After several months of changes, from adding programs to a major name change and rebrand, the leader of one of the largest social-service nonprofits in the Tri-Cities has parted ways as the agency works to “align” with its “long-term vision.”

Generational Care’s board voted in March not to renew executive director Brandy Hickey’s three-year contract, which was up in May. The nonprofit runs Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels, Home Care Services and Healthy Ages.

Brandy Hickey

The agency said its decision not to renew the contract was made as part of a “forward-looking strategic process.”

“Brandy joined our organization at a pivotal time and was intentionally selected to help define our identity and strengthen our presence in the community,” said board President Wendy Krause in a statement. “She delivered on that work in meaningful ways, and we are sincerely grateful for her leadership. As we move forward, our focus naturally recenters from establishing who we are to deepening the story of who we serve and how we show up for them every day.”

Generational Care’s 2024-25 budget was $42 million and it employs 214 people, according to data from the Journal’s 2025 Book of Lists. It is overseen by a board of 12 directors.

Hickey led efforts to add Kadlec’s Healthy Ages program, which includes the mall walker program and wellness workshops, to Generational Care’s suite of offerings in 2025. 

During Hickey’s tenure, the agency bought a building in Ellensburg last year to expand its Home Care Services program and rebranded from Senior Life Resources Northwest to Generational Care, aiming to draw a clearer connection between its various programs by giving them a unified logo and linking them to the Generational Care name.

Hickey also recently was named one of 24 Tri-City People of Influence by the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business for her leadership of the agency.

Hickey told the Journal that the opportunity to serve the agency for the past three years has been meaningful.

“I’m proud of the growth we achieved in expanding programs like Healthy Ages, strengthening infrastructure, and building a more sustainable and connected community in a service of a vulnerable population that deserves to be seen and supported,” she said in a statement to the Journal. “I remain deeply grateful for the team, partners and community who made this work possible. I’m proud of what we built together, confident in the foundation we leave behind, and energized for what’s ahead.”

Generational Care’s human resources director, Mayra Gonzalez, is serving as the board-appointed interim executive director. 

No active hiring is underway to find a replacement for Hickey.

Since the organization operates with a distributed leadership model, there’s no rush to fill the position, said Courtney Moore, Generational Care’s marketing manager. 

With Gonzalez, an administrator at the nonprofit since 2015, temporarily at the helm, Moore said the organization is comfortable waiting for the right person to step into the role of director.

Gonzalez said the board’s needs are different from the 2023 transition when Hickey joined, and a prior change in leadership in 2015. 

The nonprofit is financially well-established and is a “well-driven machine” that can continue focusing on its mission “to preserve and enhance the quality of life for every generation with dignity and care” until the board is ready to make a decision on next steps, Gonzalez said.

The board said in a statement that “everything we do is filtered through our guiding principal: ‘It is not about us; it is about the people we serve.’”

The focus going forward will be on continuing the work that Generational Care has done as it grows into its new identity with the addition of Healthy Ages and it plans to keep the clients it serves at the heart of its operations.

The changes made in the last three years have all been positive, Moore said, and Generational Care is now working to sustain its growth and maintain a strong focus on those it serves, calling it not a “change of direction, but continued direction.”