Behind every outstanding team is a remarkable coach, and Forest Ridge is no exception.  We’re happy to introduce Ellen Mutter, the Executive Director of Senior Care.  Ellen has dedicated her 37-year professional career to working in healthcare a... Behind every outstanding team is a remarkable coach, and Forest Ridge is no exception.  We’re happy to introduce Ellen Mutter, the Executive Director of Senior Care.  Ellen has dedicated her 37-year professional career to working in healthcare and senior living.  She spent twenty-two of those years in leadership positions and has been the Executive Director at Forest Ridge for the past 10 years. Ellen earned a BS in Business & Professional Communications from Mt. Mary University and an MS in Non-Profit Leadership & Management from UW-Milwaukee.  In 1989 she began working for Wheaton Franciscan Hospitals (now Ascension) in the social work department coordinating senior services available to people in the community.  She primarily worked at Elmbrook Memorial Hospital and St. Francis Hospital, with some time spent at St. Joseph’s and St. Michael Hospitals.  She worked for a non-profit community-based services company in Racine for 15 years as the director of multiple services including private duty in-home care, volunteer services, two adult day care centers, including one she started from virtually the ground up, as well as Meals on Wheels.  In 2004 she assumed responsibility for senior living communities, including assisted living, and found this to be the role in which she felt most effective as a leader. We asked Ellen to share a little more about herself… What do you enjoy most about your role? I enjoy seeing new ideas come to fruition for the benefit of our residents, whether it is a new service, program, or improvement to current practices. What do you find most rewarding about working with residents and their families? Being recognized as someone residents and their families can trust and working through difficult situations with them. What makes our community special to you? The team: any building can look beautiful, but the staff make a building a home.  The warmth, safety, and happiness comes from the staff, not four walls. What three words would your friends or coworkers use to describe you? 1. Creative, 2. Dedicated, 3. Ethical What would people be surprised to learn about you? My passion for working with older adults was planted as a seed at age 11 when I joined my Grandma in volunteering at Shorehaven Nursing Home in Oconomowoc. What are your favorite hobbies or activities outside of work? I’m a homebody who is happiest putzing around the house and yard.  I also enjoy playing with and caring for my dogs.
Do you have a favorite book, movie, sports team, or pastime? I am somewhat obsessed with YouTube – any topic you can imagine likely has a plethora of videos about it!  Whenever I have a DIY project, I hit up YouTube first!
What is your favorite way to spend a day off? I don’t have a particular favorite, I just appreciate a day off for the simplicity of not having to answer to a clock or anyone! What would you like prospective residents and their families to know about Forest Ridge? Our team truly does make a difference.  This should be evident from the moment you walk in the door for a tour to the day you celebrate living here for 10 years – we are not just another senior living community.  We hire and retain employees who want to be here and give their best every day for the benefit of our residents.

We’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Schiek who is the Director of Health Services at Forest Ridge Senior Community. Kim is an RN (Registered Nurse) with a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) from Carroll University. She has worked in senio... We’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Schiek who is the Director of Health Services at Forest Ridge Senior Community. Kim is an RN (Registered Nurse) with a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) from Carroll University. She has worked in senior living or healthcare for the past 16 years as a nurse in skilled nursing facilities, sub-acute rehab facilities, memory care communities, high acuity assisted living communities, and senior living communities. She has been a member of the Forest Ridge team for 5 months.
We asked Kim to share a little more about herself…
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy being able to make a difference in someone’s life and help them maintain their wellbeing and independence.
What do you find most rewarding about working with residents and their families?
Everyone here is so nice and I enjoy spending time with residents and getting to know them better.
What makes our community special to you?
I enjoy all the different clubs and activities that are offered here. It is fun to connect with residents who share similar hobbies and interests as well as learning about hobbies that are unfamiliar to me!
What are your favorite hobbies or activities outside of work?
I love to bake! In addition to baking for friends and family, I do volunteer baking for youth in the foster care system and competitive baking at the State Fair.
Do you have a favorite book, movie, sports team, or pastime?
I am a huge Brewers fan, and I love watching or going to games!
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
I love to go out to eat and trying new food or restaurants.
What would you like prospective residents and their families to know about Forest Ridge?
Forest Ridge is truly a welcoming and friendly place to live and work!

