Meet Our Team

---

Her guiding principle: Work hard, do your best, and embrace resilience. 

Phoebe Reynolds leads CareFirstNY as CEO, setting the organization’s vision and goals, developing strategies to achieve them, and helping define its values and culture. She also makes decisions regarding resource allocation, investments, and operations. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare finance and nonprofit leadership, Phoebe is known for her collaborative approach and her ability to align operational decisions with long-term sustainability and impact.

In her role, Phoebe ensures the CareFirstNY team has the resources and support needed to provide high-quality, compassionate care to patients and families. She helps create the conditions for the organization to thrive so every patient and family experiences care that is coordinated, reliable, and empathetic.

Outside of work, Phoebe serves on the Corning Community College Foundation Board and the Audit and Supervisory Committee of First Heritage Credit Union. She lives in Prattsburgh, NY, with her wife, Bridget, and enjoys exploring the Finger Lakes breweries and distilleries, camping, traveling, and spending time outdoors.

Her guiding principle: Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even the end. 

Kate Hembrooke, BSN, RN, leads CareFirstNY’s hospice services with a focus on supporting her team and ensuring compassionate, high-quality care. A nurse since 1987, she has spent more than 25 years in hospice and palliative care, holding roles from RN Case Manager to Inpatient Palliative Care Nurse and Access Manager. Kate brings deep expertise in end-of-life care and a holistic, team-based approach that prioritizes patients, families, and caregivers.

Her approach is shaped by both professional experience and personal connection. Spending the last moments with her grandmother taught her that the final breaths of life deserve the same care and acknowledgment as the first. Kate encourages collaborative care so families feel supported and confident in the dedication, skill, and compassion of the CareFirstNY team throughout the hospice journey and beyond.

When she’s not at work, Kate enjoys margaritas and meatless tacos, live music around the Finger Lakes, traveling to warmer destinations, and sharing laughs with friends and family.

Her guiding principle: Kindness matters—you never know what someone is going through.

Carly Nichols, LMSW, APHSW-C, CT, oversees CareFirstNY's Grief Support and Mental Health Counseling teams. A social worker with more than a decade of experience, she helps families navigate the emotions and practical challenges of serious illness and loss. Her certification in Thanatology—the study of death, dying, and bereavement—reflects her commitment to supporting patients and families throughout every stage of their journey.

Carly ensures her team provides compassionate, patient-centered care that balances clinical support with emotional presence and genuine human connection. She strives to create an environment where families feel understood, supported, and comforted.

Outside of work, Carly enjoys time with her husband, their dog Hank, and cats Bailey and Louie. She loves DIY projects, gardening, visiting her family in the Adirondacks, and collecting vintage Pyrex.

Her guiding principle: Dream big, work smart, but most importantly, have fun!

Annette Gibson, BSN, RN, ensures patients are admitted to hospice quickly and that CareFirstNY’s team has the support needed to provide compassionate care. With 30 years of nursing experience, she has helped families navigate serious illness and end-of-life care, focusing on comfort, respect, and quality of life.

Annette believes hospice is not about dying—it's about living. She loves helping patients experience meaningful moments, whether granting a wish or supporting families through small, cherished experiences. She hopes families feel supported and remember the compassion and expertise of the CareFirstNY team.

Outside of work, Annette treasures time spent with family and friends, exploring the mountains of West Virginia and the Adirondacks, and runs Ridin for a Reason LLC with her husband, Dave, a nonprofit that organizes benefit SXS rides for first responders, families in need, and other charitable causes.

Her guiding principle: It’s always the right time to do the right thing.

Melissa Oakley, LMSW, ACHP-SW, guides CareFirstNY’s hospice operations with compassion and a deep understanding of what patients and families need. A social worker by training, she has spent 14 years providing emotional and grief support, advance care planning, and practical assistance to patients and families, while preparing her team to deliver the same compassionate care.

