The Carefield Living Team
The Carefield Living Team brings together a dedicated group of talented individuals with a variety of backgrounds and skills focused on the mission of providing a better way of living for elderly adults who need assistance with their activities of daily life.
Steven Barklis
Managing Partner
Steve Barklis is a founder and managing partner of Carefield Living. He is primarily responsible for strategic planning, capital and acquisitions for the company. Over a thirty-year career in commercial real estate, Steve has been involved in the evaluation, negotiation, financing and acquisition of well over five hundred million dollars of commercial real estate assets. As a real estate investment consultant and asset manager, Steve completed projects on behalf of public and private sector clients for commercial property types including hotel, condo-hotel, senior housing, multi-family, office, retail, restaurant, self-storage, mixed-use properties and land. Steve has also managed the acquisition, entitlement, asset management and development of large, mixed use projects including the Hyatt Regency Orange County and the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego.
In 2008, Steve formed Solana Advisors, LLC with partner Gary Elam with a focus on the acquisition and asset management of hospitality and senior living properties. In 2015 Steve and Gary launched Carefield Senior Living to focus exclusively on senior living. In the past five years, the Carefield team led by Steve and Gary has acquired and completed major renovations on five senior assisted living communities, and has also acquired and entitled six senior living development projects, all in California.
Steve is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), and an alumnus of the University of Arizona. Steve and Vicky Barklis live in Rancho Santa Fe, CA and have two daughters. Steve is also an amateur musician and songwriter.
Gary Elam
Managing Partner
Gary is a founder and managing partner of Carefield Living. Gary oversees all of the asset management activities of the company, including due diligence, underwriting, closing, financing, legal, and property management. With an extensive background in equity investment in commercial real estate assets, Gary is also responsible for all joint venture and investor partnership documentation and reporting.
Gary was formerly a Managing Director, and the Chief Operating Officer, of Hunter Chase & Company, a nationwide private equity firm based in Carlsbad, California and Dallas, Texas. He has broad institutional quality expertise in both equity structuring and finance, and hands-on development and construction project management.
Gary has over 25 years’ experience in performing and non-performing real estate operations, development and finance. He has designed and implemented nationwide platforms for equity underwriting, closing, and post-closing asset management and collection.
Gary is a California real estate broker, and CCIM. He is also a California attorney, having specialized in real estate and tax law for 10 years prior to leaving private practice. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Santa Clara, and post-graduate degrees from the University of California at Davis (Law), and the University of San Diego (Taxation).
Gary is a third generation San Diegan. He and his wife have two sons and reside in Poway, California. Gary enjoys running, bicycling, camping and whitewater river rafting.
Breck Austin
Chief Operating Officer
Breck is the Chief Operating Officer for Carefield Management. Breck has more than 28 years of management experience in the service industry, including 18 years in senior housing. Prior to Carefield he was the Vice President of Operations for Clearwater Living, a senior housing company based in of Newport Beach, California. At Clearwater, Breck was engaged in the management of a portfolio of 18 independent living communities and 2 assisted living communities.
Breck previously was the Operations Project Manager for Kisco Senior Living, one of the premier senior living companies in the United States. At Kisco, Breck was charged with implementing operations at all levels and acted as a liaison to development for all acquisitions and start- ups. Breck held various positions at Kisco over a 18 year period including Operations Manager and Executive Director for small and large communities. In addition to operations positions, Breck was also the company Controller for eight years, and was responsible for all day to day accounting functions for Kisco Senior Living communities and associated partnerships. He provided direction to the centralized accounting and system conversions ensuring compliance with internal controls, reporting and financial results. He managed $25 million in annual revenue and payroll for over 2400 associates across the county, including benefits and insurance renewals He was also responsible for contributing to the leadership services team that developed programs to monitor and improve all aspects of financial performance, service quality, and compliance and customer relationships. He was recognized for his achievements at Kisco with the President’s Award and was also honored with ALFA’s national Hero Awardee.
Breck’s educational background is in Accounting and Business Administration and he is a certified Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) Administrator in California. He also is a certified California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE) Examiner, a state program that mirrors the Baldrige National Quality Program. He has served as a state President for Cabrillo Civic Clubs of California and a board member for Guardian Angels. He and his wife, Jacqui live in Vista, California.
Priscilla Mungor
Strategic Projects Manager
Priscilla Mungor is the Director of Operations for Carefield Living. Priscilla worked as a medical business optimization consultant before joining the Carefield team. She also previously owned and operated an in-home care company for the elderly.
Priscilla began her geriatric clinical experience with a large home health company in San Antonio, Texas. Priscilla is a certified California Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE ) administrator and an Alumnus of the University of New Mexico.
