Sabrina R. Porter named CEO and president of Christian Care Centers

Sabrina R. Porter has been named CEO and president of Christian Care Centers, effective Aug. 20. She will be based at the corporate offices in Mesquite, TX. The company operates three life plan communities in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and also provides outpatient therapy, hospice and home care.

Porter has 39 years of experience in healthcare, having served in numerous roles ranging from certified nurse aide to administrator and from executive director to vice president of resident and community relations. She been the CEO and president of Juliette Fowler Communities in Dallas since 2012. As a Stephen Minister leader, she has also served as spiritual life director.

“As president and CEO, Mrs. Porter’s priority will be to use her vision and strategically plan for the growth and the future of senior living for Christian Care Centers Inc.,” said Harold Tidwell, chairman of the Christian Care Trustees.

Porter graduated from Northwood University and is a founding board member of Transformation Vision Cedar Hill and Hope Mansion, a girls-in-crisis pregnancy home. She also was received LeadingAge of Texas’ 2017 Dr. Herbert Shore Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award.

James R. McKnight Jr. named CEO at Diversicare

James R. McKnight Jr. has been named CEO at Diversicare Healthcare Services following the retirement of Kelly J. Gill. McKnight joined Diversicare in 2012 as chief financial officer.

The Brentwood, TN-based company has one assisted living community and 75 skilled nursing facilities across 10 states, according to a March presentation for investors. The company also offers memory care and independent living.

Prior to joining Diversicare, McKnight served as CFO of NuScriptRX and as vice president, corporate controller at Take Care Health Systems, Employer Solutions Group and its predecessor company, I-trax Inc. He previously served as director of financial reporting and quality assurance at American HomePatient, as audit manager with Ernst & Young LLP and with Arthur Andersen LLP.

McKnight has an undergraduate degree in accounting from Louisiana Tech University and is a certified public accountant licensed in multiple states.

Luke Beirl named CEO of Regional Enterprises

Luke Beirl has been named CEO of Regional Enterprises, the non-for-profit corporation that owns Water’s Edge assisted living and skilled nursing community and Hayward Area Memorial Hospital in Hayward, WI, and Memorial Medical Center in Ashland, WI.

Most recently, Beirl has served as the director of LEAN process improvement for Regional Enterprises, working with more than 700 employees in both Hayward and Ashland to implement programs to improve service to residents, patients and tenants. He has been interim CEO in Hayward since April, following the resignation of former CEO Timothy Gullingsrud. Bierl had also worked as a pharmacist for five years, including two years as a clinical staff pharmacist at Memorial Medical Center.

Beirl has a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA in rural healthcare from the College of St. Scholastica.

Dan Williams named COO and principal at Seasons Management

Dan Williams has been named chief operating officer and principal at Seasons Management.

Williams has experience in senior housing leadership roles as a vice president, regional director, operations specialist and executive director for independent, assisted living and memory care communities.

Before joining Seasons Management, Williams was COO at Koelsch Communities. During his tenure there, Koelsch grew from fewer than 20 communities to more than 30 communities. Throughout his career, he has provided oversight and direction for hundreds of communities.

Michelle M. Delker named CFO of Mission Health Communities

Michelle M. Delker has been named chief financial officer of Mission Health Communities.

Delker has more than 14 years of experience. Before Mission Health Communities, she was controller at Physician Partners of America, where she spearheaded design of a general ledger account structure and internal operating performance metrics, including creating reports designed for constant monitoring of performance. She also managed treasury function, designed and analyzed key financial metrics and served as chair of the Expense Reduction Committee, reporting directly to Physician Partners of America’s CFO and chief operating officer. Delker was also a CPA for seven years at Granite Services.

Delker has a Master of Science degree in accounting from University of Tampa and a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Simpson College.

Lisa Taylor named CEO of It’s Never 2 Late

Lisa Taylor has been named CEO of It’s Never 2 Late, or iN2L, a Denver-based healthcare technology company.

