” together to support their loved ones in the end-game goal to have the best quality of life possible while preserving relationships and resources. She invites you to join her crusade to help individuals and families more effectively navigate and manage the family caregiving process.

Vice President

Sherri Waddell

Sherri Waddell is on a mission to empower Idaho’s seniors and families with the knowledge, resources, and compassionate guidance they need to navigate life’s most important transitions with confidence.  She has built a career focused on planning and protection,  From her work in life insurance and annuities to advanced care and final expense planning, she has guided families through complex decisions with clarity and care.  Sherri’s expertise spans financial security, legacy planning, and innovative senior care solutions, with the goal of reducing stress and fostering peace of mind. 

As the Northwest Regional Sales Executive for Western Seniormatics Grand App AI, she leads initiatives that bring cutting-edge technology into senior living communities. The Grand App AI platform delivers proactive fall prevention, real-time monitoring, and streamlined communication tools that not only improve resident safety but also ease staff workload, reduce liability, and provide families with greater peace of mind.

Sherri serves as Vice President of both LearnIdaho.org and the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Idaho. In addition, she actively engages in local organizations and partnerships that strengthen families and communities throughout Idaho. Sherri is deeply committed to connecting seniors and their loved ones with trusted resources that support both independence and dignity. Her goal is to simplify the process, relieve burdens, and ensure families feel supported every step of the way.

Secretary

Julie Torresani

Julie Torresani is the Southwest Idaho Area Agency on Aging (SWIA3), Community Care Program Supervisor. Texas born and raised, Julie has a Bachelor of Social Work from Stephen F. Austin State University of Nacogdoches, Texas. Julie moved to Boise, Idaho in 2003 and started her career with the Agency on Aging as a case manager. A job transfer moved the Torresani family to Viginia for a few years where Julie worked as a stay-at-home mom with the job title, “Household Manager.” After receiving a job transfer back to Boise, Julie returned to SWIA3 in 2017. With the support from SWIA3 Executive Director, Raul Enriquez, Julie’s primary focus is developing services to address caregivers’ needs. Julie is the supervisor for SWIA3 Kinship Program which includes grandparents and relatives raising kinship children. In 2022, The Community Care Program implemented and
serves caregivers across the state of Idaho taking care of an individual with memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s Disease.

Julie’s passion is serving and advocating for caregiver services and needs. She has an incredibly supportive husband and two children who volunteer when asked to help support her work. Julie is on the Board of Directors for LEARN Idaho and is committed to serving seniors, caregivers, professionals, and the public in achieving and maintaining their highest level of independence.

Treasurer

Tina Barnett

Tina Barnett is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA®) and co-founder of Elderberry Care, a consulting firm with a focus on assisting older adults with technology. Tina has a passion for helping older adults and caregivers harness technology to enhance and improve their lives. 

Tina is a trainer and administrator of LEARN’s technology pilot program delivering free technology training to older adults in the Treasure Valley. This program is in partnership with OATS and Senior Planet, charitable affiliates of AARP.

Texas born and raised, Tina has a BA in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Tyler. She considers herself a true outdoors-loving Idahoan after almost three decades of living and raising her family in Boise. As a co-founder of Creatures of Light Productions, Tina has consulted to numerous nonprofits helping raise awareness by engaging audiences through compassionate storytelling via film, social media and direct donor outreach, working with Ballet Idaho, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho, Ventana Sierra, and others, as well as serving on the Board of Directors of Idaho Media Professionals.

Community Engagement Chair

Kathy Lacina

Kathy Lacina is a Placement Specialist for Oasis Senior Advisors of SW Idaho. Prior to that, she served as a community outreach specialist for senior living communities and was the Sales Director for Revel Eagle, an over 55 senior living community in Eagle, ID. Her career has spanned decades of working in the retail and technology industries. She entered the senior care industry and discovered her passion for serving the seniors in the Treasure Valley. Her positions in home and health care have given her an added perspective on the challenges that seniors face as they continue on their life journey. Her position at Oasis allows her to draw from all those experiences when helping seniors find their forever home. 

Kathy has served on several committees relating to senior care in the Treasure Valley including Idaho Guardians and Fiduciary Association, HAPPEN, Idaho Health Continuum of Care Alliance and LEARN.

Education Chair

Lake Bancroft

Membership Chair

Karen Midlo

Karen Midlo is a trained End-of-Life Doula and a David Kessler Certified Grief Educator. In 2023, Karen started End-of-Life Doulas-Idaho, a free directory listing of End-of-Life Doulas so people in Idaho can find end-of-life resources easily. 

Karen holds a B.S. in Education from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.  She has an extensive background with over 20+ years in elder care, including working in senior communities around the country, dementia care, hospice, mental health and other elder health issues. She is a passionate advocate for seniors and their families.

Karen’s husband died in 1998 and she knows that without the love and support of the senior community where she worked, she would not have been able to heal as well as she did. She made it her life mission to help and support others, especially around death and dying as a way of giving back to those who supported and listened to her at one of the most challenging times of her life.

Karen is involved with The Boise Death Café and Living With Death—programs that welcome conversations about living and dying.  She is an active member of the Treasure Valley Community and volunteers with various organizations that serve the senior and homeless population. She also volunteers with several local hospices.

Karen is passionate about helping people have difficult conversations around the kitchen table vs the hospital bed. Her favorite saying is “Hope is not a plan!”