Priscilla lives in Encinitas, California with her two children and dogs. She loves walking on the beach and hiking on the weekends with her dogs, and is a community volunteer with the Alzheimer's Association, Ronald McDonald House and other charitable organizations.
Lisa Wilkes-Barber
Director of Sales
Lisa Wilkes joined Carefield Living in 2020 with 25 years of senior living sales and marketing expertise and experience. Lisa has successfully opened many new and transitioned communities throughout the United States by providing leadership, training and sales performance management. Her career history includes sales management positions for such notable senior living companies as Avenida, Sunrise Senior Living, Marriott, Kisco Senior Living and HCR-Manor Care.
Lisa implements Carefield sale strategy and innovation while guiding community sales teams, and coordinating company marketing efforts and social media presence with a focus on attracting new residents and empowering Carefield sales leaders to grow and maintain community occupancy. As a team oriented leader who inspires by example, she has spearheaded a new company web presence, training programs and performance metrics.
Lisa hails from Minnesota with a diverse and varied education in Gerontology, Social Services, and Psychology.
Katrina Lee
Director of Marketing
Katrina joins Carefield Living with over 10 years of experience in the senior living industry. With a wide range of skills, she has directed social media strategies for senior living communities, and has a wealth of digital marketing knowledge in addition to traditional marketing. Katrina manages all of the media planning, advertorials, human interest stories, social media, reputation management, print advertising and more for Carefield Living. Above all, she enjoys storytelling through marketing and loves to write about Carefield Living's residents and their life's stories. Outside of Carefield Living, she is an avid circus aerialist specializing in circus Lyra, silks, hammock and flying trapeze.
Kari Dietz
Director of Design and Product Management
Kari manages the design and aesthetic for Carefield Living across disciplines. While primarily focused on the design and coordination of development projects and the implementation of renovations and large capital improvements for the company acquisitions, Kari is also involved in the aesthetic and presentation of the overall Carefield experience. She has been with Carefield since its inception and has 12 years of experience in real estate and asset management for a variety of property types including hospitality and retail.
Kari graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut College with a Bachelor of Arts degree specializing in studio art, architectural studies, and botany. Kari loves to workout, has a weakness for crafting, and is always up for a home improvement project. She lives in San Diego with her husband, young son and two English labs.
Richard S. Landreth
Director of Development
Rich Landreth is the Director of Development for Carefield Living. Rich is also the owner of Landreth Company and Vertical Masonry, with over 35 years of experience in managing commercial real estate development, land/project planning and entitlements, construction management, engineering, as well as all levels of governmental compliance.
Rich also has expertise in portfolio management for nationally recognized companies, both public and private. Rich has worked on behalf of national lenders, private equity firms, institutions and real estate investment companies throughout the country, overseeing major construction projects in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada. Rich has provided services including construction management services, purchasing, entitlements, architectural, engineering, construction, sales and leasing for a variety of product types including medical office, hospital, manufacturing, industrial, commercial, public buildings, residential housing tracts and high-end estate homes.
Rich attended the Southern California Institute of Architecture and San Diego State University. He and his wife live in Carlsbad, California.
Zulma Munoz
Director of Accounting
Zulma Munoz is the Director of Accounting for Carefield Living. Over the past twenty years, Zulma has held various accounting positions in homebuilding, affordable housing, construction, and real estate industry. She holds a BA degree from UCLA and an MBA from University of Miami. In her spare time, she enjoys long distance running and political campaign volunteering. She resides in San Diego with her husband, two daughters and two dogs.
Mabel Gonzalez
Contracts Administrator
Mabel Gonzalez is the Contracts Administrator for Carefield Living and assists with various administrative needs. She formerly worked in the contracts department of a San Diego based residential home builder where she acquired purchasing, construction, and real estate industry experience. Mabel holds a Paralegal Certificate from Cuyamaca College. She is married to her high school sweetheart and together they have two dogs.
Josh Allen
Allen Flores Clinical Services
Josh Allen, RN, C-AL, is a principal partner with Allen Flores Clinical Services, providing clinical services support for Carefield Living. Josh has over 25 years of senior living experience and unmatched expertise in resident care, staff recruiting and development, regulatory compliance, and quality improvement. Josh consults on risk management and legal cases, including testifying as an expert on assisted living standards of care. He is certified in assisted living nursing by the American Assisted Living Nurses Association. He also serves on the California Assisted Living Association board of directors and is the past board chair of the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living.
The Allen Flores team includes nurses with technical expertise in deploying and supporting various electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medication administration records (EMAR). Allen Flores also provides a dedicated team of regional nurses (RN and LVN/LPN) to provide onsite community audits, training, and support. By consistently demonstrating expertise in dementia, resident care, and compliance-related continuing education, the Allen Flores Consulting Group has earned an excellent track record with state, licensing, and regulatory agencies.