Melissa’s approach emphasizes a whole-person philosophy, supporting the mind, body, and spirit of patients while guiding their loved ones. She encourages families to discuss wishes early so patients can die comfortably and highlights a team-based approach to make care less overwhelming. She hopes families feel supported and aware of the skill, care, and kindness each team member brings.

In her personal time, Melissa enjoys time spent with friends and family, including her three children and significant other, good food and music, working out, and walking with her German Shepherd, Jax.

Her guiding belief: You are at your best when you can truly be yourself.

Elizabeth Radford, RN, leads initiatives that strengthen CareFirstNY’s standards of care—overseeing compliance, quality improvement, and staff education to ensure every patient experience reflects excellence and compassion. A registered nurse with more than 12 years of experience, including nine in psychiatric mental health, she brings a strong foundation in therapeutic communication and a passion for continuous learning and improvement.

She believes in meeting patients and families exactly where they are—mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually—and guiding them with empathy, genuineness, and kindness. Elizabeth hopes every family leaves hospice care with greater peace and understanding, noting, “The unknown can be frightening, but knowledge can calm.”

Drawn to CareFirstNY’s mission and its supportive culture, Elizabeth finds fulfillment in helping the team grow through education and new processes that enhance care. Away from the office, she enjoys console gaming and is an avid reader. 

Her guiding belief: Every person has a story worth hearing, and every connection has the power to make a difference. 

Cindy Lewis connects CareFirstNY’s mission to the caring supporters who make its work possible. With more than 20 years of experience in grant writing, fundraising, and relationship development, she brings enthusiasm, creativity, and compassion to every interaction.

Her perspective on hospice deepened during ride-alongs with CareFirstNY clinicians, where she saw firsthand that every person has a history and a story to tell—and that each one deserves to be heard, respected, and cared for with dignity. That experience continues to guide her work in community engagement, helping ensure CareFirstNY has the resources in place to provide high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care to every patient and family in the community, regardless of circumstance. 

Cindy enjoys reading, hosting gatherings, and finding ways to bring people together. She also serves on a Corning Area Chamber of Commerce committee and seeks meaningful community partnerships that strengthen CareFirstNY’s impact.

Her guiding philosophy: Live so that your death brings no pleasure to the world.

Sybil Aumick, SHRM-CP, oversees and supports the employee experience at CareFirstNY, from hiring and development to ongoing engagement. With over 12 years in human resources, staffing, and compliance, she focuses on creating a supportive workplace where team members feel valued and empowered to provide compassionate care.

Having lost both her parents to cancer—her father while on hospice in her teens, and her mother in her mid-20s—Sybil understands firsthand the importance of meaningful end-of-life moments. She reflects, “Our lives are beautiful and dynamic—hospice should honor that.” Though she works behind the scenes, she sees her role as essential in supporting the caregivers who guide patients and families through these tender transitions. 

Outside of work, Sybil enjoys reading, spending time outdoors with her three children and two dogs, and volunteering at local schools and CareFirstNY events.

Her guiding principle: Breathe, stay grounded, support with heart.

Krissy Spaulding plays a key role in advancing CareFirstNY’s mission from behind the scenes. She oversees Administration, Payroll, and Benefits, and provides direct support to the Board of Directors, CEO, and Management Team—helping ensure smooth operations so clinical teams can focus on delivering compassionate, high-quality care.

Krissy’s connection to hospice care is deeply personal. Her grandfather, a proud Army veteran, received end-of-life services through the We Honor Vets Program, where her family experienced the comfort and dignity that compassionate hospice care provides. That experience continues to inspire her dedication to supporting the staff who make those moments possible for other families. Guided by her personal motto, “Just BREATHE!”, her steady presence reflects her belief that small acts of care—within the organization and beyond—make the greatest difference.

Krissy is a proud mother of three and an active community volunteer. She enjoys attending country music concerts, spending time with family and friends, and cherishing life’s everyday moments.