Joyce Perkins
Executive Director
Joyce Perkins comes to Solstice at Auburn with a lengthy background in senior living, including experience in independent living, memory care and assisted living. Joyce moved from the Bay Area to Auburn in 1994, and has lived and worked in the area for more than two decades. In that time, she has grown to know our community well. She has gained the trust of our residents and worked tirelessly to improve our Solstice community. She has worked to lead our employees and residents back into a vibrant life of increased socializing and multiple mealtime offerings, while continuing to tackle challenges stemming from the pandemic.
Her favorite thing about Solstice at Auburn is being able to assist family and friends in the area and provide love and support. She brings this attitude to work and treats every resident like family. Every voice matters, and she looks to resident feedback in order to make our small world better.
Paula Sellers
Senior Director of Sales and Marketing
Liz Steger
Business Office Director
Liz Steger joins the Solstice at Auburn team with four years of experience in assisted living and memory care. As the Business Office director, Liz oversees the maintenance team and night manager, while also handling all aspects of scheduling, operations and accounting.
Liz has lived in Auburn for six years and knows the area well. When asked what she loves most about Solstice, Liz says it’s the residents. She really cares about their well-being and works every day to make their lives better. In her free time, Liz loves to cross-stitch and sew, and is an avid reader.
Theresa St. Clair
Culinary Services Director
Chef Theresa St. Clair brings over 20 years of culinary experience to her role as Culinary Services Director, from executive chef to executive pastry chef to personal chef and caterer for celebrity clients, company parties and corporate events.
Most recently, Theresa served as chef and director of recipe development for Farm Fresh To You in Northern California, where she was featured in Edible Sacramento. She also served as executive pastry chef for a large catering company in Los Angeles, where her creative talents and delicious creations were enjoyed by major corporations like DIRECTV, Skechers and Northern Trust, as well as Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. Theresa’s desserts were featured on the cover of Catering Magazine.
As a member of the opening team for Villetta, a fine dining restaurant in Santa Monica, Theresa served as executive pastry chef, and her innovative desserts and pastries were featured in 10 publications, including the Los Angeles Times. Theresa also served as served as executive chef and pastry chef with GoodFood at Smashbox Studios, where she prepared pastries for hundreds of events per year, including Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, worked as a sous chef and set coordinator on cooking show “Iron Chef America,” collaborated with celebrity chefs in the Macy’s Culinary Council, co-produced ChefDance at Sundance Film Festival, and currently serves as lead culinary instructor for Sur La Table.
An honor graduate of the California School of Culinary Arts’ Le Cordon Bleu program, a former model and actress, Theresa is imaginative, driven and talented. She looks forward to creating inspired and delicious dishes for residents at Solstice at Auburn.
Cathleen Sommer
Vibrant Life Director
Cathleen Sommer has worked as the Vibrant Life director for more than seven years. Her residents have become her extended family, and she considers spending time with them her favorite part of the job. Before working with seniors, Cathleen was a mentor coordinator with junior high and high school students. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and pets, playing golf, watching movies, and summer softball.