Before iN2L, Taylor was CEO of West Corp.’s healthcare division, which includes TeleVox Software. Under Taylor’s leadership, West grew to facilitate more than 1.5 million daily healthcare interactions through TeleVox, which she co-founded, on behalf of 140,000 providers.

Taylor previously was a senior financial analyst for Quality Micro Systems, where she worked directly for the chief financial officer. She has an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance from the University of South Alabama.

Rhonda Brand named president of the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners

Rhonda Brand has been named president of the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners.

Brand has more than 27 years of experience in the healthcare industry. She has held a variety of positions, such as activity director, admissions director, adult day care director, dementia unit manager, administrator, national consultant, national trainer and public speaker. Brand has worked in assisted living communities, adult day centers, home care agencies and nursing homes.

She has served as the president of the Northwest New Jersey Gathering of Activity Professionals and presented the Modular Education Program for Activity Professionals course to more than 300 activity professionals during a seven-year period.

Brand is a certified dementia practitioner, certified Alzheimer’s disease dementia care trainer, certified dementia care manager (for dementia unit managers), certified first responder dementia trainer and certified dementia support group facilitator with the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners. She is also a certified assisted living administrator, certified activity director and licensed nursing home administrator.

Brand graduated from Northwest Missouri State University.

Brad Clowney named senior VP finance and asset management for Solvere Senior Living

Brad Clowney has been named senior vice president, finance and asset management, for Solvere Senior Living in St. Petersburg, FL.

In his new role, Clowney oversees finance and accounting services for Solvere-managed communities, develops pro formas for new development and drives market research to evaluate Solvere management and acquisition opportunities.

Clowney has more than 17 years of experience in progressive corporate finance experience across the senior living, healthcare and banking industries. Before joining Solvere, he was a finance leader for the Southeast region of Civitas Solutions.

Beth Simos named senior VP at Solutions Advisors Group

Beth Simos has been named senior vice president at Solutions Advisors Group in Richmond, VA.

In her new role, Simos is responsible for leading and managing the company’s marketing services team, including consumer research, brand development, event planning and direct response and digital marketing. She also oversees creative, production, research media and account management teams.

Simos has more than 30 years of operational leadership and strategic marketing experience in both the private and public sector industries, including 13 years of experience in senior living marketing at the agency level. Before joining Solutions Advisors, she was vice president, managing director, at a marketing and advertising agency focused on senior living. Simos is a certified direct marketer.

Sean Dimas named VP of operations at American House Senior Living Communities

Sean Dimas has been named vice president of operations for the Florida region of American House Senior Living Communities.

In his new role, Dimas is responsible for overseeing the operations, budgeting and people management for eight independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, consisting of more than 1,050 units.

Dimas brings more than 20 years of experience and served as executive director at Elmcroft of Carrollwood, an assisted living community, in Tampa, FL, before joining American House in 2017. He most recently was area operations manager, Florida, for American House. Dimas also has served in multiple leadership roles in the senior living and skilled nursing industry.

Dimas attended college at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, MI.

Stella Akopyants named VP of nursing at Maplewood Senior Living

Stella Akopyants has been named vice president of nursing at Maplewood Senior Living. In her new role, Akopyants will oversee all aspects of resident care and clinical services for all Maplewood Senior Living communities. She is responsible for assessing resident, family and staff needs across the organization and developing strategic operational plans for the delivery of all clinical services and programs. Akopyants also will perform regular audits to ensure that all communities are meeting Maplewood Senior Living’s standards as well as state standards and regulatory requirements.

Akopyants brings almost two decades of experience to her new role. She has a Master of Science degree in healthcare management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Hartford, CT, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Connecticut. She became a licensed nursing home administrator at Quinnipiac University.

Eric Bressler named regional VP of operations for Balfour Senior Living

Eric Bressler has been named regional vice president of operations for Balfour Senior Living, where he will oversee Balfour’s flagship location, the Louisville campus in Louisville, CO.

