Who We Are

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Founder

Elizabeth was living in Austin with her husband Rob and daughter Vivian and was working as an Executive Director for a nonprofit, when her eighty-nine year old grandmother fell in her home and was hospitalized for several weeks. Elizabeth left for North Carolina and, with the help of her family, decided her grandmother could no longer live at home due to accelerated dementia. Elizabeth spent two weeks in North Carolina working to get her grandmother settled in a nursing facility, as well as preparing her home for sale. She coordinated all aspects of the move, from downsizing, to the estate sale, to construction work on her grandmother’s home including new carpet, new paint, and necessary repairs. She also oversaw the hiring of a realtor and staging the home for sale, as well as shipping keepsakes to the family.

At the end of the process, when her grandmother was settled into her new home at the nursing facility Elizabeth had an unexpected revelation, which is that she had truly enjoyed the process of helping her grandmother make this necessary transition. When she returned home to Austin, Elizabeth became aware that there were many other parents and grandparents who needed her help. That was when she decided to become a Senior Move Manager.

Elizabeth grew up in Richmond, Virginia and has lived in Austin since 1997. She is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She began her career in event planning and quickly became a specialist in the organization and detailed planning of events. She later worked for over ten years in the nonprofit field. As a senior move manager, she feels she can marry her strong planning and organizational skills to the helping of families who must assist elderly loved ones in making life transitions.

Elizabeth loves spending time with her husband, Rob and young daughter Vivian. She enjoys traveling, cooking and reading, and is equally passionate about adoption and children’s health. She is involved in her community and has served on the Board of Directors for the March of Dimes, Executive Committee for Dell Children’s Trust, and Board of Directors for Family Association for Gladney Center for Adoption.

She is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM).

Elizabeth looks forward to working with families to “right size” and settle into their new home.

Brian Beasley, Executive Director

I hail from the state that claims to be “The Heart of It All”. Who knew that was Ohio? Excellent, you get warm milk and cookies. 🙂 My home town is Bryan, which is located in the northwest corner of the state. Thirty minutes north is Michigan and 20 minutes west is Indiana. While most everyone has never heard of Bryan, Ohio, most everyone knows of Bryan, Ohio. How? It is the global headquarters for the Ohio Art Company, which designed and manufactured the Etch-A-Sketch for decades. It is also the home of The Spangler Candy Company, which makes such great confections as Dum-Dum suckers (available for free in most every bank in the U.S.). Now I ask you, who doesn’t love a Dum-Dum?

I matriculated from one end of the state to the other to attend Ohio University. No, not that Big Ten buckeye school. Ohio University is located in Athens in the southeast corner of the state. I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Journalism.

My career led me to Texas 30 years ago where hi-tech jobs were more abundant. While it was quite challenging and educational, working in an office had its drawbacks. A big one was limited interaction with people other than my professional peers.

It became crystal clear what I was missing when I joined Austin Home Transitions. I discovered what a true honor and privilege it is to come into someone’s home and assist them in making a transition to a new phase in their life. I’ve marveled at what clients have achieved in their lives, their experiences, and the possessions and mementos they’ve accumulated. I’ve also learned about their families, which for many are what makes them most proud. There are so many incredible stories of lives well lived – too many for me to hear them all – but I have enjoyed those that were shared.

Some of these stories I share with my own family, which consists of two adult daughters, and my lovely wife, a teacher in the Austin Independent School District. 

I am inspired by the folks who welcome Austin Home Transitions and me into their homes to assist them in their next big moves. Who knows, maybe that next inspiration will be you.

Sheri Pryor, Move Coordinator

I am a Texas girl through and through – born and raised in the outskirts of Houston. I worked as a pharmacy technician during high school, and I really had a passion for the medical field. I knew it was something I wanted to pursue after graduation. I received my degree as a Radiological Technician in 2003 from San Jacinto College and continued my education with a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) license. After several years of working at a well-known senior hospital in Houston, my husband and I found out we were expecting twins. This is when I became a very organized stay at home mom despite the chaos.

Around this time, my only and older brother (my hero) was diagnosed with two brain tumors. They were operable but left him completely deaf at the age of 26. He moved to Austin due to the large deaf community and the support it had to offer. My family and I soon followed relocating to the beautiful hill country. Watching my brother go through his hearing loss inspired me to study American Sign Language and attend college for ASL interpreting. Due to this experience, I have to upmost compassion for those going through life changes–some unexpected–and those with disabilities.

Currently, I am on my fourth year of homeschooling my twins. I enjoy teaching, cooking, sewing, crafting, and being in nature. The most important thing to me in life is family, as my parents live one street over from me. Working with Austin Home Transitions gives me the opportunity to help others with a feeling of warmth and care as if they were my own family.

Annemarie Glover, Move Coordinator

I was born in Wisconsin, but moved to Texas as quickly as I could!  I grew up in North Texas where I attended court reporting school immediately after graduating high school.  Shortly after completing court reporting school I moved to Houston where I worked for 17 years.  Court reporting was educational, fascinating, demanding and required great attention to organization and detail.  I learned a great deal about myself, other people and life in general.

I married a great guy in 2001 and we welcomed our amazing boys into this world in 2004 and 2007.  My husband is an Austin native and wanted our boys to attend school here, so we moved to Austin in 2010.  Our oldest son started kindergarten and we remodeled a home that we purchased close to my husband’s childhood neighborhood.

Now that my boys are older and more independent, I decided it was a good time to put some of my talents to use outside of the home.  When I discovered Austin Home Transitions, I knew it would be a great place for me to help others.  My 95-year-old grandmother had recently downsized and moved into assisted living.  How I wish our family would have had Austin Home Transitions to help facilitate my grandmother’s move.

I really enjoy getting to know the families and just being a reassuring and positive influence on the transition process.  I always have my grandmother in my heart and mind as I am helping other families with their moves.  I am thankful I can be a team member with such a special group of people.

Brooke Howe, Move Coordinator

I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the Hockaday School, and earned a Bachelor of Interior Design degree from the University of Arkansas. At U of A, I learned to perform a proper hog call, a skill every proper lady should possess. Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie! Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie! Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie! Razorbacks! Ah, that felt good…so many memories.

After graduation I returned to Dallas where I put my college degree to use in the commercial and residential design fields developing conceptual floor patterns and plans, and furniture specifications and layout.

Upon marrying I relocated to Austin, Texas where I have lived for 13 years. I have two remarkable sons in elementary school who impress and challenge me most every day in positive ways.

Family and friends have always been supremely important to me and they became moreso when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 12 years ago. Their love and support ignited my passion to give to others. It set my life journey in a direction that has led me to Austin Home Transitions.

I love to organize and get great satisfaction helping move folks into their new homes. Seeing their reaction when we open the door and welcome them is so rewarding. I hope to have the privilege to see your reaction when Austin Home Transitions welcomes you into your new home.

Lora Lowe, Move Coordinator

I graduated in 2002 from Southwest Texas State with a degree in Interior Design. During my career, I have worked in many areas of design including model home merchandising, and most recently in new home construction which included making the selections of all interior and exterior finishes. I was the homeowner liaison throughout the construction process working directly with the construction team to ensure that all buyer upgrades were included accurately. My job was basically to ensure that the buyer understood and felt comfortable with all facets of the construction process from the start of construction until after closing. This can clearly be a stressful time as the buyer prepares for the life transition into their new home.

I guest what I’ve loved most about my profession is seeing someone’s vision for their home come to life, making their house a home and a reflection of their own personality. I’ve seen that the same holds true for what Austin Home Transitions is doing for our clients. It’s very gratifying to be part of the process and to see their smiles when they first walk into their new homes.