Our Leadership Team

Ashley Albers, DO

Chief Medical Officer, Hospice Medical Director

A Hendersonville native, Ashley Albers, DO attended medical school at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, MO.  She completed an internal medicine residency with UMDNJ-SOM in Stratford, NJ before moving back to North Carolina where she completed the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship here in Asheville.  She joined Four Seasons in July 2013, first as a hospital-based Palliative Care provider, and is currently serving as the VP of Medical Services while caring for hospice patients.

Janet Bull, MD, MBA, FAAHPM

Chief Innovations Officer, CMO Emerita

Janet Bull, MD, MBA, FAAHPM is the Chief Medical Officer at Four Seasons and holds a consultant assistant professorship at Duke University Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the AAHPM, board certified in hospice and palliative medicine and holds a hospice medical director certification.  Janet has authored or coauthored several papers on palliative care and quality data reporting. She helped develop the QDACT (Quality Data Assessment Collection Tool), co-directed the Global Palliative Care Quality Alliance and is on the board of the Palliative Care Quality Collaborative. She directs the research department at Four Seasons and has served as the Principal Investigator on over 45 clinical trials in hospice and palliative medicine. She is Program Director of the Palliative Care Immersion Course and a principal of Four Seasons Consulting Group, which offers consulting services in hospice, palliative care, and research.  Janet was the recipient of the Sharon O. Dixon Award in 2007, the Cuniff-Dixon Hastings Award in 2012, and the Josephino Magno Distinguished Physician Award in 2013. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the Top 30 Visionaries in the Field award by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and served as Principal Investigator on the 2014-17 Center of Medicare Innovations Grant demonstrating the value of palliative care.  She was President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) in 2017 and sits as a core team member on the development of the Alternative Payment Model for Serious Illness Care for AAHPM.  

Millicent Burke Sinclair, Ed.D, MBA, SPHR®, SHRM-SCP

President and Chief Executive Officer

Millicent serves in the serious and advanced illness sector from a heart of Compassion, Excellence, and Integrity. She earned a doctoral degree in education, two master's degrees- one in business and the other in leadership- and has an advanced certification in Business and Marketing Education. She is also certified by HRCI and SHRM with the designations of SPHR and SHRM-SCP.

Millicent has served in the manufacturing, education, and healthcare sectors since the early 2000s. She has led Four Seasons’ in the role of President and Chief Executive Officer since 2017 after holding several other leadership positions in the organization beginning in 2014. She sits on several boards including Teleios Collaborative Network and AHHC of North Carolina. Millicent’s visionary leadership inspires innovation, creates a high-performance culture, and drives a contagious commitment to excellence in care.

Born and raised in Henderson County, Millicent is married and the mother of three children. Millicent and her family are dedicated to total health and wellness including living an organic lifestyle, are active in their church, and love helping others within their community.

Sue Ann Hamby

Vice President of Quality and Organizational Development

Sue Ann started her career with Four Seasons as a hospice social worker in 1997.  Since then, she has served as the Director of Family Support Services, QAPI Program Coordinator and the Director of Clinical Operations Support. In Sue Ann’s current role, she provides oversight to the Compliance, Quality, Clinical Informatics, Professional Development, and Infection Control Departments.

Sue Ann is a native of Western North Carolina and has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Western Carolina University.  She and her husband have two grown sons and enjoy spending as much time as possible in the great outdoors mountain biking or fishing from their canoe.

Rikki Nugent Hooper

Vice President of Palliative Care

Rikki is a strong believer in quality care at end of life and advocates for her patients and families to achieve their goals.

In 1991, Rikki immigrated to the U.S. after completing basic nurse education in England. As an RN, she worked in oncology and in critical care prior to becoming an FNP. As an FNP, she worked in critical care, sleep and pulmonary medicine before coming to Four Seasons in 2004.

Rikki is certified in Advanced Hospice and Palliative Nursing and provides care for patients in all settings, both pediatric and adult. She has presented at both regional and national meetings on a variety of topics. She also serves on the AAHPM Task Force for Quality.

Outside of work, she has volunteered at the Free Clinics in Henderson County and has been a Girl Scout leader for 17 years. She has 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren. She loves to spend time outside, gardening, hiking and generally enjoying the mountains. She also enjoys sewing, knitting and cooking.

Lauren Purdy

Vice President of Employee and Volunteer Solutions

Lauren Purdy has been a part of the Four Seasons Family since 2011 and has worn many hats in her tenure with the agency.  She started as a Volunteer Coordinator at Four Seasons and has provided leadership over the Volunteer Team since 2013.  She has led the Employee Solutions (HR) Team since 2015.  She also oversees the Facilities & Payroll Departments and serves as the organization’s Safety Officer. 

Lauren brings over 13 years of volunteer management experience, 8 years of human resources experience, and 15 years of leadership experience to her role at Four Seasons. 

She started her career of service in 2005 when she dedicated two years of full-time national service through AmeriCorps working with at-risk youth in San Jose, CA.  She’s called WNC home since 2007 and is an alumna of the University of North Carolina at Asheville where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in History. 

Lauren lives with her husband, daughter, two dogs, flock of chickens, and honeybees on their little homestead in Candler, NC.   

Paige Wheeler

Foundation Executive Director

Paige Wheeler, a North Carolina native joined the Four Seasons Foundation team in 2019 as the Major Gifts Officer. In January of 2020, Paige transitioned into the position of Executive Director. Paige is a graduate of Brevard College and UNC-Asheville. Paige has held previous positions that include Interim Director of Advancement, President and CEO, Executive Director and VP for Marketing and Development for organizations such as Southern Highland Craft Guild, The Health Adventure, Brevard College and Christ School.

Paige has served as a member of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Board and chaired the Governmental Affairs Task Force for the Asheville Chamber of Commerce.

In 2008, Paige received the YWCA of Buncombe County Woman of the Year Award.

Paige appreciates staying current in fundraising trends, attending conferences and considers herself a life-long learner. She greatly values building long lasting relationships and enjoys matching the right person with the right project and feels that is when we experience true success. 

Paige has felt a wonderful connection to Four Seasons because of the care her father received through Four Seasons hospice.  Her father passed away at Elizabeth House during Christmas in 2005.  The care her father received as well as her entire family during that time is a major catalyst for her desire to raise funds through the foundation so others may receive the same type of loving end of life care.

“No matter how much happiness my work will bring me, my greatest joys will always remain - my family and my faith.”