Cedric Coco

Cedric T. Coco joins Brookdale as EVP and chief people officer

Cedric T. Coco has been named executive vice president and chief people officer at Brookdale Senior Living.

He joins the country’s largest senior living provider, which is based in Brentwood, TN, after serving in various human resource roles for Lowe’s Companies since 2008. Most recently, he was senior vice president of human resources, a position in which he led the human resources generalists for Lowe’s stores, distribution centers and customer support centers in addition to leading talent acquisition, employee relations, and diversity and succession planning. 

Before working for Lowe’s, Coco gained almost two decades of experience in business leadership, human resources and organization performance at Microsoft, KLA-Tencor and General Electric, companies at which he held numerous leadership roles in engineering, business development, sales, general management and organizational learning.

“Cedric’s deep experience within the human resources function in companies with a distributed workforce, as well as his mix of business management and retail knowledge, will provide Brookdale with the leadership we need to improve our ability to attract, retain and develop our associates,” Andy Smith, Brookdale’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Cynthia Walters is new COO at National Lutheran Communities & Services

Cynthia Walters has joined National Lutheran Communities & Services as chief operating officer. Walters brings more than 28 years of senior living experience to the new position and transitioned from a consultant to an employee of the company. 

“The COO is a new role for NLCS and comes at a critical time in our growth,” President and CEO Larry Bradshaw said in a statement. “As we seek to strategically grow and diversify, we have an enhanced focus on operating as a senior living system and leveraging the benefits and efficiencies associated with that.”

Walters’ background is concentrated in new program development as well as operational performance improvement and re-engineering of systems and processes within senior living organizations. Most recently, she was the president and owner of Walters Advisors, providing project management and consulting services to various senior living organizations. Before that, she spent 19 years at KPMG, seven of which were spent as a partner and leader of the company’s national senior living advisory practice. Walters also spent five years at Presbyterian Senior Living in Dillsburg, PA, as vice president of home- and community-based services and vice president of operations systems development and integration. 

NLCS is a not-for-profit, faith-based ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Delaware-Maryland, Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Virginia synods, serving people of all beliefs. The organization is headquartered in Rockville, MD. 

Senior Quality Lifestyles Corp. names vice presidents of technology, culinary services and hospitality

Dallas-based Senior Quality Lifestyles Corp. has hired Ralph Gemoets (pictured, left) as vice president of technology and Chris Santuae (below) as vice president of culinary services and hospitality.

Gemoets comes to SQLC with more than 10 years of experience. In his new role, he will develop tools for vendor and project management, analyze processes and develop internal information technology strategy. In addition, Gemoets will institute and manage the use of new technological programs and services as well as plan information technology projects and case development. 

Santuae has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the hospitality and hotel industry. He comes to SQLC from Mountain Creek Resorts, where he was vice president of hospitality.

Integral Senior Living adds regional director

Carlsbad, CA-based Integral Senior Living has hired Roselynn Muzzy as a regional vice president of operations, a position in which she is overseeing the operations of several ISL communities.

Muzzy has more than 21 years of experience in the senior living industry. Most recently, she was the vice president of operations for Vintage Senior Living. Before that, she was an elder care specialist for Barcelon Associates Management Corp. She has an undergraduate degree in social welfare from California State University, Fresno, and is a member of the Education Committee of the California Assisted Living Association.

Integral Senior Living manages 58 independent living, assisted living and memory care properties throughout 16 states.

Andrew Applegate named Arbor Acres president and CEO

Andrew Applegate has been named the new president and CEO of Arbor Acres United Methodist Retirement Community in Winston-Salem, NC.

He most recently served as the vice president and executive director of Asbury Solomons, a continuing care retirement / life plan community in Solomons, MD. Before his time at Asbury Solomons, Applegate was an administrator at retirement communities elsewhere in Maryland as well as in Florida, Illinois and Nebraska.

Applegate earned his associate degree of applied science in human services, with a nursing home administration specialization, from Southeast Community College in Lincoln, NE. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree in health occupations education from the University of Nebraska and a Masters of Arts degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix in Orlando, FL.

Jefferson’s Ferry resident Jan Parker honored

Jefferson’s Ferry lifecare retirement community in South Setauket, NY, recently honored resident Jan Parker with the community’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. (She is pictured here flanked by Jefferson’s Ferry Foundation Chairwoman Carol Fenter, left, and Jefferson’s Ferry President and CEO Bob Caulfield.)

The award was presented at the Jefferson’s Ferry Foundation’s Monte Carlo Night fundraiser, an annual evening of food, music and casino games that supports capital projects and assists residents and employees in need. This year’s event, which was attended by approximately 250 people and raised almost $64,000, benefitted the Foundation’s Resident Assistance Fund, which covers the monthly fees of residents who have outlived their assets or experienced an unanticipated financial need through no fault of their own.

Parker, a former economics teacher at Wellesley, Wheaton, Sweet Briar and Suffolk Community and other colleges, has supported the foundation as well as many other charitable organizations on Long Island and around the world for a long time. At Jefferson’s Ferry, she pioneered the establishment of the charitable gift annuity program and several matching grants to facilitate improvements to the Healthy Living Center and to build up the Resident Assistance Fund.

Since joining Jefferson’s Ferry, Parker has served on many Resident Council committees, covering areas including budget and finance, parking control, conservation, communication, good cheer and the country store, which serves residents who are unable to shop off campus. Parker has been a trustee of the foundation since 2014.

Jefferson’s Ferry is a not-for-profit community for active adults aged 62 or more years. It offers cottages, apartments, assisted living and a healthcare center all on one site.

Tejinderpal Kaur, RN to be in the ‘Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare’

Tejinderpal Kaur, RN, has joined the International Nurses Association with her upcoming publication in ‘Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare.”

She currently cares for residents at Windsor Rosewood Care Center and Sunrise Senior Living in Pleasant Hill, CA.

Tejinderpal was educated at the Contra Costa College and recently earned her undergraduate degree in nursing from California State University. She holds additional certifications in EKG and intravenous therapy.