Our Story

I’m glad you found me!  The goal of Tournesol Services, LLC is to provide support and assistance to seniors and families in transition. My French mother and I shared a love for sunflowers, which represent resilience, constancy, wellness and faith.   

The idea of the business came from my experience with my own aging parents; the Tournesol seeds were sown when I flew cross-country to assist my ailing mother and act as her advocate, and then after her death, returned to serve as Executrix for her estate in 2008.  Around that time, I also shifted my church volunteering from Sunday School to visiting elderly and sick folks as a Lay Eucharistic Visitor (St. Margaret's Episcopal). 

I frequently visited fragile elderly people who were neglected when they had few or no family visitors or advocates.  I learned to work with nurses, social workers and aides to improve care for these most vulnerable seniors. In 2013, I began volunteering as a driver and friendly visitor in my greater community where my older neighbors are aging in place (Silver SpringVillage). 

In addition to personal experience, my PhD in Medical Sociology from the University of California, San Francisco, provided me with an extensive academic background in health and wellness.  I can help you work collaboratively with healthcare providers, and assist you with patient advocacy.  As a former health researcher and educator, after parenting three kids and with several years as a small business owner, I am skilled at analyzing problems, creative troubleshooting, and managing complex logistics. Let’s simplify your life to improve your quality of life!

This work means I help you and your family solve real-life problems. I offer knowledge, insight and compassion gained from years of sociological and health research, observation and life experience.   Whether you need support related to your own or to a loved one’s crisis or transition — from finding or managing healthcare providers, patient advocacy, organization or de-cluttering at home, downsizing, supervising household workers, developing strategies to navigate a major life change to running errands — I can help you make it happen!

I have assisted with estate issues, including sorting, packing and donating household goods, as well as managing and de-escalating family drama.  I served as an informal patient advocate for elderly clients in hospitals and in nursing-home environments, and provided practical support and education to family members regarding a loved one’s dementia and related health problems.  I helped elderly couples sort through years of papers to prepare their taxes, developed filing systems for home offices, entered data on Excel spreadsheets for tax deductions; de-cluttered rooms and small apartments, coached clients on the use of technology (eg, updating computer operating system, learning Zoom, smartphone settings, managing email, etc.)

All of my experiences, combined with a passion for spiritual and physical wellness, strong sense of compassion and deep caring means that I am dedicated to finding solutions for you to de-stress your life.  Turn to Tournesol!