Before joining Balfour, Bressler worked both as the executive director in Northern California and the regional vice president for 18 communities on the East Coast for another senior living community. He had spent 27 years in the hospitality industry before moving to senior living.

Katy Corrado named director of human resources at Cedar Crest 

Katy Corrado has been named director of human resources at Cedar Crest, an Erickson Living retirement community in Pompton Plains, NJ. In her new role, Corrado is responsible for planning, directing and delivering corporate and community HR services.

Corrado brings 20 years of human resources experience. She was most recently a senior human resources manager at Verizon, where she was the human resources business partner for employees in business sales, finance, marketing, communications and operations. She has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University.

Holly Springs-McMurry named director of operations and community integration at Cadence Senior Living

Holly Springs-McMurry has been named director of operations and community integration at Cadence Senior Living in Scottsdale, AZ.

In her new role, Springs-McMurray will be responsible for integrating newly acquired communities into Cadence’s operating culture through corporate training, systems management and regulatory auditing.

Before joining Cadence, Springs-McMurray was regional director of licensing and education at Stonecrest Senior Living. She also previously held several executive director roles.

Joseph Geiser named director of dining services for Solvere Senior Living

Joseph Geiser has been named director of dining services for Solvere Senior Living in Princeton, NJ.

In his new role, Geiser oversees all aspects of culinary services for Solvere-managed communities across the country. He supervises menu development, nutritional guidelines, hiring and training food service directors, establishes budgets and ensures that the dining experience across all communities delivers a high standard of customer service.

Geiser has more than 30 years of experience and a background in senior living industry food service management, as well as experience at corporate and nonprofit organizations. Before Solvere, he served as operations director for food and beverage at Madison York Assisted Living in Rego Park, NY. He also has been director of food and beverage operations at more than a half dozen senior living communities, including a 500-resident location.

Geiser is a certified dietary manager and certified food protection professional and was a lead cook at a full-service restaurant.

Primrose names new directors

Primrose Retirement Communities recently announced that it has named Rachel Rodlund as sales director for the community in Duluth, MN, Robert Landon as sales director in Marion, OH, and Laura Tramontana as director of nursing in Marion, OH. The three directors began their duties in May.

Rodlund oversees all marketing and sales efforts, as well as public relations events and community outreach, for the independent and assisted living community. Before Primrose, she was an account representative and a care coordinator in a primary care clinic.

Rodlund was a certified nursing assistant for a long-term care nursing facility at the age of 16 and has an undergraduate degree in healthcare management from the University of Minnesota in Duluth.

Landon oversees all the marketing and sales efforts as well as public relations events and community outreach for Primrose of Marion. He previously was a store manager with Sprint and a manager at Lendmark Financial Services.

Landon graduated from Tri-Rivers Career Center with a focus on public safety services and serves on the Marion City Council.

Tramontana is responsible for guiding and overseeing the care of residents and, in conjunction with Executive Director Bonnie Stepanian, managing the nursing staff. She will also aim to ensure compliance with all necessary regulations.

Tramontana mainly has worked in emergency department settings since 2001. She attended Tri-Rivers School of Practical Nursing and MidCentral School of Nursing and will finish nursing-related course work at Purdue University Northwest.

Al Fritts named executive director at Jackson Creek Senior Living

Al Fritts has been named executive director at Jackson Creek Senior Living in Monument, CO. In his new role, he will oversee operations of the community.

Fritts previously owned and operated assisted living and nursing home communities in North Carolina and has worked in hospitality operations within the Tri-Lakes area.

Fritts is a certified assisted living administrator in Colorado and a licensed nursing home administrator. He is retired from the U.S. Air Force.

Suzanne Cloyd named executive director at Commonwealth Senior Living

Suzanne Cloyd has been named executive director at Commonwealth Senior Living in Abingdon, VA.

Cloyd brings more than 30 years of experience in senior living and human resources. She was previously the sales manager for an assisted living provider in Kingsport, TN where she oversaw the sales and marketing efforts for the community.

