Meet Our Senior Living Professionals at Morada Abilene

Alysha Wooten

Executive Director

I’ve worked 14 years in Administrative and management positions in various industries. The past 5 years I’ve worked in Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Independent Living communities in various roles. Working in senior living allows me to combine my passion for helping others with a meaningful career. I’ve spent the last year and a half helping caring for my grandmother, going through all the phases of her journey help give me a stronger understanding of how to guide everyone through senior living. Outside of work I spend my time with my husband and our 3 teenage children, making memories and traveling. Along with making it a priority in growing in my faith, becoming more active in my church family.

Shannon Benson

Director of Celebrations

Shannon started working for Morada of Abilene in November 2023. She began working as concierge at the front desk and was thrilled when the opportunity opened for her to step into the Director of Celebrations position so she could spend more time one on one with our residents. A lifelong arts and crafts enjoyer, Shannon loves coming up with new projects curated to everyone’s interests – and being challenged to a friendly hand of UNO by residents after lunch. Originally a native of Abilene, Shannon lived in eight other places around the United States before circling back to the Key City area when the Air Force brought her husband to Dyess. They have two daughters who inherited Shannon’s love of all things arts and crafts, and they were unexpectedly adopted by a black cat a year ago, too. In her free time, Shannon loves making plans to take her family on road trips to paths not yet traveled, cooking, and reading.

Ashley Lopez

Senior Lifestyle Counselor

Ashley is a local to Abilene and in love with her hometown. After graduating from Eula, she began her journey in the medical field. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from McMurry in 2019 and has continued to serve her community in the health care field. Ashley joined the Morada family in September 2023 and has never felt more at home. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, crocheting, gardening, and keeping the reigns held tight on her three girls.

Lorena Gomez

Director of Health and Wellness

Lorena’s journey in Assisted Living started in 2015 in Abilene, Tx where she has served the community for the past 8 ½ years. She started working as a care manager and as her love grew for the residents, she made the decision to make it a permanent career choice. She has worked as a care manager most of the 8 years, for 2 of those years she served as the dietary director. She left for a short time in 2021-2022 to take care of her father as he battled cancer. She returned to Morada in March of 2022 as a concierge. In June of 2022 she was promoted to Health and Wellness director where she has grown and continues to grow. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her family and church family at True Light Global Ministries. She has 2 beautiful grandchildren who she loves to spend every extra moment with. She still has the opportunity to go home and care for her 86-year-old father, the job always continues. Lorena truly has a gift for caring and serving others.