Meet the team at Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care in Lynchburg, Virginia

Meet Our Team at Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care

Heather Pippen, Executive Director from Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care

Heather Pippen
Executive Director

Heather Pippen, the executive director, has been with Heritage Green since 2001. She oversees the overall operations of the two communities including ensuring excellence in care and services, customer satisfaction, public awareness, community involvement, fiscal soundness, regulatory compliance, and more. Heather also enjoys sharing her creativity with the residents when she participates in resident activities. She also enjoys being a wife and mother of two, and making home a special place.

HPippen@heritagegreenal.com

Zakiyah Pannell
Resident Care Supervisor

Zakiyah Pannell, Resident Care Director, is a Gretna, Virginia native who has been a nurse for 8 years. She has worked in Long Term Care for most of her nursing career. She has one child, Brent with her husband of 6 years. Her hobbies include watching her son play basketball and traveling with her family. She truly believes that being a nurse is her calling from God and is honored to serve your family members in any way. Zakiyah enjoys caring for her residents and treats them as if they are her own family. She is happy to be a part of Heritage Green.

Graham Wilson at Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care in Lynchburg, Virginia

Graham Wilson
Director of Dining Service

Graham has 25 years restaurant experience with over 15 years as a professional Chef. His passion is for great food and southern style home cooking. Graham's motto is cook from the heart. He moved from Connecticut to Lynchburg in March of 2018. He and his wife have two daughters, two cats and one dog. Hobbies include, range time, painting nails, braiding hair and cooking. Graham loves traditional Italian family style food and is also trained in classic French Cuisine, Sushi, and foods from around the world. Graham says, “I am happy to be here serving you and your families good quality home cooking with love.”

GWilson@heritagegreenal.com

Clarissa Chapman
Activities Director

Clarissa Chapman,“Coco” as she is known, Daybreak's Life Enrichment director, is a Lynchburg, Virginia, native who has worked at Heritage Green since 2007. Her many outside interests and love for the residents make her successful in her position. She has three grown children, David, Warren, and Heaven. Coco enjoys cooking, reading, sightseeing, outdoor activities and her dog Jake. In addition to directing the Daybreak Life Enrichment Program, Coco also schedules the van and driver for all resident doctor appointments and outings.

CChapman@heritagegreenal.com

Melody Thomas Business Office Director at Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care in Lynchburg, Virginia

Burak ​Gezen​​
MD

Dr. Burak Gezen is one of Lynchburg’s finest physicians and he has a passion for adult and elderly care. Burak has 15 years of healthcare experience and is dual board certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine. He graduated Medical school from Virginia Commonwealth University, attended Northwestern Medicine for Residency, and finished his Fellowship at Cooke County Hospital. Since finishing, he has worked as a hospitalist at Centra Health for the past 5 years since moving to Lynchburg from Chicago where he previously practiced. He loves being around residents and their families and helping all feel comfortable. 

Matthew Conner at Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care in Lynchburg, Virginia

Matthew Conner
Director of Environmental Services

Matthew Conner was born in Southern California, but has lived in 12 states and Okinawa Japan through the course of his travels. He has 3 children and 2 grandchildren, all of whom he adores. He has over 20 years of construction and facilities experience and has spent time working with buildings all across the United States. He also served in the Air Force and spent several years working as a professional photographer. His hobbies include writing, chess, and playing with his children. Along with keeping the buildings at Heritage Green well maintained and safe, he enjoys sharing his love of singing with residents as he goes about his work. He truly cares about people and tries to bring the positivity he sees in the world with him everywhere he goes.

Tiona Wilson
Marketing Associate

Tiona is a Lynchburg native, but has spent time in California and Chicago. Whether West coast or East cost, she has enjoyed serving seniors over 20 years. She has a background in insurance sales and service, Long Term Care insurance case management, and caregiving. Her education is in healthcare sciences, business administration and marketing. She is the mother of two, Elizabeth and Isabella. She feels that her God given gifts should be of service to others, which is why she serves in a mission group that advocates for the homeless and those suffering from addiction. She has considered herself abundantly blessed to have found her place Heritage Green where she can use the culmination of her experiences, along with her skills, to help family members and prospective residents find their home at Heritage Green.

TWilson@heritagegreenal.com

Come to Heritage Green Assisted Living and Memory Care

Give us a call today. Our knowledgeable care team is standing by to answer all of questions. We are here to help guide you in any way along your caregiving journey.