A licensed assisted living administrator, Cloyd has a master’s degree from East Tennessee State University and graduated from Milligan College.

Dawn Galli named life enrichment director at Bridges by Epoch at Sudbury

Dawn Galli has been named life enrichment director at Bridges by Epoch at Sudbury in Sudbury, MA.

In her new role, Galli will develop and lead a diverse activities program to foster physical, mental and emotional engagement for residents living with varying stages of dementia.

Galli has almost three years of experience in leading activities and programs for seniors as well as 15 years of teaching experience as a former preschool teacher. She most recently served as memory care program manager for a local senior living community and as activity coordinator for a nearby adult day program. She currently serves as director of religious education at First Parish Church in Berlin, MA.

Hunt Mortgage Group names new executives

Hunt Mortgage Group has named three new executives — Andrew Kitts, Heath Coryell and Wendy Lord — to its seniors housing and healthcare team. Kitts, Coryell and Lord will focus on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac credit and underwriting for this niche sector.

Kitts has been named managing director and chief credit officer and is based in Hunt’s Irvine, CA, office. He has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate and previously worked for RED Capital. Kitts has held leadership roles with RED’s Seniors Housing team and several other leading financial institutions, including Bank of America Commercial Finance and The Main Group. He has an undergraduate degree in business economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Coryell joined Hunt as director and deputy chief underwriter and will be based in Virginia. He comes to the firm from Arbor, where he was the team leader for GSE Seniors Housing Credit. He previously spent time at Oak Capital and Berkadia in various underwriting and deal management roles. Coryell has an undergraduate degree in business economics with a minor in history and Latin from Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA.

Lord has been named director and will focus on special asset management. She is based in Maryland and previously worked for Arbor, where she spent the past several years as a vice president focused on Freddie Mac and seniors housing. Lord previously held positions at Property Financial Advisors and Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. She has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and an undergraduate degree in finance from Indiana University School of Business.

Corley Audorff named a director in the Senior Housing and Healthcare Group of PGIM Real Estate Finance

Corley Audorff has been named a director in the Senior Housing and Healthcare Group of PGIM Real Estate Finance. In his new role, he will have a specific focus on lending for skilled nursing facilities and will be based in Atlanta.

Audorff joins PGIM Real Estate Finance from Monticello Asset Management, where he was a managing director focusing on bridge loan originations for both healthcare and multifamily assets. He previously worked at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Office of Residential Care Facilities in multiple capacities, including as a senior underwriter, skilled nursing portfolio reviewer and interest rate reduction program team lead.

Audorff has law degree, an MBA and an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia.

Chris Alburger named LGBTQ chaplain resident at Hebrew SeniorLife

Chris Alburger, LGBTQ chaplain resident at Hebrew SeniorLife, is about halfway through a one-year residency program that is part of HSL’s Clinical Pastoral Education program. The program aims to create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ residents, patients and staff.

Alburger has a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School.

Dan Dunne elected to PRSA College of Fellows

Dan Dunne, APR, director of external communications for Erickson Living, was elected to the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows for his contributions to the public relations profession.

Since 2006, Dunne has led a team of communicators at Erickson Living, the developer and manager of continuing care retirement communities. In his position, he oversees earned media placement strategy, partners with stakeholders from Erickson Living to create internal and social media platforms, invests in training opportunities and developed a comprehensive crisis communications plan.

Dunne had a 28-year federal civil service career with the U.S. Department of Justice as a national spokesman and training expert. He also worked with national, state and local law enforcement authorities to develop media relations policies and guidelines that are still in practice today.

Dunne received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maryland Chapter of PRSA for his career in the national civil service and private sectors. He is among 11 new members of the 2018 College of Fellows who will be officially welcomed at a special ceremony and dinner on Oct. 6 in Austin, TX.

Send personnel news to Senior Editor Lois A. Bowers. Please include a high-quality photo.