Part of what sets Forest Ridge apart from the rest are the incredible activities, so we’d like to take a moment to introduce the lifeforce behind those activities – Lori Sisolak! Lori has been on the Wimmer Communities Property Management Team f... Part of what sets Forest Ridge apart from the rest are the incredible activities, so we’d like to take a moment to introduce the lifeforce behind those activities – Lori Sisolak! Lori has been on the Wimmer Communities Property Management Team for over 17 years. As she tells it, she made an excellent career change over 3 years ago when she moved from another Wimmer property to Forest Ridge.
We asked Lori to share a little more about herself…
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy helping, assisting, and working with the residents.
What do you find most rewarding about working with residents and their families?
The most rewarding part for me is watching the positive changes I see in the residents. For example, the increased mobility from my fitness class students, and watching residents utilize information learned from our many guest speakers who bring great knowledge and healthy living tips. I’m also gratified to know small ways I may assist individual residents.
What makes our community special to you?
I have wanted to work with senior residents and help them in any way possible since the passing of my mother back in 2013. I’m so glad I could make that career transition while staying with Wimmer Communities.
What three words would your friends or coworkers use to describe you?
I know this is a phrase, but I think they would say that they feel they can come to me, ask me questions…engaging…caring.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
They might be surprised to learn that I had worked for a major airline and was a travel agent.
What are your favorite hobbies or activities outside of work?
I love the outdoors – flowers, gardening, walking. I enjoy reading, decorating, and trying new foods and restaurants.
Do you have a favorite book, movie, sports team, or pastime?
Brewers, Packers, Bucks! I love all kinds of movies and love seeing them in the theater. I also love traveling and being on the beach.
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
My three favorites are self-rejuvenation, spending the day at the pool in summer, and being with family and friends.
What would you like prospective residents and their families to know about Forest Ridge?
Our tight-knit residents foster a remarkably supportive environment where neighbors always look out for one another. Guided by an educated, compassionate, and genuinely devoted staff – some of the finest professionals I have ever worked with – you can rest assured your loved ones are in the very best hands.

Our Director of Community Services, Lori Woodie, has over 30 years’ experience working in the multifamily housing industry, five of which were spent here at Forest Ridge. Lori started in this industry as a Housekeeper and has held every onsite p... Our Director of Community Services, Lori Woodie, has over 30 years’ experience working in the multifamily housing industry, five of which were spent here at Forest Ridge. Lori started in this industry as a Housekeeper and has held every onsite position there is, from Housekeeping to Maintenance Tech to Leasing Agent to Manager, and then to Property Director.
We asked Lori to share a little more about herself…
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I most enjoy meeting all the new prospects and their families and showing them everything Forest Ridge has to offer so they can see how fun and carefree their life can be living here.
What do you find most rewarding about working with residents and their families?
After the resident has moved into Forest Ridge, I’m most rewarded by seeing them enjoy a birthday party or having a meal in our dining room or hanging out with their new neighbors.
What makes our community special to you?
Having worked in several other communities I realize that when you walk into Forest Ridge it feels like home.
What are your favorite hobbies or activities outside of work?
I enjoy working with wood, making trunks to toolboxes, stools, and benches. I refinish furniture, stripping, staining, and painting. I enjoy seeing a piece of discarded furniture turn into something someone loves.
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
I have a 10-pound chiweenie named Lucy and she loves to help me in my garden where I grow so many veggies that I have to can them – dilly beans, pickles, tomatoes, and peppers. We also love to run up the back of my property to the apple and pear trees where she sits and waits for me to pick her apples and pears to eat.
What would you like prospective residents and their families to know about Forest Ridge?
Forest Ridge is filled with so many wonderful residents with a community/family feeling. There are so many ways to socialize and create lasting friendships.